Welcome all Eurovision fans, language lovers and trivia buffs. For the fifth time, I am going to delve into the interesting data of languages at the Eurovision Song Contest – complete with my own personal analyses, very basic graphs and a look at developing patterns. If these things appeal to you (and why wouldn’t they?), then you are in exactly the right place.
So you might have found yourself wondering: what exactly is the deal with foreign languages at Eurovision? And it’s a good question! Since 1998, competing countries have been free to sing in whatever language they choose: be it French, Latin (Serbia 2022), an imaginary language (Belgium 2003 and 2008) – or, of course, English.
Since 1998, English has come to dominate at the contest, which I go into in my detail in my article on the rise of the English language at Eurovision. So I think it’s interesting to look year-by-year for any hint that things might be changing.
Let’s see how Eurovision 2023 shapes up in comparison to previous years and see what we can expect in Liverpool in May.
*Please note: in this post, I will occasionally use the phrase ‘foreign language’ to denote non-English languages. This is purely because re-using the phrase ‘songs performed at-least partly in a language other than English’ is just boring and awkward. I am aware that French is not a foreign language in France, obviously.
How many entries in Eurovision 2023 feature a foreign language?
Of the entire 37 songs we will hear on stage in Liverpool, 14 will be sung at least partially in a language other than English. This represents 38% of entries for 2023.
Which countries are singing in their own language this year?
Albania, Armenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Italy, Moldova, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain and Ukraine will be singing in their respective national languages. (Of course, the UK, Australia, Ireland and Malta will also be singing in their national language of English.)
Breakdown of languages at Eurovision 2023
Interestingly, the Czech Republic’s entry features not just English and Czech but also Ukrainian and Bulgarian. (We will also hear two repeated words in Lithuanian and three in Latvian in their respective entries, but I have omitted these from the analysis below.)
How does this compare to previous years?
As you can see from the graph below, there’s been a dip in the both the absolute number of foreign language entries this year and the relative percentage. (Although this remains higher than 2021 and 2020).
Honestly, I find this a little disappointing considering the amazing performance of non-English songs over the past two contests; neither of the winning entries for 2021 and 2022 were English-language songs (performed entirely in Italian and Ukrainian, respectively). This was the first instance of back-to-back non-English winners since 1990 and 1991. In fact, looking at the top 10 of last year’s contest, only three songs didn’t feature a country’s national language: Sweden (4th), Greece (8th) and Norway (10th).
Could a third non-English winner be on the cards in 2023…?
Which languages are returning this year?
After a seven-year absence, we will be hearing Finnish again at this year’s contest, thanks to Käärijä’s addictive Cha Cha Cha. Similarly, Czech will be returning to the Eurovision stage again this year after a whopping 16 years (although Benny Cristo did sing two brief lines in Czech in 2021).
Czech band Vesna will be singing in Czech, English, Bulgarian and Ukrainian
Interestingly, Bulgarian will be returning to the contest for the first time since 2016 – despite Bulgaria not participating in the contest this year. The Czech Republic will be represented this year by avant-garde folk group Vesna. The group was founded to celebrate Slavic sisterhood, which is captured perfectly by their entry My Sister’s Crown, which is sung in English, Czech, Bulgarian and Ukrainian.
Languages at Eurovision 2023: interesting trends and trivia
Double Trouble: Two firsts in the contest
Great news for any trivia fans: Eurovision 2023 is the first contest in history to feature two songs in Romanian in the same year and two songs featuring Ukrainian.
TVORCHI will sing in both English and Ukrainian
Romanian is the national language of both Romania and Moldova but interestingly, this is the first time in Eurovision history that both countries will sing in Romanian in the same year. Moldova has sung at least partially in Romanian five times, while this is the eighth Romanian entry to feature the language.
Also cropping up in two entries this year is Ukrainian. Ukraine will sing partially in Ukrainian for the fourth successive time, whilst the Czech Republic’s entry will feature Ukrainian for the first time.
The Balkans: a hot spot for national languages
Interestingly, every Balkan country except Greece will be singing at least partially in a native language this year. Former Yugoslav countries Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia, as well as Albania have a strong record of performing in their national language, but this year both Romania and Moldova will be joining too. Disappointingly, Greece has a strong track record of singing only in English.
Will we see another non-English language winner in Liverpool?
It is possible. Of the countries singing in a national language, Finland, Ukraine and Spain are all sitting in the top 5 of the odds on the day of writing (Sunday 26 March). However, it’s worth noting that Sweden’s odds are significantly higher than anyone else currently.
Finnish entrant Käärija will be bringing the Finnish language back to the Eurovision stage in Liverpool
Additionally, whilst I absolutely love Finland’s energetic hardcore anthem, I can’t imagine it will score well with the juries. Similarly, while Spain’s Blanca might do well with the jury vote, I can’t imagine the casual Eurovision viewer enjoying her wailing Spanish. (I’m sorry but I really hate that song.) But I have been wrong before!
Looking ahead: can we expect more foreign languages at Eurovision 2024 and beyond?
The easiest answer I can give here is: I really, really hope so. But truthfully, it’s very hard to predict.
The top 10 at Eurovision 2022 saw a high proportion of non-English entries
Things are definitely looking positive for national languages at Eurovision – as I mentioned previously, the top 10 last year was overwhelming made up of entries sung in a national language. And in fact, the top 4 songs in the televote were in Ukrainian, Romanian, Spanish and Serbian and interestingly, 10 of the 14 foreign-language entries for this year were chosen in local national finals. This suggests that the audience appetite for foreign language entries is strong – both at home and abroad.
France can always be relied on to perform in their national language and 2023 entrant La Zarra is no exception
However, this year seems to feature very little experimentation when it comes to foreign languages. For instance, after singing in Dutch and Lithuanian last year respectively, both the Netherlands and Lithuania have gone back to English. Similarly, we see can that it’s the “usual suspects” who are again singing in their native languages this year, such as Spain, Italy, France, Portugal and the Balkans.
But I think there is every reason to be hopeful. After all, we all know how wonderfully unpredictable Eurovision is. And if you want proof, then look no further than my analysis of last year’s contest, where I confidently predicted that the Netherlands would finish in the top 3 (S10 came 11th) and implied I did not believe Chanel from Spain would do well (she came 3rd). But bad predictions aside, my point is: I look forward to seeing what happens in Liverpool in May.
What are your predictions? Comment below!