[Commlist] New book: Designing Eurovision: Performance Scenography on an International Stage

/Designing Eurovision: Performance Scenography on an International Stage
/Edited by Amy Skinner and Catherine Baker

https://www.routledge.com/Designing-Eurovision-Performance-Scenography-on-an-International-Stage/Skinner-Baker/p/book/9781032718750 
<https://www.routledge.com/Designing-Eurovision-Performance-Scenography-on-an-International-Stage/Skinner-Baker/p/book/9781032718750> 


/Designing Eurovision/ is the first book-length study of the visual and 
design elements of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC).

As a unique visual phenomenon and commonly associated with spectacle 
performances, the scenography of Eurovision is in reality far more 
nuanced and layered, balancing acts of national identity-building with 
host country branding, visual tourism and cross-cultural aesthetics. The 
event demonstrates how ideological spaces are built across Europe and 
the wider world, highlighting the function of performance scenography in 
socio-political nation-building. Although the importance of the visual 
elements of Eurovision is widely acknowledged, this is the first volume 
to put ESC design front and centre, discussing the critical and 
practical aspects of creating performance scenography for this 
international stage. In addition, the volume highlights the significance 
of Eurovision in the development of performance technologies, frequently 
functioning as a test-bed for technological innovations in stage design 
for broadcast arena events. It also explores the visual design-led 
elements of the contest (set, costume, lighting and projection) and 
addresses the broader spatial dynamics of the ESC, exploring the 
socio-political elements of Eurovision performance space. The fluid 
relationship between the ESC as live performance and as Europe’s largest 
televised cultural event opens up additional discussions in the book 
related to the role of liveness in scenographic practice.

This volume brings a unique focus on the materiality of the Eurovision 
stage, addressing multipronged topics including the history of ESC 
technologies, ESC scenography and national identity, ESC aesthetics and 
design, and the ESC host city as stage. It also incorporates interviews 
with practitioners who have worked on design elements for the ESC, 
giving practical perspectives on design at the contest. It will be of 
interest to researchers and scholars of theatre and performance, 
scenography, the Eurovision Song Contest, popular performance, and media 
and cultural studies, among others.

Contents

Introduction: The Eurovision Song Contest through scenography and 
performance design
Amy Skinner and Catherine Baker

1. Eurovision as Combinatoire: the complex construction of the lighting 
and video in the Eurovision Song Contest
Nick Hunt

2. The scenography of backstage labour at Eurovision
Kelli Zezulka

3. ‘Let’s create our own world on that stage’: a conversation with 
Andrew Cartmell
Andrew Cartmell and Catherine Baker

4. Accommodating multitudes: stage design and live production challenges 
at the Eurovision Song Contest during the 1980s and 1990s
José Luis Panea

5. ‘It’s a song contest, but it’s also in many ways a technical 
competition’: A chronology of Eurovision and a conversation with Ola Melzig
Mig Walsh

6. ‘Welcoming Ukraine, Europe, and the world to Liverpool with open 
arms’: a conversation with Julio Himede
Julio Himede and Catherine Baker

7. A semblance of interaction: exploring logistical and theoretical 
issues within Eurovision’s interactive digital performances
Ed Grimoldby

8. Designing a space for reflection: the case of Konstrakta
Duška Radosavljević

9. ‘An ever-changing feast of ideas’: A conversation with Jake Linzey
Jake Linzey and Amy Skinner

10. Costuming Eurovision: Trends, bodies, and technological futures
Sofia Pantouvaki

11. ‘That’s how you’re representing yourself to the world’: A 
conversation with Alin Le’Kal
Alin Le’Kal and Amy Skinner

12. Creating a world(ing) United By Music: interventions of cultural 
diplomacy between Ukraine and the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song 
Contest 2023
Rachel Campbell

13. Staging the nation: the politics of Eurovision host stages
Lara Maleen Kipp

14. The city as a stage: urban scenography and Liverpool’s city-based 
programming at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest
Catherine Baker

15. ‘Scenography gives the starting point for your imagination’: a 
conversation with TRI.Direction
TRI.Direction and Amy Skinner
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