ABSTRACT
This chapter explores national identity and the dynamics of “unisonance” in and around the contest through five case studies of participatory musicking, considering two patriotic cover versions of Eurovision songs in Germany in 2000 and 2010; the evolving identifications around “Hallelujah,” Israel’s winning song in 1979; and the songs of Palestinian musicians in two “anti-Eurovision” festivals: “Contr’Eurovision” in Brussels in 1979, and the “Globalvision” concerts that took place during the 2019 contest finals. These case studies are organized chronologically, but versions of “Hallelujah” weave among them through the decades to evoke a changeable and conflicted polyphony not unlike that of the song contest itself. The chapter ends with the idealized metaphor of a song as a bridge that brings everyone together in apparent harmony.
