Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1516790
… and 'song contests', in turn, are supposed to be about this obscure little thing called 'mu- sic': once famously defined – by the late Tom Petty – as "probably the one real mag- ic I have encountered in my life. There's not some trick in- volved with it. It's pure and it's real. It moves, it heals, it com- municates and does all these incredible things…" You can probably imagine, then, how excited I tend to get at this time of year: when the entire world takes a break from all the usual rigmarole of international politics, to con- centrate on something that truly matters for a change. That's right, folks! The Eu- rovision Song Contest: a show which aims to promote 'the values of universality and in- clusivity'; and 'our proud tra- dition of celebrating diversity through […drums rolling…] MUSIC!' In other words: precisely the same sort of 'magic' that had such a transformative effect on Tom Petty's life (and my own, if it comes to it; and yours; and theirs, and ours, etc.) So as Peppi Azzopardi might have put it, on an ancient ep- isode of Xarabank: 'Kif tis- ta ma' tkunx eċċitat?' How can anyone not be positively brimming with enthusiasm, right now… at the prospect of an entire international mu- sic festival – followed by over 180 million, worldwide - ded- icated to 'moving us'; 'heal- ing us'; 'communicating with us'… not to mention, doing all those other 'incredible, magi- cal' things? I mean: what could possibly go wrong, anyway? Um… well, quite a lot, actu- ally… Right: let's rewind a little, back to the part where I wrote about all the international me- dia coverage that this event invariably attracts. At the time of writing there are at least two or three news stories about the Eurovision Song Contest, giv- en varying degrees of promi- nence in pretty much all Eu- rope's major newspapers…. … and needless to add, not even one of them is about all the 'healing, communicating' (or otherwise 'beneficial') ef- fects, that this contest is sup- posed to have. No indeed, folks! At the moment, they're all about whether Israel should be allowed to even compete in this year's ESC: when that country stands accused, by large sections of global public opinion, of 'genocide' against the people of Gaza. Now: I do understand, of course, that it's a rather im- portant question to ask, at this stage (especially given that an- other country – Russia – has already been banned, for en- tirely analogous reasons…) But then, the same problem arises when discussing Rus- sia's case, too. Sorry, but… wasn't this supposed to be a festival about 'music'? And wasn't the whole purpose of the Eurovision Song Contest (at least, in part) to tap into precisely those same 'magical properties', ascribed to music by Tom Petty, that might ac- tually help OVERCOME these self-same conflicts, to begin with? To put that another, less convoluted way: if the ESC truly aims to promote the val- ues of 'inclusivity, universali- ty, and (in particular) DIVER- SITY': shouldn't it just allow ALL countries to participate, equally: regardless of their government's 'diverse' actions on the global stage (which, in any case, shouldn't really have any bearing on the individual contestant, at all?) Already, it seems, something akin to a conjuror's trick has been played on us. It is as though the entire 'raison de- ter' of the Eurovision Song Contest has been made to dis- appear, before our very eyes… and in its place, we discuss… … why, 'the usual rigmarole of international politics', of course! You know: that ob- scure little phenomenon that invariably has the very OP- POSITE effect, of Tom Petty's 'magical music'! Instead of 'healing' us, it 'deepens the wounds'; and instead of facilitating 'com- munication', it only makes it impossible for any meaningful mediation to even take place... But wait, that's just the start. For if we are going to ban in- dividual nations from partic- ipating in Eurovision, solely on the basis of the military ac- tions of their governments… then why are we limiting the discussion to only Russia and Israel? What about all the oth- er times, that ESC-contestant countries have engaged in (of- ten unlawful) military entan- glements, in other parts of the world? Take France, for instance. [Note: if you read that in French… it rhymes!] Should France be allowed to partic- ipate in the Eurovision Song Contest: given that, in 2011, in just bombed the living heck out of Libya, for no oth- er reason than: a) to get rid of Gaddafi, and; b) to protect its own vested interested, in that resources-rich North African state? Now: I know what you're probably thinking. That's not exactly a like-with-like scenar- io, is it, compared to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine? And no, perhaps it's not. But then… does it even have to be? After all, it's already unclear - from the double-standards be- tween Russia and Israel, alone – what criteria are specifically used, when it comes to actu- ally banning a single country from Eurovision. Certainly, it can't be 'involve- ment in ANY war' (which, now that I think about it, is a great pity… because otherwise, maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 MARCH 2024 10 OPINION Eurovision is supposed to be a song contest… not a 'declaration of principles' Raphael Vassallo The Ebu has rejected Israel's entry for Eurovision 2024, 'October Rain', performed by 20-year-old Russian-Israeli singer Eden Golan (above), for its "political" nature. Israel has until 11 March to submit a song that complies with the Eurovision rules.