When people talk about the politics of the Eurovision Song Contest they are generally referring to some notion that states vote for each other out of political allegiance. This accusation is usually directed in particular at Eastern European states. I want to examine it in a different light, in terms of the way that Western media represent Eastern Europeans in the context of Eurovision. In particular I will be looking at reporting in both the German and English media. I argue that Eastern Europeans are represented in a negative light that draws on and reinforces various anti-Eastern European and anti-immigrant stereotypes The idea of Eastern European political voting forms a major part of this representation. It is asserted that Eastern European states vote for one another to ensure their victory. This idea is persistent, even as it is not in any way supported by the voting figures, and has formed a persistent trope in reporting the event. The pressure of the anti-Eastern media campaign came to a height with the Russian win in 2008 and culminated in a reform of the voting system, reintroducing juries in order to restore ‘fairness.’ Once this was implemented there promptly was first a Norwegian, then a German win – with the general reporting being that this marked ‘the end of political voting.’ I argue that rather than an end to political voting this has constituted a reassertion of Western hegemony, as well as being indicative of how Western liberal democracy deals with unfavourable results.
