text: In recent years, various political ideologies across Europe have clashed in the Eurovision setting, particularly on LGBT rights. Dana International's selection for the 1998 contest in Birmingham was marked by objections and death threats from orthodox religious sections of Israeli society, and at the contest her accommodation was reportedly in the only hotel in Birmingham with bulletproof windows. , once a regular participant and a one-time winner, first pulled out of the contest in , citing dissatisfaction in the voting rules and more recently Turkish broadcaster TRT have cited LGBT performances as another reason for their continued boycott, refusing to broadcast the 2013 event over 's same sex kiss. LGBT visibility in the contest has been cited as a deciding factor for 's non-participation since , although no official reason was given by the Hungarian broadcaster MTVA. The rise of anti-LGBT sentiment in Europe has led to a marked increase in booing from contest audiences, particularly since the introduction of a "gay propaganda" law in Russia in 2013. Conchita Wurst's win was met with criticism on the Russian political stage, with several conservative politicians voicing displeasure in the result. Clashes on LGBT visibility in the contest have occurred in countries which do not compete, such as in , where broadcasting rights were terminated during the 2018 contest due to censorship of "abnormal sexual relationships and behaviours" that went against Chinese broadcasting guidelines.
  Cultural influence
  The Eurovision Song Contest has amassed a global following and sees annual audience figures of between 100 and 600 million. The contest has become a cultural influence worldwide since its first years. It is regularly described as having kitsch appeal, and is included as a topic of parody in television sketches and in stage performances at the Edinburgh Fringe and Melbourne Comedy festivals amongst others. Several films have been created which celebrate the contest, including Eytan Fox's 2013 Israeli comedy Cupcakes, and the Netflix 2020 musical comedy, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, produced with backing from the EBU and starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams.