London | Europe’s continental carnival of kitsch costumes and corny pop – the one and only Eurovision – is back with a vengeance this year, dialling up the silliness and the seriousness in equal measure.

The frilly song-and-dance contest is supposed to eschew politics, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – and the beleaguered Ukrainians’ victory in the competition last year – has got performers and organisers alike testing that rule to near-destruction.