Canada eyes Eurovision, earns applause and boos

Genevieve Beauchemin has more on how hidden in the budget was a commitment to secure Canada a spot in the Eurovision song competition.

Those scouring the federal budget tabled in Ottawa this week found an unexpected cultural overture that has earned both applause and boos.

In a section regarding a proposal to provide $150 million for the country’s public broadcaster to strengthen its mandate, the government proposes “working with CBC/Radio-Canada to explore participation in Eurovision.”

The Eurovision Song Contest may not be a household name in all regions of Canada, but it has taken centre stage in global television ratings, attracting hundreds of millions of viewers each year.

“This is a show full of fireworks, full of water effects, giant props. This year we had a blender on stage. We had a huge microphone on stage,” says Dean Vuletic, author of Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest.

“It’s a contest filled with sexual provocation, political provocation, self-parody, campiness, glittery costumes, wind machines.”

Vuletic also says the contest has long been known as a vehicle for nation branding and cultural diplomacy.

It is no wonder, he says, that at this time of geopolitical tensions, Canada may want to strengthen its ties to Europe through the contest.

“It has reflected the political and social changes that have accompanied European integration since the Second World War. It’s also reflected other politics, geopolitics, wars, the, revolutions that have led to the downfall of dictatorships,” says Vuletic. “So, it really has been a mirror of the political and social change in Europe, and that’s why people love to watch it as well. They like to use every Eurovision as a barometer of the zeitgeist.”

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which is an association of public service broadcasters from Europe and the Mediterranean rim, designed the contest that first aired in 1956 as a technical project. It was set up to test television’s nascent live broadcast capabilities across Western Europe. It is now preparing to stage its 70th edition next year.

Despite its title, broadcasters from non-European countries, including Australia, have joined the chorus of contestants. Acts including Olivia Newton-John, Julio Iglesias and ABBA have taken centre stage over the years.

While Canada has never participated, some Canadians have.

In 1988, Switzerland enlisted a young Quebec singer named Celine Dion. She won the contest, a moment she has since called “life changing” that boosted her international career.

Behind-the-scenes friendships and rivalries

Some critics have mocked Eurovision’s campy style, others have said that while the event is billed as non-political, political friendships and rivalries behind the scenes impact results.

A vote on whether to include Israel in future contests has created divisions.

“That will go to a vote in the European Broadcasting Union’s General assembly in December. So, this is the big issue being discussed in Eurovision right now, not whether Canada will enter,” says Vuletic.

“I think it’s going to be difficult for the organization to consider an expansion outside of Europe right now when it is facing the issue of Israel, which really has the potential to divide the organization because the broadcasters that are opposing Israel’s participation have said that they will boycott next year.”

Eurovision’s addition in the federal budget includes no details and no figures, but it has hit a sour note for some.

“Can’t afford groceries? Don’t worry -- the Liberal budget is exploring participation by CBC in Eurovision,” Conservative MP Andrew Lawton wrote on X.

From the streets of Montreal, there was some applause.

“I think it would be great,” says Magdalena Cammidge who is originally from Poland.

Two American tourists said that “Canada should 100 per cent be involved.”

“We have American Idol, it is kind of bad,” said one of the visitors from Philadelphia. “We don’t deserve Eurovision, but Canada should go for it. As someone who lives in a country where the government doesn’t care about the arts, it’s incredibly exciting that that this is happening, that the government here would like to do this. So good for you all.”

There are, however, many steps before Canada could be in the spotlight at Eurovision.