No contest: In corona era, Eurovision seeks to unite Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Shut down by the coronavirus crisis, Europe’s annual musical spectacular that pits countries against one another has instead sought to unite them. The Eurovision Song Contest that was supposed to be staged Saturday night was canceled amid the global restrictions to rein in the spread of the virus. So rather than judging songs from 41 artists from Albania to the United Kingdom and having countries allocate points to elect a winner, organizers created a two-hour show called “Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light” that was broadcast in more than 40 countries. From its humble beginnings in 1956, the contest has become a vector of camp and kitsch with almost 200 million viewers tuning in for the finale.