Moscow calling: Nation Branding and a European identity for Russia at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest
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2025-05-19
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en
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The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is an annual music competition in which participating countries send in a music act and subsequently vote for their favourite entries. Since its first edition in 1956, the competition has grown to include almost forty competing countries, predominantly from Europe. When a country wins the competition, it is granted the opportunity to host the competition the next year. This opportunity is usually used to present the country in a positive light to the rest of Europe. How a country is represented on the ESC can be compared to a Nation Branding campaign. In my research, I analysed the 2009 edition of the ESC when the competition took place in Russia. The 2014 annexation of Crimea and the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia have intensified an already unstable relationship between Russia and Europe. By looking at the Grand Finale of the 2009 ESC through a Nation Branding lens, I was able to draw conclusions about how Russia was represented on the 2009 ESC, which in turn relates to how Russia wants to be seen by the rest of Europe. Previous research on Russian participation in the ESC has shown that the event was used to promote Russian culture throughout Europe, while hosting the event was seen as a chance to present an often-underrepresented image of Russia. However, no research has linked Russian participation with Nation Branding. A deeper analysis of how Russia was represented during the 2009 ESC is also currently lacking. The results of my research show that Russia was presented as masculine and powerful in economic, cultural, and technological terms. While willing to collaborate with Europe, the country was positioned as occupying a dominant position in the power hierarchy. Furthermore, contrary to Western European stereotypes about Russia, the country was presented as friendly and modern.
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Faculteit der Letteren