Inclusion Icons of The Eurovision Song Contest – Live from Liverpool

Last night saw the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 here in Liverpool. Another huge congratulations to everyone who qualified to the Grand Final and we’re sorry to see some artists leave the competition. Excitement is really building across the city and around the world now we have all our finalists confirmed for Saturday night. Last night’s show was a wonderful celebration of diversity at the contest. Along the theme of ‘Music Unites Generations’ we saw Ukrainian artists from across generations showcase music being the light that overcomes darkness. We also saw a fabulous performance celebrating everyone’s freedom to be themselves at Eurovision thanks, truly showcasing the strength we have in diversity. 

The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the most well-known and widely-watched television events in the world. Since its inception in 1956, the contest has grown to include over 40 countries from across Europe and beyond. Over the years, the contest has become a symbol of unity and diversity, with contestants from all walks of life coming together to celebrate music and culture. In this blog, we will explore how inclusion and diversity has been represented in the Eurovision Song Contest from its early years to today. 

In the early years of the Eurovision Song Contest, the focus was largely on promoting cultural exchange and celebrating the diversity of European music, born out of a need to reunite a war-torn Europe whilst testing out the latest technology. Over the past 67 years, the Eurovision Song Contest has grown significantly and has often pushed boundaries when it comes to inclusion and diversity, even if there is still a long way to go.  

Ten years into its existence, the Eurovision Song Contest featured its first Black singer through Milly Scott for the Netherlands in 1966. Milly was a Dutch singer and actress of Surinamese origin singing “Fernando En Fillipo” (here you can see her perform it in 1985 with a school choir). The song was a rumba song — a musical style that was invented by African slaves who brought it to the Americas. This marks the moment that the contest began to open up to more international styles. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Eurovision Song Contest continued to grow in popularity and diversity. Countries from outside Europe, such as Israel, Turkey, and Morocco (and later Australia!) were invited to participate, adding to the cultural richness of the event. Despite Milly’s debut in 1966 and many artists of colour since, it wasn’t until 2001 that a Black artist won the contest for the first time. Dave Benton’s win in 2001 for Estonia was followed by Destiny Chukunyere winning the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for Malta in 2015 being the first Black artist to do so. At time of writing however, these remain the only Black artists to lift the Eurovision trophy.  

Whilst there is still significant progress to be made at the Eurovision Song contest, in recent years ethnic diversity has continued to increase year-on-year. Jessy Matadore represented France with “Allez Ola Ole” in 2010, and whilst he didn’t win, the song went on to become the official song of the FIFA World Cup 2010. In 2021, Jeangu Macrooy represented the Netherlands with “Birth Of A New Age” , a song reflecting the Black Lives Matter movement which featured Sranan Tongo being sung at Eurovision for the first time. Jeangu is also openly gay and he sang passionately from the intersections of race and sexual orientation, .ecoming one of many LGBTQ+ artists to have enjoyed success at the Eurovision Song Contest. 

Pride in Eurovision 

In the early 2000s, the Eurovision Song Contest saw a significant increase in the number of LGBTQ+ performers, with many contestants openly expressing their sexual orientation and gender identity in their performances. This was a major step forward for representation and inclusion, as the contest had historically been seen as a conservative and heteronormative event. In 2019, the contest was won by Dutch singer Duncan Laurence, who performed a song about coming to terms with his sexuality. Lawrence’s win was one of multiple openly LGBTQ+ winners to have taken the Eurovision trophy over the years, with 1986 showcasing drag on stage for the first time with Norway’s Ketil Stokkan. Fast-forward a few years and Katrina Leskanich of Katrina and the Waves won for the UK in 1997 with “Love Shine A Light” , becoming the first lesbian to win the contest. However, in 1998, Israel’s Dana International took to the stage to perform “Diva” and ushered in a new era of LGBTQ+ visibility and celebration at the Eurovision Song Contest. Dana is a trans woman who overcame multiple obstacles to perform for her country – her winning in 1998 was seen as a beacon of LGBTQ+ pride across the continent and beyond. Since Dana’s win, more and more artists have been vocal about either being part of the LGBTQ+ community or in their roles as passionate allies. From Verka Serduchka in 2007 through to Loreen in 2012, the Eurovision stage has embraced LGBTQ+ equality, perhaps most evident in recent years with Conchita Wurst’s win in 2014 for Austria. As she raised the trophy, Conchita declared: “This night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom. You know who you are – we are unity and we are unstoppable.” 

Religion and belief at the contest 

It may be tempting to believe that with such a diverse range of countries taking part, friction is somewhat inevitable based on cultural differences – particularly when it comes to LGBTQ+ identity and faith. As someone of faith who is part of the LGBTQ+ community, this anxiety isn’t necessarily misplaced, but in my case I’ve found it to be often exaggerated. Both parts of my identity sit comfortably together most of the time, and this is reflected in the inclusive welcome to all that the Eurovision Song Contest provides. Multiple countries from Albania and Azerbaijan to Turkey and Morocco are Muslim-majority countries showcasing the religious diversity of the contest. In 2016 Jamala won the contest for Ukraine becoming the first Muslim artist to do so with France being represented by Muslim genderqueer artist, Bilal Hassani in 2019. Albania and Azerbaijan regularly showcase Muslim artists, whilst Orthodox Christian countries of Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova often blend modern beats with traditional folk or religious music in their entries. As the only Jewish-majority country, Israel regularly sends diverse Jewish representation to the competition. However, the Jewish State has sent Muslim, Christian, and Arab artists on multiple occasions, most memorably in 2008 with Noa and Mira Awad’s “There Must Be Another Way”, their powerful, trilingual ballad for peace.  

Disabled Artists 

Early in the competition, perhaps reflecting social attitudes at the time, disabled artists were near non-existent on the Eurovision stage. It’s likely that many artists may have hidden disabilities or be neurodivergent and have decided to not share that part of their identity. At time of writing, the earliest record of a disabled artist in the Eurovision Song Contest Final wasn’t until 1992 when Serafin Zubiri represented Spain with “Todo esta es la música”. Serafin is blind and it wasn’t until 1996 with George Nussbaumer for Austria, and 2002 with Corinna May for Germany that more blind artists represented their respective countries.  he Eurovision Song Contest still has much more to do when it comes to disability equality, with representation being few and far between. In 2015, Finland was represented by punk rock band, Pertti Kurikan Nimipaivat (PKN). PKN were formed in 2009 in a charity workshop for adults with developmental and learning disabilities and all members of the band have either Downs Syndrome or Autism. Their electrifying presence at the 2015 contest was the first time neurodivergent artists had been centre stage in the competition. In the same year, Poland was represented by an artist in a wheelchair, Monika Kuszynska, and the UK by a singer with Cystic Fibrosis making 2015 the most disability-inclusive contest ever. Nearly ten years later, disabled representation at the Eurovision Song contest has never quite matched 2015, and I hope to see more disabled artists grace the stage in years to come.  

Finally… 

From its humble beginnings as a celebration of European music, to its current status as a global event that embraces diversity and promotes social and political issues, the contest has played an important role in promoting unity and cultural exchange. Whilst there have been challenges along the way, the Eurovision Song Contest remains an important symbol of inclusivity and diversity in the world of music and entertainment. 

On behalf of Inclusive Employers, we wish all the participants the best of luck in tomorrow’s final and thank you to everyone involved for embracing Inclusive Liverpool!