Eurovision 2026: seventy years of geopolitical refusals

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Major international media events are valuable not only for what they hide, conceal, and neglect, but also for what they reveal, exalt, and stage. This includes major diplomatic summits (G7, G20, BRICS, SCO), military parades (July 14 in France, May 9 in Russia, September 3 in China), major sporting competitions (Olympics, FIFA World Cup, Euro Football), as well as post-war inherited “mass” audiovisual events such as royal weddings, state funerals, and Eurovision.

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The return of the repressed

In Freud’s “Die Verdrängung” (1915), repression is not forgetting; it is an active process. What Eurovision represses—dictatorships, male domination, colonialism—does not disappear; it returns in distorted, symptomatic forms at the most inconvenient moments. In this case, what Eurovision represses resurfaces, and the festive format can no longer contain the political return. This return of the repressed can manifest in three distinct ways.

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The future of a Euro-illusion

These multiple contrasts between political truths and repressions pose a formidable question to Eurovision: does it have a political future? As Europeans are divided on the Israeli-Palestinian question (between boycotts and demonstrations), the upcoming Eurovision Asia event in the fall seems to offer a new perspective. It is likely an attempt to project a European model of “soft power” kitsch and inclusivity on a global scale, risking confrontation with new cultural authoritarianism. Is it a salutary opportunity for an Europe grappling with identity doubts, or an additional symptom of an illusion extending beyond its borders?

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[1] Source: Opendemocracy