Canada Is Getting Its Own Eurovision Song Contest Spinoff

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Apr 26, 2022

The Eurovision Song Contest has made plans to come to Canada, announcing that the country will get its own national edition of the songwriting competition show.

Arriving in 2023, Eurovision Canada will feature artists "representing every musical genre imaginable" from each province and territory. Details surrounding a broadcast partner and hosts will be announced in the coming weeks.

Like other editions of the competition, Eurovision Canada will see artists go head-to-head in a series of televised qualifier competitions, which are followed by semi-finals, and the "ultimate primetime Grand Finale."

"The Eurovision Song Contest's unique legacy dates back 67 years and its worldwide popularity continues to grow. It is time for Canada to join the party and become a player in this worldwide spectacle," Eurovision executive supervisor Martin Österdahl said in a statement. "The love of music is universal and the celebration of music's different genres and styles transcends boundaries, uniting people in a way that no other art form can. We are excited to have found the best partners to offer another version of this joyful phenomenon to new fans and to share this remarkable competition with the Canadian people."

Held annually since 1956 (save for 2020), the Eurovision Song Contest is the world's longest-running international televised music competition. While Canada has never competed as a nation, previous editions of the contest have been broadcast in the country.

Of course, a Canadian connection to Eurovision comes with Céline Dion's 1988 victory, for which she represented Switzerland. You can revisit her performance of "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi" below.

An American edition of Eurovision, called American Song Contest, began airing earlier this year. In February, Russia was barred from the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest over "the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine."

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