Who We Are: Soft power, reinvention and representation.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Eurovision is that it allows countries to choose how they want to represent themselves to the rest of the world. In no other international event do countries have such a blank-slate. Sometimes their music and staging choices correspond to and reinforce the stereotypes we have of them: Ireland on stage with Irish dancers, Italy with a backdrop of Roman statuary, Romania represented by a vampire.

But some countries consistently throw us for a loop, as if they are rebranding themselves year after year.

When things get really interesting is when the image that a country presents on the Eurovision stage does not at all correspond with the realities at home…

In this unit, countries under the spotlight include: Sweden, Turkey, France, Israel, Azerbaijan and Russia.