In 1944, the Soviet Union deported hundreds of thousands of Crimean Tatars from Crimea, one of whom was the Ukrainian artist Jamala's great-grandmother Nazylchan. Almost a hundred years later, and only two years after Russia's annexation of Crimea, Jamala represents Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "1944". The song is about the great-grandmother's experiences of the deportation of Crimean Tatars and was accused of containing political messages, which becomes relevant as the competition prohibits all kinds of political elements. The contribution was reviewed by the EBU, the European Broadcasting Union, and was not judged to be political. The Eurovision Song Contest is an avowedly non-political competition that was started after the Second World War with the aim of keeping the peace in Europe and giving Europeans something to unite around. The countries participating in the competition nominate artists and songs that represent the country in the international music competition. This study examines how the case of Jamala and the contribution "1944" has been used in and outside the competition by Jamala to create awareness and mobilize support for both Ukraine and Crimean Tatars with the deportation of Crimean Tatars in 1944, the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. To examine how Jamala identifies with her family, how she relates to what is political and what is not, as well as how she and other representatives of countries in international cultural events can be understood as political ambassadors, this study can provide some answers to how politics, national identity and representation in that type of context can be understood to be related. / År 1944 deporterade Sovjetunionen hundratusentals krimtatarer från Krim, en av dem var artisten Jamalas gammelfarmor Nazylchan. Nästan hundra år senare och bara två år efter Rysslands annektering av Krim ställer Jamala upp som representant för Ukraina i Eurovision Song Contest 2016 med låten "1944". Låten handlar om gammelfarmoderns upplevelser av deportationen av krimtatarer och anklagas för att innehålla politiska budskap, vilket blir relevant då tävlingen förbjuder alla typer av politiska inslag. Bidraget granskas av EBU, the European Broadcasting Union, och bedöms inte vara politisk. Eurovision Song Contest är en uttalat icke-politisk tävling som startades efter andra världskriget med syfte att behålla freden i Europa och ge européerna något att enas kring. Länderna som medverkar i tävlingen utser artister och låtar som representerar landet i den internationella musiktävlingen. Denna studie undersöker hur fallet Jamala och bidraget "1944" använts i och utanför tävlingen av Jamala för att skapa medvetenhet kring och mobilisera stöd till såväl Ukraina som krimtatarer i och med deportationen av krimtatarer 1944, annekteringen av Krim 2014 samt invasionen av Ukraina 2022. Genom att undersöka hur Jamala identifierar sig med sin familj, hur hon förhåller sig till vad som är politiskt och inte samt hur hon och andra representanter för länder i internationella kulturella evenemang kan förstås som politiska ambassadörer kan denna studie ge några svar på hur politik, nationell identitet och representation i den typen av sammanhang kan förstås höra samman.

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This thesis examines how member nations manage their national identities within the supranational context of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) and the significance of the ESC in creating a shared European identity. Patterns of identification and attitudes relating to culture, ethnicity/nationality, religion/faith, and gender/sex are discovered by studying the winning submissions from 1998 to 2022 through content analysis and discourse analysis. The ESC acts as a soft power instrument by encouraging member nations' sense of solidarity and cultivating respect for and understanding of other cultures. It serves as a platform for cross- cultural dialogue, self-promotion, and nation branding, fostering diplomatic connections and providing opportunities for commercial and cultural exchanges.  The ESC emphasizes the dichotomy between national and European identity, but it also demonstrates how these identities intersect and support one another. It advances the formation of a European identity while giving states a forum to showcase their national and cultural identities. The ESC influences notions of European identity and defines what it means to be European.