EUROVISION

In 1956, postwar Europe was

struggling to reunite European
society. The European Broadcasting
Union came up with the idea for a
televised song competition where
European countries could compete
against each other while at the same
time sharing a bit of their cultures.
Perhaps the American musician Billy
Joel said it best:
This competition, now known as
Eurovision, is an event watched
according to an estimate by about
180 million people every year, not only in Europe, but also in countries all over the world. Eurovision
is a simple concept. Each participating country gets to choose one song to enter the competition, but
during the competition voters cannot vote for the song from their country. They must vote for a song
from another country. This ensures that the winner is based on popularity, not nationality. In the
competition, performers get the opportunity to share not only their music but some of their history,
languages and culture as well. Performers get to choose the language their song is performed in.
Although songs in English have won the most often, songs performed in many other languages, even in
those that few people speak, have won as well. Moldova has had great success in the Eurovision
competition and has been able to share its language, history, and its blend of European cultures with the
world. Moldova has
I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all
touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.
made it to the final round eight out of the ten times they’ve participated. In 2005, the first year they
participated, Zdob și Zdub won the 6th place with the song, “Bunica Bate Toba” or “Grandma Beats the
Drum.” Sung both in Romanian and English, it’s a fun song that served as an introduction to the band’s
other internationally popular songs. The songs “Bună Dimineața” (“Good Morning”) and “Tiganii și
OZN” (“The Gypsies and the Aliens”) are interpreted respectively as commentary on Moldova’s
romanticized Soviet past and the problems Roma populations, face in the region. In 2012, a group of six
“babushkas” or “grandmothers” from Russia entered the competition hoping to win enough money to
rebuild their church, which had been destroyed by Stalin. They performed a song in both Udmurt (a
Uralic language blended with Russian and Tatar that is spoken by about 500,000 people world-wide)
and English. Eurovision’s popularity demonstrates its success in helping the countries of Europe and
the world share their cultures through their mutual love of music.