But according to Chris West, author of Eurovision! A History of Modern Europe Through the World’s Greatest Song Contest, politics has always been at the heart of things. “The whole idea for creating a European Song Contest was very much about bringing people together around a common culture and identity after WW2,” he tells Rolling Stone, explaining that including countries like Israel, Russia and Ukraine was really about bringing them into the “Western European cultural umbrella.”

Many of Eurovision’s most inspirational stories are political ones. The 1974 contest in Brighton is remembered as ABBA’s breakthrough year, but it’s also the year that Portugal’s entry, “E Depois do Adeus,” became a rallying cry of the revolution that overthrew the authoritarian government and started Portugal’s transition to democracy. Drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 win — including points from Russia, where Putin was implementing an anti-gay crackdown at the time — was a landmark moment for LGBTQ+ representation. Ukraine was victorious in 2016 with Jamala’s “1944” — a song that featured lyrics in Crimean Tatar language, which was thought to be a nod to Russia’s 2014 annexation of the region. In 2022, Ukraine won again with the resilience anthem “Stefania.”