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Last week, Britain crowned a king. This week, it will help bestow Europe鈥檚 pop crown.

The Eurovision Song Contest is returning to the U.K. for the first time in 25 years, but the heart of the glitzy music competition will be in Ukraine.

Britain is hosting the event on behalf of the war-battered country, and organizers have vowed to make it a celebration of Ukrainian spirit and culture.

The contest saw musical acts from 37 countries perform original songs in the English city of Liverpool.聽 A grand final on Saturday of 26 acts will be watched by an estimated 160 million people.

For fans and first-timers alike, here鈥檚 an essential Eurovision guide:

What is Eurovision, anyway?

First staged in 1956, Eurovision was founded to help unite a shattered continent after World War II and to test nascent live-broadcasting technology.

Initially, the contest was a sedate affair featuring crooners in ballgowns and tuxedos. It began to let its hair down during the swinging 1960s and reached pop perfection in 1974, when ABBA won with 鈥淲aterloo,鈥� propelling the band toward superstardom and jump-starting Sweden鈥檚 music industry.

Since then, the contest has expanded across Europe and beyond 鈥� Israel and Australia are both entrants 鈥� with ever-more elaborate staging and eye-popping costumes.

Eurovision also has become a celebration of diversity, with a huge LGBTQ+ following that was celebrated when Israel鈥檚 Dana International became the contest鈥檚 first transgender winner in 1998.

Above all, the competition is a crash course in the continent鈥檚 wonderfully varied musical tastes. Winners have ranged from Canadian chanteuse Celine Dion, who competed for Switzerland in 1988, to frightful mask-wearing Finnish metalheads Lordi in 2006 and bearded Austrian drag performer Conchita Wurst in 2014.

Italian rock band M氓neskin parlayed its 2021 Eurovision victory into a substantial international career, with gigs at major U.S. festivals and a stint opening for the Rolling Stones on tour.

Last year, Ukrainian folk-rap band Kalush Orchestra triumphed, delivering a morale boost for a country battling Russia鈥檚 invasion.

Paul Jordan, an expert on the contest who is known as 鈥淒r. Eurovision,鈥� said the competition has become a treasured part of European culture.

鈥淵ou can go to Spain, Slovenia, wherever 鈥� everyone鈥檚 heard of it,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey may not love it, they may not like it, they may not watch it, but everyone鈥檚 heard of it. Everyone鈥檚 got an opinion. I think it鈥檚 really powerful, and it鈥檚 a brilliant icebreaker.鈥�

Where pop meets politics

Eurovision is about much more than music. It鈥檚 diplomacy with a disco beat, a forum in which countries can boost their profiles and play out regional rivalries.

Organizers strive to keep pop and politics apart; overtly political symbols and lyrics are prohibited. But global tensions have often imposed themselves on the contest. Ukraine has several times used its entries to criticize Russia, winning in 2016 with a song about the expulsion of Crimea鈥檚 Tatars by Stalin in 1944.

Russia was banned from the contest last year after it invaded Ukraine. Belarus had been kicked out the previous year over its government鈥檚 clampdown on dissent.

Dean Vuletic, an academic expert on Eurovision, said that by banning Russia, Eurovision lost one of its biggest national audiences and 鈥渙ne of its most enthusiastic participants.鈥�

鈥淏ut Eurovision is also a platform on which values are expressed, around which values are constructed,鈥� Mr. Vuletic said, and pressure from member nations forced the European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, to act.

Eurovision 鈥渉as always reflected cultural, political, and social change in Europe,鈥� he said. 鈥淸It鈥檚] a way to measure the zeitgeist in Europe.鈥�

A musical melange

Eurovision was long associated with fluffy 3-minute pop songs 鈥� previous winners include the likes of 鈥淟a, La, La鈥� and 鈥淏oom Bang-a-Bang.鈥�

But Mr. Vuletic says it鈥檚 no longer 鈥渢he contest with silly songs, innocuous lyrics that it perhaps used to be.鈥� He says a third of this year鈥檚 entries deal lyrically with 鈥渢oxic relationships, anxiety鈥� and other mental health issues. Another batch of songs is about war.

Musically, contestants range from pop ballads like 鈥淧ower鈥� by Iceland鈥檚 Dilj谩 and relationship-breakup dance track 鈥淚 Wrote a Song鈥� by Britain鈥檚 Mae Muller to the electronica of 鈥淗eart of Steel鈥� by Ukraine鈥檚 Tvorchi. Austrian duo Teya & Salena offer an offbeat tribute to Edgar Allen Poe, 鈥淲ho the Hell is Edgar?鈥� while Croatia鈥檚 Let 3 belts out antiwar rock opera 鈥淢ama 艩膶!鈥�

Eurovision鈥檚 complex voting system, which awards points from juries of music industry professionals as well as viewers across Europe, makes winners notoriously hard to predict.

Bookmakers鈥� favorites include Finnish entry K盲盲rij盲鈥檚 pop-metal party tune 鈥淐ha Cha Cha鈥� and the power ballad 鈥淭attoo鈥� by Sweden鈥檚 Loreen, who previously won the contest in 2012. Singer La Zarra, competing for France, is also highly ranked for her Edith Piaf-esque chanson 鈥溍塿idemment.鈥�

U.K.-Ukraine fusion

The United Kingdom stepped in to host the contest for Ukraine after last year鈥檚 British entry, Sam Ryder, finished second. As Mr. Ryder put it: 鈥淚t鈥檚 Ukraine鈥檚 party. We鈥檙e just inviting them to throw it at our house.鈥�

The final will be co-hosted by Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina and will feature a performance by the Kalush Orchestra and other representatives of Ukrainian culture. Several thousand Ukrainian refugees in Britain have received tickets to attend.

Mr. Ryder鈥檚 strong showing last year with 鈥淪paceman鈥� helped transform Eurovision鈥檚 image in the U.K. Long viewed as a guilty pleasure 鈥� amid perennial grumbling over the country鈥檚 poor results 鈥� it is now a source of pride and celebration.

Several U.K. cities competed to host the event, and the winner Liverpool is in a party mood. The port city that gave birth to The Beatles went through tough times as the U.K. industry collapsed in the late 20th century. It has since reinvented itself as a hub for sports, culture, and nightlife 鈥� a resilience that fits well with Ukraine, Mr. Jordan says.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a real creative hub, and I think it鈥檚 going to be a brilliant host city 鈥� apart from the weather,鈥� he said.

This weekend鈥檚 Eurovision Song Contest will have Ukrainian flags, Ukrainian musicians, and Ukrainian fans 鈥� but not the country鈥檚 wartime leader.

Organizers say they rejected a request from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to make a video address to the final of the pan-continental music competition on Saturday. He was expected to urge the world to continue its support for Ukraine鈥檚 fight to repel the Russian invasion.

The European Broadcasting Union, a grouping of national public broadcasters that runs Eurovision, said that letting Mr. Zelenskyy participate would breach 鈥渢he nonpolitical nature of the event.鈥�

聽This story was reported by The Associated Press.