'Unite Unite Europe' The political and cultural structures of Europe as reflected in the Eurovision Song Contest

Abstract

This study focuses on the voting matrix of the yearly song festival, the Eurovision Song Contest. It analyzes the cohesive bonds among the participating nations and studies the positional equivalencies in taste. The cohesive bonds analysis reveals a three-Bloc political structure. The cohesion of each Bloc is based on different sentiments and interests. The Western Bloc can be viewed as a coalition based on historical and political interests. The Northern Bloc draws its solidarity from common cultural and primordial lingual codes (i.e. German). The diffuse Mediterranean Bloc probably achieves its unstable alliance from common cultural experiences. In contrast, the structural equivalence analysis - which focuses on taste as revealed by similar patterns of voting - portrays a more diffuse structure, interpreted as 'islands of taste'; these are dispersed in line with cultural and lingual cleavages. The implications of these findings are discussed. © 1995.