‘United by music” is the Eurovision Song Contest’s motto. It’s never quite been true, of course: political squabbles are part of what makes the annual jamboree such a guilty pleasure. But usually the camp fun and wacky performances end up taking centre stage.
This year may be rather different. The contest, to be hosted by Sweden in May, has already been swept into the vortex of the war in Gaza. For the organisers, preventing their beloved contest from being engulfed by acrimony is proving more challenging than Cyprus giving a maximum douze points to any country but Greece.
