Last week, in Part 1, we reviewed the quiet presence of queer folks during the first 42 years of the history of the Eurovision Song Contest. We left things off in 1997, the year that set the stage for more LGBTQ+ people to start competing openly as they are. In 1998, the first openly transgender artist to compete in the contest emerged victorious and with her win, queer people took Eurovision by storm!
Dana International and her pop extraordinaire entry “Diva” did the unexpected, and in 1998, won Eurovision for Israel. Breaking stereotypes and shattering the news cycles all around Europe, Dana was the first openly transgender artist to compete and win the contest. Little did we know, the queer revolution at ESC just got started. Also, she won the first year the winner was determined using 100% public votes across all competing countries. This signified that queer people saw a sign that they were finally being welcomed by European audiences as their authentic selves at their continent’s largest TV music show.
Following this historic win, more openly LGBTQ+ artists started competing as their true selves at Eurovision. And at the same time, the contest itself more openly became a refuge for queer folks all over the globe. Every year since 2001, we have had at least 1 openly queer contestant at ESC. From that point on, the years we’ve had the most openly queer contestants are 2016, 2021, and 2024, with 8 countries having a queer artist representing them each year mentioned.
Since 1998, Eurovision has also seen victories from its first drag, openly bisexual, and openly non-binary acts. These correspond to Conchita Wurst in 2014, Duncan Laurence in 2019, and Nemo in 2024.
Other notable winners who came out following their victories include two-time champion Loreen from Sweden, who has mentioned that she is bisexual (and came out years following her first win in 2012) as well as Portugal’s 2017 hero Salvador Sobral, who recently revealed in an interview is intersex.
As well, we’ve had all kinds of queer-coded or very performances since the 2000s. Some of the most notable ones include 2002’s Sestre from Slovenia and the winning entry from Latvia’s Marie N, 2003 brought in some controversy with Russia’s pop duo t.A.t.U. Eurovision 2007 had drag act DQ that represented Denmark and Russia’s queer-bait spice with girl band Serebro. Also, how could we forget the other great drag act from 2007: Ukraine’s Verka Serduchka and the legendary “Dancing Lasha Tumbai”.
We also include ally Krista Siegfrieds’ pop banger “Marry Me” which represented Finland in 2013. Eurovision 2018’s two biggest queer moments were brought over to us by Ireland & Finland, as ally Ryan O’Shaughnessy’s “Together” was the break-up anthem the gays weren’t expecting but ended up loving; while Saara Aalto’s “Monsters” brought the empowerment we always need in our lives.
This rainbow revolution since the 2000s has also transcended the screen. With the expansion of the internet, and the growth of the contest’s online fan communities, most of which are composed of queer people, the sense of community amongst fans began to be built during this era. LGBTQ+ fans have become the core and center of the Eurovision community over the last three decades, and for many outside our bubble, there is a heavy association of ESC to the queer community. Our love and passion for this music contest not only helped keep it alive over the last several years. In addition was our dedication to it, which has contributed to the popularity it has achieved in this post-pandemic era, when Eurovision has more recently been the most mainstream it’s been in decades.
The contributions of queer folks both in front, and behind the scenes at ESC are key to what makes The Eurovision Song Contest, Eurovision, and have helped it stay afloat for so long. Our presence is felt at every event, at every fansite, at every online forum (that still exists), on every social media space related to the contest… wherever there’s conversation about Eurovision, you should expect a queer person leading the talk.
We’re here, we’re queer, and Eurovision is forever our home.
Happy Pride, Eurovision Fam!