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LGBT visibility in the Eurovision Song Contest

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Photograph of Dana International during a performance
Dana International, the contest's first trans participant, and winner of the 1998 contest for Israel

The Eurovision Song Contest has had a long-held fan base in the LGBT community, and Eurovision organisers have actively worked to include these fans in the contest since the 1990s.[1]

LGBT participants

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Main article: List of LGBT participants in the Eurovision Song Contest
Loreen, who is bisexual, won for Sweden in the 2012 and 2023 contests respectively
Bilal Hassani, who identifies as queer, represented France in the 2019 contest

Paul Oscar became the contest's first openly gay artist when he represented Iceland at the 1997 contest. Katrina Leskanich, who won representing the United Kingdom as lead singer of the group Katrina and the Waves later came out.[2] The following year, Israel's Dana International, the contest's first trans performer, became the first trans artist to win the contest in 1998.[3][4] Several open members of the LGBT community have since gone on to compete and win the contest: Conchita Wurst, the drag persona of openly gay Thomas Neuwirth, won the 2014 contest for Austria; and openly bisexual performer Duncan Laurence was the winner of the 2019 contest for the Netherlands.[5][6] Marija Šerifović, who won the 2007 contest for Serbia, subsequently came out publicly as a lesbian in 2013.[7] Loreen, who won the 2012 and 2023 contests for Sweden, came out as bisexual in 2017.[8] Victoria De Angelis, a member of the 2021 Italian winning band Måneskin, is openly bisexual, with fellow band member Ethan Torchio defining himself as "sexually free".[9] Switzerland's 2024 winner Nemo is the first openly non-binary artist to win the contest.[10]

As attitudes have changed across Europe, and same-sex attraction has become more accepted in many European countries, several artists have since come out as LGBT years or decades after participating in the contest. These include Bob Benny, who represented Belgium twice in 1959 and 1961 and came out publicly as gay in 2001,[11] and Switzerland's 1973 representative Patrick Juvet who came out publicly as bisexual in 2005.[12]

Several presenters of the Eurovision Song Contest have also identified as LGBT, including Yigal Ravid and Assi Azar, who hosted in Israel in 1999 and 2019 respectively,[13][14] and Nikkie de Jager, who hosted in the Netherlands in 2021. De Jager was the first transgender person to host the contest.[15] Mika, who is gay, hosted the 2022 edition in Italy.[16][17] Graham Norton, who is also gay, hosted the final of the 2023 edition in the United Kingdom and has additionally served as the UK's television commentator for the contest since 2009.[18][19]

LGBT themes in competing acts

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Past competing songs and performances have included references and allusions to same-sex relationships. One of the contest's earliest winning songs, Luxembourg's 1961 winner "Nous les amoureux", was confirmed by its performer Jean-Claude Pascal as containing references to a homosexual relationship and the difficulties faced by the pair, considered controversial during the early 1960s when in many European countries homosexual relations were still criminalised. Pascal notes, however, that the song's lyrics were deliberately made ambiguous to avoid the mention of the gender of either of the lovers since homosexuality was taboo at the time. The gay rights message of the song was therefore obscured. Pascal also stated that because of its ambiguity, it was not understood as a gay song by the general public at the time. In addition, Pascal was himself gay.[20]

Krista Siegfrids' performance of "Marry Me" at the 2013 contest featured a same-sex kiss with one of her female backing dancers at the end. Ireland's stage show of Ryan O'Shaughnessy's "Together" in 2018 featured two male dancers portraying a same-sex relationship.[21][22] In 2015, the Lithuanian entry featured a kiss between two men and two women in the background. In 2022, Achille Lauro, the entrant for San Marino, engaged in a same-sex kiss with guitarist, producer and long-time collaborator Boss Doms.[23][24] In 2023, the performance of Belgian entrant Gustaph featured vogue dancer PussCee West.[25]

Several drag performances have featured in Eurovision performances, including Austria's Conchita Wurst, Ukraine's Verka Serduchka, Denmark's DQ and Slovenia's Sestre;[26] the latter's selection sparked protests and debate on LGBT rights in Slovenia at the time and resulted in concerns raised at the European Parliament ahead of Slovenia's upcoming accession to the European Union.[27][28]

Criticism of LGBT visibility

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Dana International's selection for the 1998 contest in Birmingham was marked by objections and death threats from Orthodox religious sections of Israeli society, and at the contest her accommodation was reportedly in the only hotel in Birmingham with bulletproof windows.[29][30]

In more recent years, various political ideologies across Europe have clashed in the Eurovision setting, particularly on LGBT rights. Turkey, once a regular participant in the contest and a one-time winner, first pulled out of the contest in 2013, citing dissatisfaction in the voting rules; more recently when asked about returning to the contest Turkish broadcaster TRT have cited LGBT performances as another reason for their continued boycott.[31][32] After initially planning on airing the 2013 contest, TRT eventually pulled its broadcast of the event in response to Krista Siegfrids's same-sex kiss.[33] It has also been reported that LGBT visibility in the contest was also a deciding factor when Hungary chose not to enter the 2020 contest amid a rise in anti-LGBT sentiment in the Hungarian government of Viktor Orbán, although no official reason has been given by the Hungarian broadcaster MTVA.[34][35]

Following the introduction of a "gay propaganda" law in Russia in 2013, as well as developments in Ukraine, the 2014 contest saw a marked increase in booing from the audience, particularly during the Russian performance, getting qualified to the final, and during the voting when Russia received points.[36][37] Conchita Wurst's win in the contest was also met with criticism on the Russian political stage, with several conservative politicians voicing displeasure in the result.[38] In response to the booing, the producers of the 2015 contest installed "anti-booing technology" for the broadcast, and the contest's presenters repeatedly called on the audience not to boo; the Russian participant, Polina Gagarina, was interviewed by Conchita in the green room during a break in the voting, and attracted criticism from Russian conservatives when she posted a backstage video to social media of herself hugging Conchita.[39][40]

Clashes on LGBT visibility in the contest have also occurred in countries which do not compete in the contest. Eurovision had been broadcast in China for several years, however in 2018, the rights held by Mango TV were terminated during the 2018 contest.[41] The live broadcast of the first semi-final featured censorship by Mango TV of Ireland's Ryan O'Shaughnessy, as well as audience members displaying pride flags during the performance by Swiss representatives Zibbz; these performances reportedly went against Chinese guidelines that prohibit "abnormal sexual relationships and behaviours" due to the same-sex dancing.[42] Albania's Eugent Bushpepa was also censored due to the open display of tattoos, which broke guidelines around the featuring of "sub-cultures" and "dispirited cultures".[43] As a result of the termination, the Chinese broadcaster was unable to broadcast the second semi-final or the final of the 2018 contest or any future contests.[44]

References

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  2. ^ "INTERVIEW: Katrina Leskanich -". 29 June 2013. Archived from the original on 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  3. ^ West 2020, pp. 191–195.
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  5. ^ Bromwich, Kathryn (6 July 2014). "Conchita Wurst: 'Most artists are sensitive and insecure people. I am too'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 April 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  6. ^ Moore, Matt (18 May 2019). "Dutch Eurovision contestant Duncan Laurence comes out as bisexual". Gay Times. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  7. ^ "I Am A Lesbian! – Marija Serifovic Opens Up in Her Film "Confession"". InSerbia News. 28 November 2013. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Eurovision winner Loreen comes out as bisexual". Topics. Archived from the original on 2022-02-20. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  9. ^ Parente, Luca (12 February 2021). "Sanremo 2021, i Maneskin si spogliano e parlano di libertà sessuale". NEG Zone (in Italian). Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  10. ^ Fischer, Martin (2023-11-11). "Nemo im Interview – «Ich fühle mich weder als Mann noch als Frau»". Tages Anzeiger (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2024-02-29.
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  13. ^ Cashman, Greer Fay (June 9, 2020). "Grapevine June 10, 2020: Sins of omission". Jerusalem Post.
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  16. ^ Daniels, Colin (2012-08-06). "Mika confirms sexuality: 'I'm gay'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 2022-02-06. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
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  18. ^ Cohen, Benjamin (27 April 2006)."Graham Norton: "I'm too old to be attractive to gay men" Archived 24 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Pink News. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  19. ^ "Meet our Eurovision 2023 family!". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  20. ^ "'Nous les amoureux' de Jean-Claude Pascal, une chanson qui annonce la révolution du mouvement gay..." La Première (in French). 16 May 2019. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  21. ^ "Eurovision 2013 final underway amid lesbian kiss controversy". dw.com. Deutsche Welle. 18 May 2013. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  22. ^ Reynolds, Daniel (9 May 2018). "Ireland's Gay Dance on Eurovision Shows World That 'Love Is Love'". advocate.com. The Advocate. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  23. ^ Adejobi, Alicia (2022-05-12). "Eurovision: San Marino's Achille Lauro makes 'history' with queer kiss". Metro. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  24. ^ D'Antuono, Jacopo (2022-05-12). "Achille Lauro, bacio con Boss Doms ad Eurovision 2022/ "Ha incendiato il palco"". IlSussidiario.net (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  25. ^ Granger, Anthony (2023-04-30). "Belgium: Gustaph to be Joined by PussCee West at Eurovision". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  26. ^ Jordan, Paul (24 October 2016). "Life's a drag! Eurovision queens past and present". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  27. ^ "Transvestite Sisters stir Eurovision storm". bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 5 March 2002. Archived from the original on 16 February 2003. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  28. ^ Banks, Martin (6 March 2002). "Transvestite Eurosong win sparks Slovenia accession doubts". politico.eu. Politico. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  29. ^ O'Connor 2010, pp. 152–155.
  30. ^ "Transsexual singer stirs up passions". BBC News. BBC. 10 May 1998. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
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  32. ^ Marshall, Alex (18 March 2020). "Eurovision Song Contest Is Canceled Over Coronavirus Concerns". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020. In 2018, the head of Turkey's public broadcaster said the boycott was also partly because some past winners, including the drag queen Conchita Wurst, had gone against Turkey's social values.
  33. ^ Morgan, Joe (16 May 2013). "Turkey cancels Eurovision Song Contest over lesbian kiss". Gay Star News. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  34. ^ Walker, Shaun; Garamvolgyi, Flora (27 November 2019). "Hungary pulls out of Eurovision amid rise in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  35. ^ Kozlov, Vladimir (29 November 2019). "Hungary Exits 2020 Eurovision Over Contest's LGBT-Friendly Policies: Report". Billboard. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  36. ^ West 2020, pp. 283–286.
  37. ^ Nelson, Fraser (11 May 2014). "Eurovision 2014: the booing of Russia was a disgrace". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  38. ^ Davies, Caroline (11 May 2014). "Conchita Wurst pledges to promote tolerance after jubilant welcome home". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  39. ^ West 2020, pp. 287–291.
  40. ^ Aubusson (24 May 2015). "Eurovision 2015: Anti-booing technology deployed to protect Russian contestant". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  41. ^ "Eurovision 2013 reaches China". Eurovision Song Contest. 1 October 2013. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  42. ^ "Eurovision 2018: Chinese channel barred from airing contest". BBC News. 2018-05-11. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  43. ^ Royston, Benny (10 May 2018). "China banned from broadcasting Eurovision after cutting same-sex dance and tattooed singer". Metro. Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  44. ^ Bakker, Sietse (10 May 2018). "EBU terminates this year's partnership with Mango TV". Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.

Sources:

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