United by a shared vision, countries came together in Switzerland in the 1950s for science, but also for music. Whether you love it or loathe it, you can’t ignore the parallels that the Eurovision Song Contest has with CERN, even if the shared visions are very different.

With Basel hosting the 2025 song contest, CERN was approached earlier this year to be one of the iconic Swiss locations featured in a “postcard” – a short film shown before a performance. Each artist was assigned a location, and CERN welcomed EMMY, the artist representing Ireland. Filmed at CERN Science Gateway, the CERN Control Centre and underground at the ATLAS experiment, the CERN postcard was shown in the second semi-final that aired on Thursday, 15 May. Sadly, EMMY didn’t make it to the final, so here is the video clip in case you missed it:

(Video: Eurovision/EBU)

What did make it to the final was a “Made in Switzerland” song showcasing inventions that included the World Wide Web at CERN (even if they referred to it as “internet”…). CERN continues to contribute to digital innovations for industry and society, and there are many ways in which the CERN community can be involved in knowledge transfer activities.

As the years have passed, both CERN and Eurovision have extended beyond Europe. In 2015, when Australia took part in Eurovision for the first time, CERN welcomed its first Associate Member State in the context of its geographical enlargement policy. In recent weeks, Ireland and Chile have become the latest countries to sign agreements to join the CERN family as new Associate Member States.

Whether countries are united by music or by pushing the boundaries of fundamental science, it is a cause for celebration!