The Eurovision Song Contest takes place this week in Vienna. To many Canadians, the five-day international contest may seem distant or even unfamiliar.
But the 2025 federal budget said Ottawa would “explore participation” in Eurovision, alongside a $150-million boost to the CBC.
The move comes as Canada looks to strengthen ties with the European Union — but also at a time when the contest itself is under strain.
Five countries — the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, Spain and Slovenia — have pulled out this year to protest Israel’s participation amidst its ongoing military action in Gaza.
Karen Fricker, a Brock University professor who has studied Eurovision for 25 years, says the show has always balanced entertainment and politics, but that balance is now breaking down.
“The is-it-political-or-is-it-not-political line is now a massive fault line around participation in the contest,” she said.
The Australia option
Since its founding in 1956 by the European Broadcasting Union, Eurovision has become a major phenomenon that attracts over 160-million viewers each year.
Eurovision can be thought of as a cross between the Olympic Games and American Idol: national public broadcasters each send one artist or band to perform one original song before a live audience.
The winner is chosen through a combination of national jury votes and public voting. Some notable past winners include Sweden’s ABBA, Ireland’s Johnny Logan, and Canada’s Céline Dion, who won in 1988 representing Switzerland.
The CBC has been an associate member of the European Broadcasting Union since 1950, but has never broadcast or participated in the contest.
A CBC spokesperson told Canadian Affairs in an email that the CBC is not eligible to participate in Eurovision as an associate member. An EBU spokesperson confirmed that position in an email to Canadian Affairs.
But Fricker notes that Australia’s Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), the country’s multicultural public broadcaster, is also an associate member of the EBU and has participated in Eurovision since 2015.
In a follow-up email, the CBC spokesperson said the CBC is “not pursuing an arrangement similar to Australia’s, with regard to [Eurovision] participation.”
The spokesperson added that the CBC is exploring closer collaboration with the EBU on initiatives like the Eurovision News Exchange and Euroradio Music Exchange, which would allow it to share news footage, audio and music content internationally.
Canadianizing the contest
Sources said Canadian participation in Eurovision would take time to achieve.
Unlike Canadian viewers, Australians were able to watch Eurovision on SBS for decades before Australia entered the competition in 2015.
Fricker says it would make sense for the CBC to start by simply broadcasting the event.
“In order for Eurovision to really work in Canada, there needs to be higher awareness of it,” she said.
She says the CBC could broadcast Eurovision the same way it covers the Olympics, with Canadian commentators explaining the event to a Canadian audience.
Jess Carniel, a researcher at the University of Southern Queensland who studies the contest, notes Australia’s integration into Eurovision was gradual.
“The EBU had been looking to expand into the Asia Pacific region for some time when Australia joined the contest,” Carniel told Canadian Affairs in an email.
She pointed to years of groundwork between Australia’s SBS broadcaster and Eurovision organizers before Australia officially joined, including dedicated Australian commentary booths and special segments highlighting Australian fans.
“All of these things are evidence of relationship building between the Australian partners and the EBU and about acculturating the global Eurovision audience with an Australian presence in the contest,” she said.
Fricker says full participation in the contest would be a significant undertaking.
“It’s a very complex, major live-entertainment event that requires research, fiscal investment, on-site viewing, and thinking about what Canadian national representation in Eurovision would look like,” she said.
The CBC told Canadian Affairs it is sending three staff to this year’s contest in Vienna as “observers.”
‘What makes it interesting’
Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland all competed in Eurovision in 2025. But their public broadcasters withdrew from the 2026 contest over the European Broadcasting Union’s decision to allow Israel to continue participating. Israel’s public broadcaster, KAN, is a full member of the EBU. Israel first participated in Eurovision in 1973.
Fricker says some degree of political friction is inevitable, and even part of the event’s appeal.
“We wouldn’t be here 70 years later if it were a talent contest that didn’t have national identification connected to it,” she said.
“That’s what makes it interesting — that these artists are representing their country, and it is their country that people are voting for, not the name of the artist.”
Eurovision formally bans overtly political songs, but Fricker says the line between culture and politics has always been contested.
“What is meant by ‘political’ is a deeply complex question,” she said.
Carniel says Canadian participation would likely ignite a broader debate about the contest’s identity.
“For another non-European country to join, such as Canada, the big lesson would be to be prepared for a lot of discussions about what the ‘Euro’ in Eurovision means,” she said.
Fricker says Canada would need to weigh the benefits of joining against the risks of entering the contest at a polarized time.
“On the one hand, I see the strategic reasons for Canada wanting to get involved in the contest,” she said. “On the other hand, this is a very touchy time to be entering this field.”
