Divided by Music

The 1970s in Europe saw the continuation of the Cold War, dividing Europe into the Western and Eastern Blocs along geographical and ideological lines. The 1970s also saw the Eurovision Song Contest begin its second decade of production under the sponsorship of the European Broadcasting Union. Serving as both an example of the West’s political attitudes and as a manifestation of Cold War tensions, the Eurovision Song Contest came to represent politics throughout the 1970s, an intersection of politics and culture that would continue throughout the contest’s run. Considering both Cold War interactions with the Eastern Bloc, and modern EBU interactions with the Russian State, this paper will argue that analyzing content from, and greater cultural conversations surrounding the Eurovision Song Contest demonstrates the ability of cultural events to serve as extensions of political attitudes and political climates.