Performing the 'New' Europe: Identities, Feelings and Politics in the Eurovision Song Contest [Hardcover]

This fascinating and lively volume makes the case that the Eurovision Song Contest is an arena for European identification in which both national solidarity and participation in a European identity are confirmed, and a site where cultural struggles over the meanings, frontiers and limits of Europe are enacted.Introduction: Eurovision and the 'New' Europe; Karen Fricker and Milija Gluhovic PART I: FEELING EUROPEAN: THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST AND THE EUROPEAN PUBLIC SPHERE 1. 'Sharing the moment': Europe, Affect and Utopian Performatives in the Eurovision Song Contest; Marilena Zaroulia 2. 'It's just not funny any more': Terry Wogan, Melancholy Britain and the Eurovision Song Contest; Karen Fricker 3. Europe, with feeling: The Eurovision Song Contest as entertainment; Mari Pajala 4. 'The song contest is a battlefield': Panel discussion with Eurovision Song Contest broadcasters, 18 February 2011 PART II: EUROPEAN MARGINS AND MULTIPLE MODERNITIES 5. Back to the Future: Imagining a New Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest; Yana Meerzon and Dmitri Priven 6. 'Playing with Fire,' and Playing It Safe: With(out) Roma at the Eurovision Song Contest?; Ioana Szeman 7. From Dana to Dustin: The Reputation of Old/New Ireland and the Eurovision Song Contest; Brian Singleton PART III: GENDER IDENTITIES AND SEXUALITIES IN THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 8. Competing Femininities: A Girl for Eurovision; Elaine Aston 9. Taken by a stranger: How queerness haunts Germany at Eurovision; Peter Rehberg 10. Sing for Democracy: Human Rights and Sexuality Discourse in the Eurovision Song Contest; Milija Gluhovic 11. Conundrums of Post-Socialist Belonging at the Eurovision Song Contest; Katrin Sieg Bibliography Index

Richly contextualized via a masterful introduction, this book's story of the Eurovision Song Contest sings with the verve of topicality. The 'new' Europe is revealed in fascinating guises through clear-eyed accounts of what has been invested in its performance in particular pll³’