The set design of the Eurovision Song Contest: aesthetics, technology and cultural identity at the dawn of European reconstruction (1956-1993)

The Eurovision Song Contest is gaining ground as a subject of academic research because of the identity aspects (such as ethnic, national and gender questions) it showcases as a transcultural phenomenon. Due to it is the longest-running non-sports show on television, with a millionaire audience and a huge logistical and technical display, we will analyse its aesthetic dimensions, specifically the scenography design, keeping in mind the little bibliography found specifically about these issues. Hence, we will describe which imaginaries the different venues of the Song Contest have promoted through their scenography in its host cities based on audiovisual recourses and technical innovations of the moment. These imaginaries will constantly debate the imposition of a certain symbolic framework by the hosts and a neutral accommodation for each candidate participating on it. Being celebrated annually and having 63 years of history, the field of study will remain limited to a first period, from its debut in 1956 to mid-nineties, coinciding with the signing of European Treaties such as the Rome and Maastricht ones. Treaties linked to the idea of transnational exchange and cooperation Eurovision advocates resulting, in the late nineties, in the meta-European blockbuster media event well known today.