The Eurovision Song Contest has evolved from being merely an entertainment event tobecoming a platform for political expression on various issues, despite prohibition. This thesis focuses on the 2024 contest and analyzes how political opinions were expressed during the official broadcasted events. The analysis covers the two semi-finals, the grand final, the opening ceremony, and three press conferences, in order to explore how political messages were conveyed in a setting where political statements are prohibited. Both actors and messages expressed have also been analyzed in order to understand which strategies have been used.

This qualitative case study contributes to a research gap in both the field of Eurovision as well as political communication in non-political settings. The framework used in this study is grounded in political communication, but has been specified by the author of this thesis to be applicable in non-political settings. The findings argue that different actors within the broadcasting have different ways in which they can express their political standpoints. Most actors participating in political expression used linguistic and visual symbolism to show their support for political movements without violating the contest's rules, while others were willing to risk consequences in order to make explicit political statements.