Singing Integration: How Shared Experiences Build Supranational Identity and Political Support

Abel François, Nicolas Lagios and Pierre-Guillaume Méon

No 26-015, Working Papers CEB from ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles

Abstract: Can shared experiences across nations foster people’s attachment to a community beyond the nation-state? The answer is a priori ambiguous: international events bring nations together around a common frame, but they also set them against one another. To answer this question, we study the Eurovision Song Con- test, an annual competition broadcast to a large transnational audience and organized around shared European values. Comparing respondents surveyed just before and after their country’s participation in the show, we find that the contest raises European identification, which complements national identity rather than substituting for it. The effect persists over time and is independent of the outcome of the event. Regarding mechanisms, we show that Eurovision changes the values individuals attribute to Europe without changing their own values, and identification increases when the two align. Importantly, the event has electoral consequences: in countries that narrowly qualify for the final, votes in European Parliament elections shift toward more pro-European parties.

Keywords: National identity; Supranational identity; Regional integration; Voting; Shared experiences; European integration; Eurovision Song Contest (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 D83 D91 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-10-12
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