“A feast for any Eurovision fan. As thorough a history of the contest as anyone could desire.” —Graham Norton

“This book definitely gets douze points from me.” —Mel Giedroyc

“A cornucopia of everything I wanted to know about modern history and the Eurovision Song Contest.” —Katrina Leskanich, Katrina and the Waves

“It’s a toss-up which will be first: England winning the World Cup again, or the UK winning Eurovision again. While you’re waiting, this book is the perfect companion.” —Tim Rice

“I’ve always thought Eurovision was just a joke, but Chris West shows how it has always been a mirror of cultural and political change. But he does give us some laughs too.” —Robert Tombs, Professor of Modern History, University of Cambridge

“For Europhiles, Europhobes and the Euro-cautious alike: witty, informed and insightful.” —Alison Light, author of Common People and senior associate at Pembroke College, Oxford

“Surprisingly erudite on Europe, its failings, and its triumphs, it’s a timely, readable and fun book!” —Tim Judah, author of In Wartime: Stories from Ukraine

“A highly entertaining history of modern Europe through the prism of Eurovision. This book shows that the contest has an essential role to play in international diplomacy.” —Nicola Clase, presenter of The Swedish Ambassador’s Guide to Eurovision on BBC Radio

“I curse Chris West for making Eurovision so entertaining I shall have to go back to watching it. He interweaves the often comic stories of the contest with the sometimes tragic recent history of our continent. All of human genius, and our capacity for screwing up, are here, told with wit, wisdom and humanity.” —Sir Stephen Wall, former British Permanent Representative to the EU

“A fascinating and accessible journey through post-war European politics. I’ve got several people already clamouring to borrow my copy after my enthusiastic ‘Did you know…?’ sharing moments as I was reading it.” —Debbie Young, author of Quick Change

“Reveals little-known parallels between the European Union and the Eurovision Song Contest. An essential read for followers of politics and popular music alike.” —Gordon Lewis, editor-in-chief of Vision (the UK’s Eurovision Magazine)
“This well-written book, with lots of historical facts, is a great read for those Eurovision fans that love a bit of European history, politics (not that the Eurovision Song Contest is political, of course!) and international relations thrown in, in an easily accessible format, and a little bit of tongue in cheek Eurovision humour for good measure in places. West finishes with his belief that Eurovision’s quirky, tolerant, heartfelt humanity is needed more than ever. We couldn’t agree more.” —The Eurovision Times