Drag queens as hosts. Campy dance numbers. Giant outdoor screens. Diplomatic intrigue laced with gestures towards a democratic voting system. What else could it be, other than the annual Eurovision contest, projected onto a huge screen in Kreuzberg, at the "Freiluftkino"!
It was my first time watching the Eurovision contest, and I was most intrigued by the voting system. Eurovision was founded in the 1950s to promote "European unity" (and most famously launched the careers of ABBA, the foundation for two global camps since the 1970s -- ABBA-lovers or ABBA-haters). But Eastern European countries didn't join the competition until 1993. But they still tend to vote in "blocs" -- as our drag queen hosts for the night predicted, "Romania will give 10 points to Russia," even the Russian singer gave probably one of the most putrid performances I've ever seen on a global stage. I know that there have been academic papers examining the politics behind Eurovision voting, but I wonder if the expanding notion of "Europe" has been investigated through the lens of the Eurovision contest?
In the end faux-Adele (an innocuous German singer named Lena who did have a catchy tune) beat out Turkish Linkin Park and the so-called "Romanian Bruce Springsteen." The Germans went wild, as expected, and sang along with verve. I thought Moldova had the best performance (faux-Lady Gaga with a rotating electric violinist and scintillating saxophone riff), but alas, they placed 22nd, due to lack of international "friends."
And here was the winning performance by Lena:
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