The 59th Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark in May 2013. The Eurovision Song Contest is the oldest continuous television program in the world. Launched by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in 1956 as one of many initiatives to develop live broadcasting technology in Europe and to contribute to peaceful interaction across the European continent the contest which has been broadcast annually ever since, has developed into the most-watched international festival of popular music. With a TV audience of around 120 million people plus an increasing viewer base on the internet, the popularity of the contest rivals sporting events such as the UEFA Euro and the American Super bowl.

Since its inception the Eurovision Song Contest have become a communicative and negotiated space triggering discussions of Europe, its boundaries and identities; Over the years national broadcasters, journalists, audiences, performers and even politicians have promoted their vision of Europe in relation to the Eurovision Song Contest. This Year’s Eurovision conference, which will take place in Copenhagen during Eurovision week 2014, will as its main theme focus on the multiple visions of Europe in the Eurovision Song Contest. Such visions can take many shapes, be they politically, economically, culturally, sexually and (mental) geographically charged. Visions of Europe link intrinsically to specific comprehensions of Europe in past and present. Visions are always partial, situated, embodied; they have material-discursive implications. Popular culture and performance cultures represented in the Eurovision Song Contest offer distinct opportunities for observing and displaying the contested nature of envisioning Europe.

We welcome papers on European visions in the Eurovision Song Contest – with emphasis on empirical, theoretical, analytical and/or methodological dimensions; other papers presenting research about the Eurovision Song contest are however also welcome.

The conference is co-organized by the research program Modern Europe at Aarhus University and Centre for Modern European Studies (CEMES) at Copenhagen University. Conference venue: Copenhagen University, Faculty of Humanities, KUA 2, 5th-7th of May 2014.

Download conference call here.

Confirmed keynote speakers

• Mari Pajala, University of Turku, Finland
  (title to be announced)
• Dafni Tragaki, University of Thessaly
  (title to be announced)
• Caroline Baker, University of Hull
  (title to be announced)

Paper submissions
Please send an abstract of no more than 300 words to: ceklw@hum.au.dk by February 15th 2014

Conference fee
Pending funding arrangements the conference fee is currently set to dkr. 1200 dkr.

Academic committee

• Associate professor Lisanne Wilken, Aarhus University
• Associate professor Marie Sandberg, Copenhagen University
• Associate professor Christian Axboe, Aarhus University

Facebook group:

www.facebook.com/groups/592625877440785