backdrop

Universal Words (BrE also backcloth) noun 1 a painted piece of fabric that is hung behind the stage in a theatre as part of the scenery 2 (written) the scenery surrounding an event: The mountains provided a dramatic backdrop for our picnic. 3 (written) the general conditions in which an event takes place, which sometimes help to explain that event: It was against this backdrop of racial tension that the civil war began.