Eurovision- maybe you’ve heard of it, maybe you haven’t. But considering recent international events, I think it’s time we put a spotlight on the European equivalent of the Super Bowl.

The Eurovision Song Contest (as it’s formally known) has been held nearly every year since 1956. Its founders wanted a way to cross-broadcast more content across Europe, while promoting unity post-WWII. And what better way to accomplish that than through song?

Here’s how it works: participating countries decide on a performer (often through a nationally televised selection process) months before the contest starts. There are two semi-final rounds that determine which 10 countries end up in the finale. Those 10 countries receive votes from each participating country, and the winner gets bragging rights and the honor of hosting Eurovision the following year.

Sounds simple enough, so why do we need to talk about Eurovision?

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In order to understand the significance of this year’s contest, we’ll need to head back to 2019.

Eurovision was held in Tel Aviv, Israel that year (and before you ask – Israel is within the boundaries of the European Broadcast Union, which qualifies it to participate in Eurovision). Following the entry selection process in Ukraine, the winner (Maruv) was told by Ukraine’s national broadcasting company that she needed to cancel all of her upcoming performances in Russia in order to participate in Tel Aviv. She would also be barred from speaking to the press without the Ukrainian broadcaster’s position, among other restrictions. Her team was given 48 hours to sign the contract after their win, but they refused. The second- and third-place winners also refused to sign, ultimately forcing Ukraine to resign itself from the 2019 Eurovision contest.

On one hand- people were mad at Maruv because she wouldn’t back down from touring in Russia. This was nearly 5 years after Russia took control of Crimea and began separatist fighting in the eastern part of the country. Nationalism was at an all-time high. Any representation of Ukraine being in any sort of Russian shadow was met with anger from the Ukrainian majority. In addition, Maruv was being scrutinized online for having performed in Russia in the past.

On the other hand- people were mad at the broadcasters for forcing Maruv to comply with what they wanted. In a statement, Maruv said that she was more than ready to cancel her Russian tour dates. But she cited other parts of the contract that she equated to censorship- including a provision where the Ukrainian broadcaster wouldn’t allow her to improvise in any manner. Those stipulations, along with the political discord that began to envelop the entire selection scandal, were among the reasons why Ukraine’s second- and third-place winners also refused to sign the official Eurovision contract.

The Maruv scandal wasn’t the first for Ukraine and Eurovision. After separatist fighting began in 2014, Ukraine withdrew from Eurovision in 2015 to focus on the growing conflict. They were later chosen to host Eurovision in 2017, but caused headlines after banning the Russian contestant from the country for 3 years- because she had illegally entered Russian-occupied Crimea.

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Fast forward: it’s now 2022, and Ukraine’s been getting a lot more international coverage lately.

Eurovision entrants get selected around this time of year, and Ukraine held its national contest earlier this month. Its winner, Alina Pash, won the country’s vote with her song “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors.” Not even 48 hours after her win, a Ukrainian vlogger alleged that she had visited Crimea in 2015, and that her team may have forged travel documents from that time so that she could enter the national entry selection contest in 2022.

The investigation into those claims is ongoing, but within a week of her win, Pash withdrew as Ukraine’s representative.

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As you’ve no doubt been seeing across The News™ these days, Ukraine and Russia’s relationship has been under a massive international microscope. It’s hard to get away from the near-constant headlines. And for those that were hoping to escape reality by diving headfirst into an international songwriting competition this year- well, it’s going to be difficult to sweep aside the political tensions and watch the show with an unbiased view. By the way- Eurovision has rules in place that ban entrants from promoting any political views or drawing attention to a national issue. So even if performers wanted to take a stance against the conflict in their continent, it wouldn’t be allowed inside the venue (which is being held in Turin, Italy this year).

At the time of writing this, Ukraine has not chosen a representative for Eurovision 2022. If I had to make an educated guess here, I’d say they’re going to announce their withdrawal from the contest within the coming days. I can imagine that for other contestants, especially those from countries that have been involved in the Ukraine-Russia tensions, it may feel like a conflict of interest representing their country this year. A Eurovision appearance is meant to be a show of pride for one’s country. But how far are performers willing to go to stand by that statement?

I don’t know. But I suppose we’ll find out by the time May rolls around.