The Eurovision Song Contest is about more than just music. Should Canada compete?

A Canadian diva is singing for France at the annual festival of sequins and songs known as Eurovision.

While La Zarra's participation is welcomed by many fans, some Eurovision watchers feel that by not competing directly in the contest, Canada is missing out on a chance to wield cultural influence abroad.

"Eurovision is in and of itself a form of international relations, except it's focused on music," said Saskia Postema, a Dutch academic who has written about the song contest.

After almost 70 years on the air, the Eurovision Song Contest has amassed an annual worldwide audience of more than 160 million people. And while 'Euro' is in the name, there's precedent for non-European countries getting involved.

Australia has been in the contest since 2015. Israel joined in the 1970s and has won several times. Winning nations get to host the contest the following year. That exposure is valuable, said Paul Jordan, a British academic who wrote his doctoral thesis about Eurovision.

"Soft power comes into it, which is why a lot of countries see value in hosting this event," Jordan told CBC's The House. Ukraine, he said, entered the contest in 2003 with the goal of improving its international image.

"Other countries might kind of mock Eurovision, but for smaller nations, particularly newly independent ones, it's a really big opportunity to showcase your country," he said.

Ukraine won Eurovision last year but the U.K. — 2022's runner up — is hosting this year on Ukraine's behalf because of the war with Russia. The U.K. has a series of celebrations planned for the event, including a watch party at the High Commissioner's residence in Ottawa.

"Part of our job as diplomats is around public diplomacy, and soft power is a really important part of that," said High Commissioner Susannah Goshko, adding that music and culture are "really important part[s] of telling the story about a country."

On Thursday, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the group of public broadcasters that runs the contest, rejected a request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address the Eurovision finale. The EBU said it would breach the contest's "strict rules and principles" prohibiting political statements.

But politics still plays a role in many aspects of the contest — including how the songs are ranked.

The U.K. won the professional jury vote last year — but after the public telephone votes were counted, Ukraine won by a landslide. People across Europe voted overwhelmingly for the embattled nation.

"Everything becomes political when the whole reason of your contest is being challenged, which is the unity of Europe. And suddenly that was at stake," said Postema.

"Ukraine winning was symbolically imbued with the idea of Europe supporting Ukraine," Toronto Star theatre critic Karen Fricker told CBC's The House from Liverpool, U.K., where the contest is being held.