The purpose of this thesis was to analyze the visual representation of Finland's representative Käärijä's performance Cha Cha Cha in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. The starting point of this study was to challenge the notion that the performance would have been merely an entertaining musical piece without any deeper meaning. The aim was to identify and interpret the meanings of all the versatile visual elements in this audiovisual material and to indicate how the meanings are conveyed to the viewers. Furthermore, one objective was to find an answer to the question why this act gained so much popularity amongst large crowds. Käärijä's case was exceptional in the Finnish Eurovision history.

As a research method was qualitative content analysis. The theoretical framework of this thesis applied semiotics with an open attitude to the matters found in the data. The knowledge base of the research consisted of scientific and media articles related to the topic, literature on communication and semiotic studies and social media sources. The research material was the official recording of the Cha Cha Cha performance from the live broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest final in 2023.

The results of the study showed that the visual representation of the Cha Cha Cha performance was a consistently constructed and carefully considered narrative entity with a profound message hidden in it. It was a story about a battle with one's identity, self-liberation, and finally self-acceptance, told from the perspective of a Finnish man.

In conclusion, the popularity of the show was partly explained by its meaningful and well thought out visual choices. The enormous power of social media and the performance's appealing to young and youthful people may have contributed to the popularity of Käärijä's performance as well.

The study is an interesting example of the effectiveness of visual communication and the potential ambiguity of media content located somewhere between entertainment and art. The study provides an inspiring example of a Finnish success story in an international environment for professionals working in audiovisual productions, performing arts and generally in the field of visual communication.