Eurovision history: Western Balkans




The Globalist show

Summary: For the second instalment of our special Eurovision series this week, we look at the Western Balkans. The event might be a light-hearted matter in Britain and much of western Europe but in the East it’s a serious matter – an opportunity for countries to send out messages about who they are and, of course, who their friends and enemies are. A prime example is Serbia. The country won on its first appearance in the contest with ‘Molitva’ (‘Prayer’), by Marija Šerifović. And as our Belgrade correspondent, Guy de Launey, explains, the victory was as much about the singer as the song.