Downsize government, increase defense spending and… get Canada into Eurovision?
In addition to many important items, yesterday’s federal budget announced that the government was working with CBC/Radio-Canada to explore Canada’s participation in the annual Eurovision Song Contest, where international singers compete performing original songs, competing under a country’s flag.
Two government sources say Prime Minister Mark Carney is personally involved in the initiative.
The competition primarily showcases European talent and is organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), but all public broadcasters that are members of the EBU can participate, including some from outside Europe. Canada is only an affiliate member, although Australia, another affiliate, has participated since 2015.
When contacted by CBC News last month about the possibility of Canadian participation, Eurovision said the contest was limited to EBU members.
While the budget news may excite fans of the competition, Canadian participation may not be easy – especially since some have already tried to get the country involved.
Presentation of Eurovision Canada
In 2022, the Toronto co-productionthe company Insight Productions — which produced the Canadian spinoffs of The incredible race And Big brother — I tried to start a Eurovision Canadawhere Canadian artists would compete, with the winner then sent to Europe for the ultimate sequelEast.
At the time, organizers said the competition would premiere in 2023, featuring artists and groups from all 13 provinces and territories, and the host would be announced within weeks.
The federal government’s new budget includes an unexpected measure: Canada will consider participating in the popular Eurovision song contest. What does this mean and why is it important to government? Journalist and Eurovision expert Karen Fricker explains.
But ultimately, the business didn’t take off.d. The team realized after the announcement that sending Canadians to the global competition would be a complex effort, said Lindsay Cox, co-head of content. told The Canadian Press earlier this year. But the company is still trying to make Eurovision Canada a reality, she said.
There was also no support from CBC/Radio-Canada, which should have gotten involved given the euro.the vision is ultimately hosted by public broadcasters. Radio-Canadaspokesperson Chuck Thompson previously told CBC News the broadcaster studied it and met with the business at the time, but I finally decided it would be “forbiddenvery expensive.”
Asked what CBC is currentlyWhen trying to explore which Canada might participate in Eurovision, Thompson told CBC News there was “no information to share about Eurovision at this time.”its time. »
Lots of Thatnada wouldn’t necessarily need to host an expensive televised competition at home to choose a singer to send to Eurovision – the competition rules allow countries to choose how they select their artists.
Front burner25:14The fraught political history of Eurovision
However, Dean Vuletic, a historian spSpecializing in the history of Eurovision, he says that participating in the competition and doing it well is expensive: there are entry fees, plus the costs associated with sending people to the show, not to mention what it takes to host it.
Culture and Canadian buy-in could be tricky
Canadians have comhas participated in Eurovision in the past under other flags, namely Céline Dion, who won the contest for Switzerland in 1988, as well as Natasha St-Pier, who represented France in 2001 And The Zarra of Montrealonce again for France, in 2023. But the contest is not hugely popular in Canada, which could be a barrier to participation, says Karen Fricker, a professor at Brock University and a Eurovision expert.
“People who are interested in culture know it. Queer communities know it,” Fricker said. “Whether it’s known enough to really catch on is my biggest question.”
For examplen Australia, the song contest had been broadcast for decades and was ingrained in the country’s culture before it took off.ed in competition, Fricker said.
Moreover, although Eurovision has attempted to globalize its brand in recent years, the contest ultimately remains a European affair, said historian Vuletic. According to him, it is possible that the organizers of the competition do not want too many non-European countries to join, for fear of globalizing the cultural event too much.
That said, in an interview with Global News, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the idea for the Canadian competition came “from the people who are participating,” suggesting that Europe might not have many problems with the idea of Canada joining.
There was also an internThere is disagreement over who should be able to participate in the competition – particularly over Israel’s participation, given its war in Gaza. Orthe organizers had scheduled a votee for this month on whereotherwise Israel should be allowed to competee next year, even if that’s the case has since been postponed.
“So at the moment the expansion of Eurovision is not really the major priority of the European Broadcasting Union, it is trying to save the competition as it is,” Vuletic said.
Despite the obstacles, Fricker says the support from the federal government makes this the most real conversation Canada has ever had about participating in the competition – something fans can get excited about.
“It’s still speculative, but it’s firmer than in the past.”
