Cold War Divides Find a Voice on the Eurovision Stage

Throughout the 1970s, the Cold War continued to split Europe into Western and Eastern blocs along both ideological and geographical lines. At the same time, the Eurovision Song Contest was entering its second decade under the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Rather than exist outside of politics, the contest became a mirror of Western political attitudes and a site where Cold War tensions played out. By examining Eurovision content and the conversations that surrounded it across the 1970s — as well as more recent EBU interactions with Russia — it becomes clear that cultural events can function as direct extensions of political climates and attitudes.

Early boundaries that lasted for decades

The Cold War and the Eurovision Song Contest actually emerged from the same post-war moment. In 1954, the EBU was created to produce and share television programs across Europe, with the hope that common culture could help prevent future conflict. Out of this came the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, held in Switzerland with seven Western European countries. Inspired by competitions like Italy’s Sanremo Festival, Eurovision was designed by the Radio Audizioni Italiane (Italy’s national broadcaster) to display European music while giving states a shared event around which to build a sense of “Europeanness.” Participation was open to any EBU member.

From the start, EBU membership was restricted. States had to fall within the European Broadcasting Area or belong to the International Telecommunication Union. Notably, the ITU was linked to the Council of Europe, a Western capitalist organization from which the entire Eastern Bloc was excluded until after the Soviet Union dissolved. This effectively made EBU membership about embracing “European ideologies” more than simply geography. These early conditions meant that Eastern countries were shut out — a state of affairs that would persist until Russia finally joined Eurovision in 1994.

The map of participation revealed the Iron Curtain. Entering the 1970s, West Germany (referenced only as “Germany” by the contest) was the easternmost participating state. Key Western Cold War powers like the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and the Netherlands appeared every year, joined by smaller allies such as Austria and the Nordic countries. The contest grew from roughly ten to as many as twenty participants per year, demonstrating its rising popularity — but also the deepening absence of the East from what was quickly becoming one of the continent’s largest cultural events.

Words that shaped a political “Europe”

Language used by the contest and its presenters reveals a geopolitical slant. Eurovision regularly framed itself as standing for all of Europe, calling audiences part of a “European Community” — even though large swaths of Europe had no participation. Over time, winning acts would say “Thank you Europe,” repeating that exclusionary notion. The very name “Eurovision” suggests a singular political and cultural entity. Throughout the 1970s, this messaging suggested an understanding of “Europeanness” defined by EBU membership and capitalist alignment, a form of “othering” directed at the East.

Opening speeches promoted unity — but for whom? At the beginning of broadcasts, hosts often thanked viewers from “all across Europe” — though Eastern audiences could not access the programs. In one typical introduction from ESC 1979 (hosted by Israel, itself a nation located outside Europe geographically), the script emphasized a sense of European connectivity over nationalism. These speeches praised togetherness, phrasing their remarks in a way that implicitly referenced Western togetherness versus the Eastern Bloc. When Eurovision finally returned in 2023, the language had shifted to “United by Music,” yet the theme of Western unity in the face of conflict with Russia was still unmistakable.

Full details on historical broadcast data confirm the patterns described here.

Hosts used opening montages as political tools

The first formal task at any Eurovision final was to applaud the winner of the previous year — the country that got to host, showcase its landscapes and architecture, and essentially broadcast a slice of national propaganda. For Western nations in the Cold War 1970s, those carefully produced montages drew attention to a host’s prosperity and advancement within the Western community.

The BBC’s 1972 production from Edinburgh offers an especially explicit case. The nearly five-minute-long preview narrated a visual tour of the Scottish capital, explaining that it was “a very European capital” made European precisely because of its “merchants, commerce, and banking.” That introduction concluded by highlighting the availability of commercial cultural experiences. This subtle but unmistakable set of choices drove home a key message: Europeanness meant belonging to a market-capitalist, Western political and cultural network.

More recently, the 2023 contest — which Ukraine was originally supposed to host — used its broadcast to reinforce place and political alignment. Though the event was moved to the UK after the Russian invasion, the opening montage made extensive use of Ukrainian culture and images: the winning band Kalush Orchestra performing against streets ravaged by war, cinematic depictions of soldiers through art, and interviews with Ukrainian guests unusual for Typical ESC presentations. The production unmistakably situated Ukraine not only within European borders but within the Western alliance against Russia.

Politics disguised as music — songs and the “non-political” rules

The EBU’s official rules require a “non-political” contest, grounded in values like “universality, diversity, equality and inclusivity and a proud tradition of celebrating diversity through music.” Performers cannot politicize their acts. Yet throughout the 1970s, songs pushed geopolitical subtext into the open. Entries lauding national culture and language appeared over and over — such as Luxembourg’s Parlez-vous Français? (an appeal to the beauty of French language and culture) and Israel’s Hallelujah/reframed culturally as (Live Alive/Bi) that highlighted the young nation’s perseverance. During the 1960s Austria sent songs titled “Only in the Viennese Air” or “You Are Music,” also stressing national identity. In the modern era, Ukraine’s 2016 winning entry had clear nationalist overtones in opposition to Russia.

As the cultures built up at home, each performance reinforced a message of resilience, prosperity, and superiority rooted in national character — making the entire contest something of an exercise in reinforcing Western ideological narratives and staking out positions in Cold War discourse.

The Eastern bloc response: the Intervision Song Contest

No assessment of Cold War politics as expressed through contest structures would be complete without analyzing the Eastern Bloc’s answer: an early music festival in Sopot, Poland. Italian Jewish war hero Władysław Szpilman (at that time directing within the Polish Broadcasting Corporation) saw Eurovision’s spike in visibility during the 1960s and early 70s. “The Polish TV chief wanted to have an Eastern Eurovision — and this contest became a tool of propaganda for Eastern countries,” a reporter recounted. The competition formally launched in 1977 and used near-identical structure: one contestant per Eastern country competing in front of a broadcaster-provided audience. Just as importantly, it was marketed exclusively as an Eastern cultural expression.

Eurovision was seen as a commercial affair that represented the capitalist–communist divide, whereas Intervision was explicitly recognized as its rival. The latter was designed to offer a new platform where countries could express Cold War rivalries.

Cold War tensions also shaped participation trends and interactions in Intervision. Only countries involved in the Eastern Broadcasting Corporation—the International Broadcasting Organization (OIR), established specifically for Warsaw Pact states—or those expressly invited could take part. By that standard, no Western nation ever competed in Intervision, and no Eastern bloc country entered Eurovision during this era. The sole exception was Yugoslavia, a communist state that nonetheless kept some distance from the East. Cuba and neutral Finland made frequent appearances, which underscores how politics influenced cultural exchange between regions. Notably, no Intervision entry ever gained significant popularity in Western markets, even though Western audiences could access those songs.

The calendar of Intervision’s active years reflected Europe’s political climate. The ISC ran only from 1977 to 1980 before being canceled amid escalating domestic unrest in the Eastern Bloc. Organizers hoped to revive it once internal tensions eased, but the Warsaw Pact struggled with turmoil throughout the 1980s. Although officials initially planned for a reboot, Poland—the typical host country—experienced continuous strain until the Pact dissolved and the Cold War ended. Once the superpower conflict concluded, all talk of restarting Intervision disappeared, which further proves the competition’s original goal of acting as a counterweight to Western-backed ESC. After the 1970s, Intervision was held only once: Russia made a revival attempt in 2008 as tensions between Moscow and the West grew, again showing the contest’s political function. Like Eurovision, Intervision served as a propaganda tool meant to display the advantages of the Eastern bloc over the West.

By the 2020s, the Eurovision Song Contest had continued to serve as a locus of cultural and political interaction, particularly reflecting friction between Western Europe and Russia. This dynamic was powerfully illustrated by the events surrounding Eurovision 2022. Russia was expelled from the competition after invading Ukraine in February 2022. On February 25—the day after the initial invasion—the EBU issued a statement titled “Statement regarding the participation of Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022,” banning Russia’s entry, a prohibition that remains in effect. The communique justified the move by claiming that “the inclusion of a Russian entry in this year’s contest would bring the competition into disrepute,” citing the apolitical nature of the contest. This ruling received widespread backing from the event’s audience and was interpreted as a rebuke of Russian aggression in support of Ukrainian sovereignty. Although the EBU portrayed the ban as “apolitical,” the action itself was inherently political, aligning the organization with Western-allied Ukraine and underscoring that foreign policy considerations continued to inform contest decisions.

Eurovision 2022, held in Turin, Italy, wore its politics prominently during the grand finale. Kalush Orchestra, representing Ukraine and eventual winners, ended their performance with the words: “I ask all of you, please help Ukraine”—a political statement that broke rules but provoked very little condemnation. Ukraine went on to win the competition, receiving a dramatic surge in the public vote despite placing only fifth with the juries. The result represented an unambiguous demonstration of public backing for Ukraine’s war effort and a reaffirmation of the country’s alignment with Western political alliances. Reactions to the victory were mixed: some critics argued the decision rested solely on political sympathies rather than musical quality, while others embraced the inherently political dimension of the event, echoing Eurovision’s long history of signaling and reinforcing political alliances. Headlines such as the Washington Post’s “Ukraine Won the 2022 Eurovision Because of Politics” reflected widespread awareness of the EBU’s political positioning. Eurovision 2022 thus demonstrated that the contest continued to act as a stage for Western European political identity-marking in opposition to Russian interests, decades after the Cold War ended, prolonging a trajectory established half a century earlier.

For nearly seventy years, the Eurovision Song Contest has served as a showcase of European “culture and interconnectivity.” It grew in popularity during the 1970s and now offers a Cold War example of the intersection between politics, cultural events, and attitudes. Primary footage of the competitions themselves, together with the circumstances of the contest’s organization, highlight how Cold War tensions affected culture and demonstrate the capacity of music-driven events to reflect geopolitical conditions. Eurovision’s trajectory through the 1970s into the modern era thus illustrates the intersection among politics, media, and culture.

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