Sing about war and cluck like a chicken: tips from the pros on how to win Eurovision

After an enforced hiatus, the contest is back. As the hopefuls don their sequins, here's how to succeed at the gloriously OTT pop jamboree

To some, it's a cultural cringefest. To others, it's the World Cup of music. But no matter your spin, the Eurovision Song Contest remains one of the world's most-watched television programmes, with the last edition, in 2019, attracting more than 180 million viewers. Founded in 1956, it has inspired and outlasted countless reality singing franchises owing to its mix of big voices, over-the-top staging and a fervent nationalism, as artists sing for themselves and their countries. Winning songs can be brash or beautiful; they just need to cultivate votes across the public and a professional jury across Europe (and Australia). Past winners include a bearded drag queen from Austria, a Finnish metal band wearing latex monster masks, and Celine Dion, who, despite having no connection to Switzerland, was scouted to sing for them before she was a global megastar.

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