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| Jamie-Lee Kriewitz, Eurovision song contest - Germany |
The
61st annual Eurovision song contest, the campiest event on the
international cultural calendar, arrives at its glorious climax this
week. Beloved by Europeans, although mystifying to many in the United
States, the contest was conceived as a way to unite Cold War Europe
through music — a kind of World Cup for pop songs — and to bolster
ratings for national broadcasters. Over the years, countries as varied
as Israel and the nascent Balkan republics have vied to enter, seeing
participation as a sign of acceptance on the world stage. This year’s
contest is in Stockholm, where performers from 42 countries will compete
for the top prize — exposure — in semifinals on Tuesday and Thursday
and finals on Saturday. Viewers
in the participating countries can watch on television domestically and
viewers around the world can watch on Eurovision’s website, eurovision.tv.
The semifinals on Tuesday and Thursday and the finals on Saturday begin
at 9 p.m. Central European Time, or 3 p.m. Eastern Time. For the first
time this year, the finals will be broadcast on television (and the
Internet) in the United States, by Logo, a channel owned by Viacom. International New York Times
