BASEL, Switzerland -- Ukraine’s musicians can’t escape war, even at the Eurovision Song Contest. Rock band Ziferblat were in Basel, Switzerland to represent their country when they learned the home of backing singer Khrystyna Starykova in a frontline region of eastern Ukraine had been destroyed by Russian shelling.

The competition is run by an opaque Swiss organization that wants to sidestep controversies that could spoil the fun.

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Finnish politicians have long used saunas, relaxed but exposing, as an ideal setting for hard talks, a practice known as “sauna diplomacy.” KAJ wear drab suits onstage in tribute to Urho Kekkonen, a long-serving Finnish president who famously deployed the technique in talks with Finland’s overbearing neighbor the Soviet Union.

The Eurovision Song Contest returned tonight for the first semi-final of the competition but things didn't seem to go to plan for host Switzerland's act Zoë Më in a performance

Eurovision winner Nemo on ‘insanity of having glittery party’ amid world events - The Swiss non-binary singer, 25, triumphed in Malmo, Sweden, and will return to the Eurovision stage in Switzerland.

Israel’s Yuval Raphael is keeping a low profile at the Eurovision Song Contest. The 24-year-old singer has done few interviews or appearances during Eurovision week, as Israel’s participation in the pan-continental pop music competition draws protests for a second year.

Big, bold and diplomatically dicey – the Eurovision Song Contest requires some strong personalities to steer its course through a week of semi and grand finals. Switzerland, known for its political neutrality,