The conference will explore music, identity, media and politics in light of the Eurovision Song Contest. Titled ‘EURovision 2020’
This conference aims to bring together scholars from various countries, each with their own perspective, to engage in an international exchange of ideas and current research insights about music production and reception. We invite scholars to join us in Rotterdam 2020 for a two-day conference on popular music research and, more specifically (but not limited to), all that the Eurovision Song Contest places on the scholarly agenda.
The staging of the ESC invites reflections on music festivals, media events, television’s past and present, fan activity and involvement, and potentially much more. As cities and nations increasingly look to brand themselves through music festivals and experiences, the ESC stands as one of the most prominent examples of the past, present, and future of such trends. While claiming to be “non-political,” the contest reflects wider political developments, raising questions about what it means to belong in this part of the world. Investigating Eurovision means exploring the in/exclusion of certain countries in popular media, their depictions on screen and stage, and the relation of politics and/or language to music and the music industry. The event also invites analyses on how music consumers and avid fans make sense of their (and others’) identity through music (e.g. diversity of the acts/audiences, queerness of performances, or discussions of LGBTQ-rights surrounding events). In essence, the ESC offers a unique opportunity to examine the changing media landscape, identity, nationality, and (geo)politics, not only when addressing the contest itself, but in looking at these issues throughout the contemporary and historical media environment.
(Text sourced from conference website)