"Love" wins at the Eurovision Song Contest
Image: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU
Tomorrow is the grand final of the world's biggest music competition: the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). Based on last year's numbers, the grand final in Vienna tomorrow is expected to draw around 160 to 170 million viewers across 35 participating countries.
The contest long ago outgrew its European roots. This year's lineup includes Australia, and the broadcast reaches audiences well beyond the EBU's member states, with an additional "Rest of the World" online vote open to fans everywhere. Although it's supposed to be exclusively about music, global political events are also playing a role in the competition. Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain are boycotting the contest in protest against Israel's participation.
In any case: data geek Giuseppe Sollazzo has taken a look at the lyrics of all previous ESC songs and their themes in a detailed analysis. Love songs dominate throughout the competition, making up more than half of the total. Second Place: Empowerment & resilience. Also exciting: a betting site has analyzed the data of previous winners here and, based on this, predicts which candidates have the best chances this year.