[7][99] A record 16 countries competed in this year's event, with debut entries from Finland, Spain and Yugoslavia. The first Eurovision winner was resolutely a product of the postwar, pre-rock'n'roll pop world: aimed at adults and devoid of modernity, it could have been made in the early 1930s. An individual slogan has been associated with each edition of the contest since 2002, except in 2009. [174][175] A close-fought contest in the voting between Norway, Germany and Sweden saw the perennial losers victorious for the first time: Norway had previously come last on six occasion, more than any other country, leading to great celebrations in the arena when Bobbysocks! [16][129] A draw was held to determine the host country of this contest following the four-way tie for first place in 1969, which chose the Netherlands as hosts over France, as Spain and the United Kingdom declined to take part in the draw due to having hosted recent contests. [93] The United Kingdom decided not to compete in this edition, however Sweden made its debut, keeping the total number of competing countries at ten. [162] The 19 April date proved problematic for Israel as it conflicted with Yom HaZikaron, and after failed attempts to move the date Israel ultimately pulled out, the first and only time that the previous year's winning country was unable to defend its title. [330][331], The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will be the sixty-eighth edition of the contest, to be held on 7, 9 and 11 May 2024 at the Malm Arena in Malm, Sweden and organised by SVT.[71]. [109][110] Sweden's entry caused some controversy when their entry was performed in English, rather than in their national language Swedish; as there was no rule in place to dictate in what language a country could perform this was allowed despite protest from other competing countries. [88] As in previous contests the most commercially successful contest entry would be one of the losing songs, with the UK's "Ooh Aah Just a Little Bit" by Gina G becoming an international hit, reaching the top 20 of the US Billboard Hot 100 and eventually being nominated for a Grammy Award;[43][209][210] it also remains the last UK entry to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart. ", "40 years on, congratulations may be in order", "Franco stole Cliff Richard's Eurovision glory TV", "Massiel e Iigo acusan a La Sexta de 'urdir todo para favorecer a Chikilicuatre', "50 years ago today: Four winners at Eurovision 1969 in Madrid", "Happy 50th Anniversary, Eurovision 1970! MENU. [45][88] Dana International, the contest's first trans performer, had emerged a controversial figure in Israel following her selection for the contest, with criticism being levied by conservative sections of Israeli society and death threats being received from fanatical factions. [29][169] 20 countries were present at Germany's second contest has hosts, with returns from Italy, Greece and France, with the latter represented by a new broadcaster, Antenne 2, following a public outcry over the previous year's absence, however Ireland withdrew for the first time due to a financial crisis at broadcaster RT. [10][106] Sweden were forced to withdraw due to industrial action by the Swedish Musicians' Union, however as Portugal made its debut appearance the total number of competing countries remained at 16. [306] The same 41 countries which had originally planned to enter the 2020 contest were initially announced as competing again in this contest, however, a late withdrawal of Armenia and subsequent disqualification of the entry from Belarus brought the number of competing countries down to 39. In order to accommodate this growing number, the first Eurovision pre-selection took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia on 3 April, Kvalifikacija za Millstreet;[40][198] seven countries competed for three places at the contest, with the former Yugoslav states Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia emerging the winners and joining 22 countries which had taken part in Malm, with only Yugoslavia absent, banned from competing following UN sanctions. [329] Loreen, the winner of the 2012 contest, returned for Sweden and became the second artist to record two wins in the contest with "Tattoo", and in doing so giving Sweden a record-tying seventh contest win. [218] This change, which proved controversial, meant that all entries would be accompanied by a backing track for the first time, a decision which former winner Johnny Logan claimed had turned the contest into "karaoke". [176][179], The Eurovision Song Contest 1987 was the thirty-second edition of the contest, organised by Radio-tlvision belge de la Communaut franaise (RTBF) and held on 9 May 1987 at the Palais de Centenaire in Brussels, Belgium. [34][183] This was Ireland's third contest, which fell in the same year as the millennium of Dublin's founding. [40][197] Changes in Europe in the 1990s were first reflected at this contest, with several new countries formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and breakup of Yugoslavia wishing to compete for the first time. [157][158], The Eurovision Song Contest 1979 was the twenty-fourth edition of the contest, organised by the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) and held on 31 March 1979 at the International Convention Centre in Jerusalem. The 1977 contest was originally scheduled for 2 April, but a strike by BBC camera operators and technicians resulted in a postponement until 7 May. [5][96], The Eurovision Song Contest 1960 was the fifth edition of the contest, organised by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and held on 25 March 1960 at the Royal Festival Hall in London, United Kingdom. The rules of the contest have also seen multiple changes over the years, with the voting system and language criteria being modified on several occasions. [88] ABBA's win in the contest would propel them to worldwide fame, with an estimated 380million records sold across their career, with "Waterloo" alone selling five million copies and becoming one of the contest's most successful winning songs. [38][195], The Eurovision Song Contest 1993 was the thirty-eighth edition of the contest, organised by RT and held on 15 May 1993 at the Green Glens Arena in Millstreet, Ireland. [88][266][267] The bearded drag queen's victory proved controversial among some, particularly in Russia where several conservative voices voiced criticism for her win. [182] Johnny Logan, the winner of the 1980 contest, returned for Ireland and became the first artist to record two wins in the contest with "Hold Me Now", and in doing so giving Ireland its third contest win. Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest was organised by DR and held at the Forum Copenhagen in Copenhagen, Denmark, hosted by former Eurovision contestants Katrina Leskanich and Renrs Kaupers. [140][212] The United Kingdom emerged victorious for the fifth time, 16 years after their last win, with Katrina and the Waves and "Love Shine a Light". Winner Kalush Orchestra First Semi-Final Tuesday, 10 May, 2022, 21:00 CEST Second Semi-Final Thursday, 12 May, 2022, 21:00 CEST Grand Final Saturday, 14 May, 2022, 21:00 CEST Venue & Location PalaOlimpico, Turin, Italy Host Broadcaster Presented by Laura Pausini, Alessandro Cattelan & Mika Executive Producer Simona Martorelli & Claudio Fasulo [78][81] The first of these programmes was shown on 6 June 1954, showing coverage of the Narcissus Festival held in Montreux, France, followed by a tour of Vatican City. Comment Elizabeth Atkin Friday 13 May 2022 5:00 pm Eurovision 1968, which took place years after the original. 2. [24][156] A new record of 20 countries competed in France's third showing as host, with Denmark and Turkey returning, the former making its first appearance since 1966. [67] 41 countries applied to enter what would have been the Netherlands' fifth contest as hosts, but in March 2020, for the first time in its history, the contest was cancelled due to the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions put in place by governments across Europe, which included lockdowns and travel restrictions. [15][128] The result meant that France gained a new record fourth win in the contest, with the Netherlands recording its third win, and both Spain and the United Kingdom earning their second wins; Spain also became the first country to achieve two wins in a row. [26][161] Israel, having won the previous year, had initially agreed to host the contest, however due to the cost of hosting the event for a second year in a row, IBA eventually declined to host the event. [56][246] 42 countries competed, including Slovakia in its first appearance in 11 years. [127], The Eurovision Song Contest 1970 was the fifteenth edition of the contest, organised by Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) and held on 21 March 1970 at the RAI Congrescentrum in Amsterdam, Netherlands. [69] 41 countries applied to take part in the contest, with Armenia and Montenegro submitting their first entries since 2019. [88], The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the fifty-fourth edition of the contest, organised by Channel One (C1R) and held on 12, 14 and 16 May 2009 at the Olimpiyskiy Arena in Moscow, Russia. [111] Some ideas in common among several broadcasters included: the introduction of semi-finals to reduce the number of competing acts, with some also suggesting that competing countries should be split on a geographic or linguistic basis; music experts having a 50% stake in the result to enable more of an emphasis being placed on musical quality; and a tightening of the rules on language and submission cut-off, with the creation of an executive supervisor role in order to oversee the contest and raise production standards. [1] Following a series of exchange broadcasts in 1954, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) commissioned an international song competition, from an idea developed by Sergio Pugliese and Marcel Bezenon and originally based on the Italian Sanremo Music Festival. 1983 - Corinne Herms, Luxembourg. [238] The winning song, announced at the end of the show, was "Waterloo" by ABBA, the winning song from the 1974 contest for Sweden. December 9, 2015 by Staff Writer Every day until December 24, we're stuffing your stockings with a new Eurovision poll and asking you to name your favourite Israeli entry and your favourite #melfest runner-up ( among other things ). [19][138] Israel made its first appearance, becoming the first non-European nation to enter the contest, while Austria and Malta both withdrew, bringing the total participating nations to 17. [313][314] Italy recorded its third Eurovision win, becoming the second "Big Five" country to win since its formation, as Mneskin ended a 31-year wait for victory with "Zitti e buoni". [126][128] As four medals had fortunately been struck for the prize-giving, Spain's Salom, the UK's Lulu, the Netherlands' Lenny Kuhr and France's Frida Boccara were all able to receive their prize ahead of a reprise of all four winning songs: "Vivo cantando", "Boom Bang-a-Bang", "De troubadour", and "Un jour, un enfant" respectively. [38][193][194] A new record 23 countries entered the contest, with the Netherlands making its return. [78][79] "Eurovision" as a term in telecommunications was first used by British journalist George Campey in the London Evening Standard in 1951, when he referred to a BBC programme being relayed by Dutch television;[78][80] the EBU's Eurovision transmission network was subsequently founded in 1954, at the time formed of a series of microwave links across Europe. [212][213] The first use of televoting was implemented at this contest on a trial basis, with the points from Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom being determined by the viewing public rather than an assembled jury. May 2023. [132] With these changes, the countries which had sat out in 1970 felt able to return, and 18 participants in total were present, the biggest contest since 1966, with Norway, Sweden, Finland, Austria and Portugal returning and Malta making its debut. [199][202] Riverdance, which would go on to become one of the world's most successful dance productions, made its debut in this edition as the interval act; originally a seven-minute performance, it would later be expanded into a full show which would go on to be performed at over 450 venues worldwide and be seen by over 250million people. Date: 14 May 2022 Host city: Turin, Italy Arena: Pala Olimpico Broadcaster: RAI Hosts: Mika, Laura Pausini and Alessandro Cattelan Slogan: The Sound of Beauty Participants: 40 countries in Eurovision 2022, 25 in the Grand Final The scoring system last used in 1961, with ten members casting a single vote for their favourite, was reintroduced, with at least half of the jury members in each country required to be less than 30 years old. [178][287] Israel gained its fourth Eurovision title, represented by Netta with "Toy".
