Norway = Swahili?

Thought I'd share something that relates a lot to the American = White? discussion. This weekend was Eurovision, a really big (and horrific) Europe-wide song competition. Countries pick a song to represent them, and once they're all performed all the countries vote on whose was best.

A lot of the time, the songs picked are either standard Euro trash or ridiculously patriotic, would-be national anthems. For example, this year Belarus entered with a song called "I Love Belarus"; Greece's entries almost always celebrate some national stereotype (once they entered with a song titled "Greece, Country Of Light"); and the ethno-political messages are everywhere: Armenia once effectively annexed half of Azerbaijan in a song, and one of Serbia's entries was a direct response to Ottoman oppression.

Usually the choice of song is a source of drama, because it carries so many connotations about how the country wishes to present itself (state-funded TV networks are responsible for selecting the songs). This is especially true when ethnic minorities try out. Israel was in a state of uproar two years ago when an Arab-Israeli (20% of the population) was chosen by public vote, singing part of the song in Arabic. When a Turkish Cypriot (18% of the population) attempted to represent Cyprus, it also provoked a lot of drama.

This year, Norway was represented by a song that was partially sung in Swahili, and performed by a singer of Kenyan origin. And it was chosen by public vote, which I thought was really cool. Even cooler has been the total lack of controversy about the choice, which I think reflects a much less defensive, narrow-minded perception of national identity among Norwegians compared to other Europeans (and Americans), especially considering how tiny the Kenyan minority (less than 1%) is in Norway. Imagine, for example, if a French Algerian attempted to represent France with a song in Arabic, or if the US was represented with a song performed in Spanish.

(Be warned, Eurovision songs are always terrible, so don't expect anything close to good when listening).