From a song contest to a show contest? The increasingly transnational production of television spectacle in the Eurovision Song Contest

Although academic interest in the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) has grown over the past two decades, research has only rarely focused on television aesthetics and television production. The article explores the common claim that the contemporary ESC places more and more emphasis on visual spectacle. The article asks, how has the audiovisual presentation of Eurovision entries developed over the course of the contest’s history, and how can we characterize the production of the contemporary ECS?

The primary research material consists of, firstly, ESC broadcasts from 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000. These are analysed to describe the historical development of the audiovisual presentation of Eurovision entries. Secondly, the article draws on production information for ESC 2016–2019 to gain an understanding of the scope of the contemporary production.

The article argues that ESC producers have always aimed at creating visually varied performances that suit the style of each song. However, changes in technology and the contest’s rules have enabled increasingly complex performances. As a result, creating the contemporary ESC requires using creative and technical personnel across national borders, and many of the same television professionals and companies participate in the production year after year. Moreover, successful stage directors work transnationally, designing Eurovision performances for different countries. Thus, the ESC participates in a wider turn towards transnational production in European television culture. The transnational field of ESC production is not without hierarchies, as Northern Europe plays a central role in the development of the contest, thanks to strong input from Swedish television SVT and Swedish television professionals in particular.