The annual Eurovision Song Contest is set to rock the Swedish city of Malmo this week with its famous blend of over-the-top enthusiasm and questionable voting. This year a total of 39 countries have entered, while long-running enthusiasts Turkey have withdrawn, along with Portugal, Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

2013 marks Eurovision’s fifty-eighth outing, and the contest’s popularity shows no sign of abating with increasing numbers of non-Europeans tuning in to be part of the hilarity. The contest is adored by its fans for its almost-comical presentation, outrageously experimental costumes, often laughable song quality and arguably politically-based voting. Its lack of global credibility has lead to a camp, endearing quality for viewers, which has encouraged an almost cult status in some regions.

Despite being derided by critics, the Eurovision Song Contest has nonetheless launched the careers of numerous global stars including Celine Dion (1988), ABBA (1974) and Julio Iglesias (1980). 1980s rock star Bonnie Tyler has been chosen to represent the United Kingdom at this year’s contest, although she recently told The Telegraph that she was a “Welsh lamb to slaughter” and that she didn’t care if she won or not.

The nationality of the winner in one year dictates the host country for the following year; Sweden’s Loreen won last year’s contest in Baku, Azerbaijan with her performance of ‘Euphoria’, hence securing Sweden’s hosting rights for this year.

Voting is conducted by the broadcaster in each European country. Commentators regularly point to bias in the voting process for Eurovision, with friendly neighboring countries often voting for each other, while nations on less cordial terms voting against each other. Greece and Cyprus are often noted for swapping votes, as are Romania and Moldova. Unsurprisingly, Turkey rarely votes for the Israeli entry, while Armenia even boycotted the contest last year over an ongoing diplomatic dispute with Azerbaijan.

The contest comprises two semi-finals and a grand final, with this year’s semi-finals to be held on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and the finalists’ performances held on Saturday night. In Australia, where the broadcast of the competition is delayed so as to be shown over the weekend, the Eurovision Song Contest has a devoted cult following, and fans often host tongue-in-cheek Eurovision parties. In India and Pakistan the contest does not attract such audiences, mostly owing to a lack of shared modern cultural history between the subcontinent and Europe.

The three nights of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest will be broadcast on SBS One in Australia at 8:30pm Friday, 7:30pm Saturday and 7:30pm Sunday. Host Julia Zemiro will also present a documentary called The Heart of Eurovision on Friday night at 7:30pm on SBS One. Indians and Pakistanis can watch on the Eurovision Song Contest website.