This show is incredibly popular in Sweden. Winning it is more or less equivalent to winning the gold medal in hockey in the Olympics. I'm not sure how popular it is in the other countries, but I bet there is no other nation that is so fanatic about it as Sweden.

Anyway, you will see all kinds of performances, of highly questionable quality and the most star packed, from many different genres. Eurovision is supposed to be non-political. Last year, in Austria if I remember correctly, the audience booed to the Russian singer, but it was replaced by cheering by the broadcasters. This year the hosts started with reminding the audience that they all were there for the music only.

While the Ukrainian song was political, it didn't criticise any existing nation or institution, so I guess it's fair. The Russians started to whine and complain immediately after the show, but somehow they forgot that they got more telephone votes than anyone else.