Eurovision was founded in 1956 for a reason specific to that decade: to bring the countries of western Europe closer together through the medium of live television broadcast.
So it was great to see Sweden take first place at the 60th anniversary of the contest in Vienna on Saturday. Exactly what regions Eurovision includes has come under scrutiny with the inclusion of Australia in this year’s competition.
Throughout its coloured history, Eurovision embraced entrants from countries located outside the geographic boundaries of Europe, such as Israel, Morocco and (just) Azerbaijan. With the notions of identity ever in flux, one doesn't need to be from a specific nation to represent it. Remember when French-Canadian Celine Dion sang for Switzerland in 1988 and won the entire competition?
So what does the contest say about being European? More importantly, is it time to change the name of the contest? We invite you, dear readers, to send your suggestions to letters@thenational.ae.