Gay at Eurovision

The annual pilgrimage to TV screens by gay people the world over has ended. Boy-wonder Alexander Rybak of Norway won. And gay issues are as prominently linked to Eurovision as ever. Learn how.


Ian Johnson, Out Now
May 17, 2009

TOPICS: Eurovision. Gay and lesbian community. Gay market. Lesbian and gay marketing. Transgender. LGBT. Dana International. Israel. Graham Norton. Peter Tatchell. Alexander Rybak. Gay people and their connection to Eurovision.

Well that is over for another year.

One of the things that makes me pleased to live in Europe is the annual gay and lesbian pilgrimage to TV screens that millions of people make to watch the slow-motion car crash of music that is the Eurovision Song Contest.

This show makes you stop and scratch your head in wonderment that the best music that a continent - plus Israel, Russia and a few other Euro-hangers-on - can produce so often seems to involve a woman onstage playing an accordion, or a group of people pretending to play violins.

This year the cute-as-a-button 23 year old flirty young male singer and musician - Alexander Rybak - represented his adopted country of Norway and won with a record-setting lead in votes.

So what's the gay market appeal?

Eurovision has attracted the intense interest of gays and lesbians since around the time that the broadcasts were commenced in color - and that evergreen gay favorite - ABBA - took home the Eurovision prize in Brighton in 1974.

In the UK the event is telecast on state broadcaster BBC-TV.

This year's BBC telecast was hosted for the first time by out gay TV celebrity, Graham Norton.

Graham Norton is one of the new-wave of gay celebrities who has been openly gay - and very successful - since their careers began. More power to others like them.

Norton's nodding and winking gay sensibility was perfectly suited to the event for the many gays and lesbians holding Eurovision parties all across the UK.

Color and Movement

The point about Eurovision is all about stereotypes.

Out Now spends a lot of time educating clients how to get past the stereotypes that the media propagate about gay people.

Yet this one night of the year - sort of like some Europe-wide televised Pride fest - seemingly makes it okay for all to let loose, with gay abandon; and to ponder, marvel and laugh at the entertainment - watching OTT campy, colourful outrageous performances, ever so occasionally mixed with serious musical attempts to be crowned Eurovision winner.

Stereotypes are not reality for most nights of the year but - with Eurovision as with gay Pride festivals - on these very rare occasions it is so much fun to let loose and get imbibed with Euro trash stereotypes.

Watching the lighting and choreography - as well as the camped up gay market appeal - makes for a fairly innocuous fun evening's entertainment.

Alexander Rybak was a very easy-on-the-eye contestant for the millions of gay male voters across Europe. As was Sakis Rouvas for Greece and Alex Christensen of Germany who was joined onstage by burlesque celebrity Dita von Teese.

Ukraine's Svetlana was joined by some very muscled Roman gladiator-esque dancers.

The 2009 UK entry was penned by Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber.

Gay appeal and Eurovision are seemingly intertwined.

Israel was rejoicing and conflicted over the Eurovision win in May 1998 in Birmingham of Dana International - that country's biggest female transsexual star.

Gay rights

Graham Norton correctly pointed out to his BBC UK audience that this year's event was marred by "heavy handed" police tactics.

What he neglected to mention was that this occurred in the context of a gay rights demonstration.

Russian police earlier in the day arrested dozens of gay and lesbian Pride march attendees seeking to highlight the dire lack of equality suffered by Russian gays and lesbians.

Veteran UK campaigner Peter Tatchell was amongst those arrested then later released.

It leaves a bitter taste in this night of light entertainment to know that Russia continues to refuse to join a modern Europe acknowledging and accepting lesbians and gay men as equal.

Russia did not score well in the evening's vote - and next year's competition is off to Oslo, Norway.

Norway was the first country in the world to enact an anti-discrimination law protecting homosexuals.

Russia - take note.

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