On the eve of the Eurovision Song Contest, Europe finds itself in a precarious place. But this contest is more than mere glittery pop escapism, it is the most recent in a long line of events that have influenced politics both within and beyond Europe. Professor Galia Press-Barnathan argues major international events can be the glue that holds political groups together, which in these precarious times is more important than ever.

Many people think that cultural events like the Olympics or Eurovision Song Contest should be detached from politics – in the same way individuals find refuge in music, or film, or watching football, or reading books, as a way to ‘escape’ the often complicated or boring political life. Do states host or take part in international cultural gatherings as an escape from complex political relations elsewhere? In this view, international cultural events are a social glue holding the international society of states together, even in difficult political times. If that is the case, then international cultural events should be protected from being politicized. This view, however, is mistaken.

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But rather about what politics is and what political agenda should be advanced through such events.

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It ignores both the nature of cultural products like major music and sports events and their potential impact, as well as the complexity of world politics. By better understanding both, it becomes apparent that the debate is not really about politics or cultural events, but rather about what politics is and what political agenda should be advanced through such events. Several characteristics of popular culture make it inherently relevant to politics. These include the nature of these cultural products, their dual impact (whether intentional deployment by states or unintentional, organic impact), and the different ways that the public views and consumes them.

The nature of cultural products:

Cultural products offer multiple visual, sonic and other elements that make them an effective medium to transfer ideas and information, and even more importantly, to generate emotions. They can operate within the special category of cultural mega-event which are noted exactly for this huge media exposure. Cultural products can play a crucial role in shaping, re-shaping and challenging multiple identities. This is true at the societal group level, the national level and the transnational level. They can shape all sorts of identities and understandings (much broader than those discussed here), but for those of us interested in world politics, they are important because they shape our geopolitical imagination. Much has been written, for example, about the impact of comic series like Captain America on the Cold War perceptions of young Americans, or on the inspirational impact of American music and film on ordinary people in the Soviet sphere, when they were exposed to them. Even the Beatles were said to have inspired early dissidence against the Soviet Union.

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The Eurovision Song Contest, for example, is a platform to demonstrate self-proclaimed liberal values or to compete with other geopolitically more powerful states.

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The dual impact of cultural consumption: