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The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition. The contest has been broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1956 and is one of the longest-running television programmes in the world. It is also one of the most watched non-sporting events in the world, with audience figures having been quoted in recent years as anything between 100 million and 600 million internationally.

Eurovision has also been broadcast outside Europe to such places as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, Uruguay and Venezuela despite the fact that that they do not compete. Since 2000, the contest has also been broadcast over the Internet, with more than 74,000 people in almost 140 countries having watched the 2006 edition online.

Facts[]

  • The first ever Contest was held on the 24 May 1956, in Lugano, Switzerland.
  • Since the Contest began no country that has performed second in the running order has ever won.
  • Before the time rule was introduced, the longest song was "Corde della mia chitarra" by Nunzio Gallo, which represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 1957 in Frankfurt-am-Main, West Germany. It lasted over five minutes.
  • Noel Kelehan conducted five winners (1980, 1987, 1992, 1993 and 1996).
  • Dutch conductor Dolf van der Linden conducted for seven different countries (Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland).
  • Johnny Logan won the Eurovision Song Contest three times. In 1980 and 1987 he represented Ireland as performer and won both times, in 1992 he wrote Linda Martin's winning entry "Why Me?".
  • Poland made the most impressive debut in 1994, when Edyta Górniak finished as runner-up with "To nie ja!", closely followed by Serbia's victory in 2007. Although Serbia and Montenegro had been represented twice before, it was the first time that Serbia took part as an independent country.
  • Norway can be found at the bottom of the list as many as eleven times! The unfortunates came last in 1963, 1969, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1990, 1997, 2001, 2004 and 2012. Nevertheless, they also won three times (in 1985, 1995 and 2009).
  • Luxembourg, France,  the United Kingdom and The Netherlands have won 5 times.
  • Since Ireland's victory on home ground in 1994, no country has won in consecutive years.  The closest any country has come is when host nations Norway, Ireland and the United Kingdom all finished as runner up from 1996 to 1998.
  • ABBA is the most successful Contest winner. The Swedish pop band won the contest in 1974.
  • In 2008, 2011 and 2018, a record number of 43 countries took part.
  • The most covered Eurovision Song Contest song is Domenico Modugno's "Nel blu, dipinto di blu", also known as "Volare". The song has been covered by famous stars such as Frank Sinatra, Cliff Richard, David Bowie and many more.
  • Televoting was introduced in 1997.
  • In 2004, the first televised semi-final was held. In 2008, a second semi-final was introduced.
  • Andorra is the only country that has never qualified for the grand final.
  • In 2009, some 124 million people watched the three live shows on television. In 2011, over 105 million people tuned in for the shows.
  • During the 2012 final, more than 1.5 million tweets were posted with the hashtag #eurovision, peaking already 20 minutes into the live broadcast (source).
  • In 2014, Austria set a new record for the longest gap between wins with a 48-year wait between its first and second win.
  • In 2015, the country became the first-ever host nation to finish in last place with Nul Points.
  • The same year the record for the shortest song in Eurovision history was broken by the Finnish entry "Aina mun pitää" by Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät, which lasts 1:27. The previous holder was the United Kingdom's 1957 Contest debut entry "All" by Patricia Bredin, which lasted 1:52.
  • In 2016, Ukraine won for the second time, thanks to the song "1944" by Jamala, making it the first former Soviet country to win the Contest twice.
  • In 2017, Portugal achieved its first-ever win after 53 years of participation.
  • At the same Contest, Kristian Kostov, who represented Bulgaria, was the first ever Eurovision contestant to be born in the 2000s. As of 2023, he holds the record for the most points scored in a Eurovision semi-final.
  • There has only been once in its history that it has not been held annually as the 2020 Contest in Rotterdam was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Duncan Laurence is Eurovision's longest-reigning winner. He held the title for 2 years and 4 days.
  • In 2021, Eden Alene, who represented Israel, set a new record by singing the highest note ever heard onstage - the nearly impossible B6.
  • In 2021, Ukraine set a new record as the only competing nation to have a 100% qualification streak since their Contest debut.
  • As of 2023, Germany holds the record for the most participations with 66 appearances, only failing once to be in the final, when it did not pass the audio-only qualifying round at the Eurovision Song Contest 1996.
  • As of 2023, Ireland now holds the record for the highest amount of non-qualifications since the semi-finals were introduced with eleven.
  • The final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was the first one in 26 years that saw the Top 3 not singing in English.
  • In February 2021, former Takasa member Emil Ramsauer celebrated his 103rd birthday, thus making him the oldest Contest participant still living. He had set a record in 2018 when he became the first-ever former participant to reach 100 years old. He died in December of 2021.
  • With their victory at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, Ukraine's representatives Kalush Orchestra became the first-ever rap group to win in the Contest's 66 year history. They also scored the highest ever amount of points in the televote. It was also the country's third victory, extending their record as the only former Soviet country to win the Contest as many times.
  • As of 2022, the United Kingdom holds the record for the most runner up positions with sixteen.
  • The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was the first one since the 1980 Contest in The Hague that was not held in the country of the previous year’s winner.
  • The United Kingdom holds the record as host nation on nine occasions - five as winners and four by deferral of the winning nation from the previous year.
  • In 2023, Sweden equaled Ireland's total of seven victories. Loreen also became the first woman and second competitor to claim victory twice as a performer for her home country.
  • The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will be the first to use the same slogan as that of the previous year and it will continue this way for subsequent Contests.

Official website[]

References[]

Eurovision Song Contest
Winners
Lys AssiaCorry BrokkenAndré ClaveauTeddy ScholtenJacqueline BoyerJean-Claude PascalIsabelle AubretGrethe & Jørgen IngmannGigliola CinquettiFrance GallUdo JürgensSandie ShawMassielSaloméLuluLenny KuhrFrida BoccaraDanaSéverineVicky LeandrosAnne-Marie DavidABBATeach-InBrotherhood of ManMarie MyriamIzhar Cohen & AlphabetaMilk & HoneyJohnny LoganBucks FizzNicoleCorinne HermèsHerreysBobbysocks!Sandra KimJohnny LoganCéline DionRivaToto CutugnoCarolaLinda MartinNiamh KavanaghPaul Harrington & Charlie McGettiganSecret GardenEimear QuinnKatrina and the WavesDana InternationalCharlotte NilssonOlsen BrothersTanel Padar & Dave Benton with 2XLMarie NSertab ErenerRuslanaHelena PaparizouLordiMarija ŠerifovićDima BilanAlexander RybakLenaEli & NikkiLoreenEmmelie de ForestConchita WurstMåns ZelmerlöwJamalaSalvador SobralNettaDuncan LaurenceMåneskinKalush OrchestraLoreen
Winning Songs
RefrainNet als toenDors, mon amourEen beetjeTom PillibiNous les amoureuxUn premier amourDanseviseNon ho l'etàPoupée de cire, poupée de sonMerci, chériePuppet on a StringLa, la, laVivo cantandoBoom Bang-a-BangDe troubadourUn jour, un enfantAll Kinds of EverythingUn banc, un arbre, une rueAprès toiTu te reconnaîtrasWaterlooDing-a-DongSave Your Kisses for MeL'oiseau et l'enfantA-Ba-Ni-BiHallelujahWhat's Another YearMaking Your Mind UpEin bißchen FriedenSi la vie est cadeauDiggi-Loo Diggi-LeyLa det swingeJ'aime la vieHold Me NowNe partez pas sans moiRock MeInsieme: 1992Fångad av en stormvindWhy Me?In Your EyesRock 'n' Roll KidsNocturneThe VoiceLove Shine a LightDivaTake Me to Your HeavenFly on the Wings of LoveEverybodyI WannaEvery Way That I CanWild DancesMy Number OneHard Rock HallelujahMolitvaBelieveFairytaleSatelliteRunning ScaredEuphoriaOnly TeardropsRise Like a PhoenixHeroes1944Amar pelos doisToyArcadeZitti e buoniStefaniaTattoo
Contests
19561957195819591960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Countries
AlbaniaAndorraArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBelarusBelgiumBosnia and HerzegovinaBulgariaCroatiaCyprusCzechiaDenmarkEstoniaFinlandFranceGeorgiaGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandIsraelItalyLatviaLithuaniaLuxembourgNorth MacedoniaMaltaMoldovaMonacoMontenegroMoroccoThe NetherlandsNorwayPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSan MarinoSerbiaSerbia and MontenegroSlovakiaSloveniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTurkeyUkraineUnited KingdomYugoslavia
Miscellaneous
European Broadcasting UnionEurovision Song Contest
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