The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual song contest organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and first organized on May 24, 1956 by Marcel Bezençon, director general of Swiss public television. Competition modeled at its beginnings on that of San Remo, born a few years earlier in 1951.
The first edition sees the participation of only 7 countries : Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland. A competition won for the first time by...Switzerland.
This first edition prohibits group performances as well as any choreography but allows countries to present 2 songs (given the small number of participants).
Change of rules from the following year with only one song possible per country and the authorization given to the duets to perform. Three new countries join the competition : the United Kingdom, Denmark and Austria. Another novelty is that the members of the jury are now contacted by telephone and can no longer vote for their own country.
The year 1958 saw the addition of a rule requiring the winning country to organize the next edition at home and the arrival of Sweden as a new competing country. The following year in 1959, it was Monaco's turn to enter the competition.
In 1960, the competition was held on a Tuesday and it would be the last edition to be organized during the week. From now on, the competition will only take place on weekends. France won that year with singer Jacqueline Boyer and her title "Tom Pillibi". Title that will become the first Eurovision winning title to achieve huge success in the rest of Europe. New participant this year : Norway.
In 1961, three new countries entered the competition : Spain, Finland and Yugoslavia.
New rule in 1962 with the arrival of the 'Nul Point', a rule which covers the 4 countries that had no points and therefore finished last ...
The year 1964 saw the arrival of a new kid on the block with Portugal. Another novelty is the arrival of a supervisor dispatched by the EBU who will each year supervise the conduct of the vote and validate the results.
The competition was broadcast from 1965 throughout Eastern Europe and considerably increased its audience level. It was Luxembourg that won that year with singer France Gall and her title "Poupée de cire, poupée de son". Title which becomes the first title of the competition to know a success not only European but also planetary. New participant this year: Ireland.
The competition was broadcast in color from the year 1968 and the regulations changed one year later in 1969 because 4 countries were declared equal winners that year : Spain, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. A unique fact that will trigger a huge controversy and force the organizers to completely review the way points are awarded.
New for 1970 : the appearance of short films that present each candidate before his performance on stage.
The year 1971 saw the arrival of Malta as a new participating country and two years later in 1973 it was Israel's turn to enter the competition.
Highlight of 1974 : the victory of a small Swedish group named...Abba, which is above all the first group to win with a song that will not be sung in the native language of the participating country. Other remarkable fact, the title is so successful that it is the first title of the contest to enter the chart of the American Billboard Hot 100, a real achievement. Greece also enters the competition that year.
The year 1975 saw the introduction of a new system of attribution of points with the famous “1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10,12”, a system which amplified the suspense but lengthened considerably the final voting time. New participant this year : Turkey.
The only significant events in the years that followed : the arrival of Morocco in 1980 and Cyprus in 1981.
New major innovation from 1983 with the arrival of wireless microphones.
New country to join the competition in 1986 : Iceland.
Then in 1987, it was the arrival of the sponsors and the decision of the EBU to limit the number of participants to 22 in order to limit the duration of the competition to 3 hours.
The end of the 1980s saw the year 1989 shaken by a controversy over the very young age of 2 of the participants : the Israeli Gili was only 12 years old and the French Nathalie Pâque only 11 years old. This will force the organizers to impose a minimum age of 16 from now on to be able to participate.
The fall of the Berlin Wall and the dislocation of the former Eastern bloc will once again force the organizers to review in 1993 the number of participants in the competition by increasing it to 25. A year which sees the entry of 3 new countries which are Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.
New rule the following year in 1994 to regulate too many participating countries : the relegation. The 6 countries which now finish last cannot compete the following year. A year 1994 which saw the massive arrival of new countries with Estonia, Romania, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary, Russia and Poland !
New for 1997 : televoting. Spectators can now vote by phone and the measure is initially only implemented in 5 countries : Germany, Austria, UK, Sweden and Switzerland. The spectators will play the game massively and the principle will be generalized to all other countries thereafter.
The year 1998 saw the arrival of North Macedonia and was marked above all by the controversial victory of the Israeli Dana International, the first Trans woman to win the competition.
In 1999, the EBU decided to favor its biggest contributors by offering them automatic places in the final, regardless of their results in previous years. This is how Germany, Spain, France and the United Kingdom find themselves endowed with this privilege (privilege which will be extended to Italy from the year 2011). The orchestras are also canceled that year in favor of soundtracks only.
New country to join the competition in 2000 : Latvia.
The beginning of the 2000s saw countries outbid the means allocated to the organization of the competition and above all to the disproportion of the technologies used and the rooms hosting the competition with a record for Denmark in 2001. Country which decided to organize the competition at the Parken Stadium, a hall that can accommodate no less than 35,000 people !
In 2004, another massive arrival of countries with Belarus, Andorra, Albania and Serbia and Montenegro. This will force the EBU to organize semi-finals in order to maintain the same number of participants in the final despite a record number of participating countries.
The year 2005 saw the entry of 2 new participants : Moldova and Bulgaria. Then it will be Armenia's turn in 2006.
A year 2006 marked by the victory of the Finnish heavy metal group Lordi, a group which will shock as much as fascinate for its performance on stage where its members are disguised as monsters.
Georgia, Montenegro, Serbia and the Czech Republic joined the competition in 2007.
A year 2007 once again controversial with the overwhelming supremacy of the countries of the East to the detriment of the countries of the West thanks in particular to partisan votes. A controversy which pushes the EBU to reform for the umpteenth time in 2009 the voting system with the implementation of a voting system based on the vote of viewers to which is added the vote of a jury of 5 specialists.
2014 will stay as one of the most incredible but also the most controversial years with the victory for Austria by Conchita Wurtz. A Conchita Wurtz who is none other than the singer Drag Queen Thomas Neuwirth, who will perform on stage as a bearded woman ...
The year 2018 will be marked by the victory of a new atypical singer, namely the Israeli singer Netta Barzilai, who will sport a Japanese-inspired look that is surprising to say the least, given her atypical morphology to say the least ...
A musical competition that in 50 years has become a real benchmark as much for the number of talented artists who have performed there as for the number of controversies and scandals it has generated.
So to be continued.
To discover or rediscover...
Winners (2003 à 2023) :
2000s Decade :
Sertab Erener - Every way that I can 2003
Ruslana - Wild dances 2004
Helena Paparizou - My number one 2005
Lordi - Hard rock Hallelujah 2006
Marija Serifovic - Molitva 2007
Dima Bilan - Believe 2008
Alexander Rybak - Fairytale 2009
2010s Decade :
Lena Meyer Landrut - Satellite 2010
Ell & Nikki - Running scared 2011
Loreen - Euphoria 2012
Emmelie De Forest - Only teardrops 2013
Conchita Wurst - Rise like a phœnix 2014
Mans Zelmerlow - Heroes 2015
Jamala - 1944 2016
Salvador Sobral - Amar pelos dois 2017
Netta - Toy 2018
Duncan Laurence - Arcade 2019
2020s Decade :
Maneskin - Zitti e buoni 2021
Kalush Orchestra - Stefania 2022
Loreen - Tattoo 2023
Eurovision Song Contest Part 1 :
Eurovision Song Contest Part 2 :
Tracks :
2003 ... 26 countries will participate in this 2003 edition, a new record. The main highlight of this edition will be the 1st victory of Turkey in this Competition. And the last place will go to the United Kingdom, a first also for this country ...
2004 ... faced with the overflow of countries wishing to compete, the organizers set up the Semi-Finals system. The "www.eurovision.tv" site is officially launched. And above all, Ukraine's first victory !
2005 ... novelty side, it will be especially the 1st victory of Greece which will remain as the most striking fact of this edition. On an anecdotal level, the 'Big Four' (Germany, Spain, France, United Kingdom) will all finish, for the first time, in the last places ...
2006 ... for the first time in the competition, a group will appear masked on stage and decked out in monster costumes in addition. A performance that will arouse admiration as much as disapproval and which will not prevent them from winning. With the key to a first victory for Finland, just that ...
2007 ... between the Semi-Finals and the Final, 42 countries will compete that year, a record ! Like the previous year, it is yet another country that has never won which will win, namely Serbia. Last highlight : the last place will go that year to...Ireland, a first also for this country ...
2008 ... record of participating countries again broken with 48 countries that year. Change of organization of the Semi-Final from a single Semi-Final to 2 Semi-Finals following the many controversies triggered in previous years. Main highlights of the year : no song sung in French in 2008 including from France and the first victory for Russia ...
2009 ... new rule on the program : return of a professional Jury in each country for the Final. From now on each country will have to establish its ranking at 50 % thanks to the votes of the viewers and 50 % thanks to the votes of the Jury. It will be Norway who won that year with a record for the number of points obtained for the winning song ...
2010 ... a year of transition as they say. Only notable fact : the irruption of a streaker on stage during the performance of the Spanish Daniel Diges. The individual will succeed in slipping between the dancers and will be apprehended by security in a muscular way to say the least ...
2011 ... first victory for Azerbaijan, a real feat. All the more remarkable as there were still 43 to compete that year ...
2012 ... only notable facts of this year 2012, the fears and the mistrust of certain countries and human rights associations concerning the fact that the Competition is organized in Azerbaijan. And paradoxically, this edition will have very few - bad - surprises ...
2013 ... a 'normal' edition without too much controversy. The only highlight is that once again Ireland finished in last place and the 'Big Four' also finished in unflattering places ...
2014 ... another edition that will stay in history for the controversy it will arouse, one more ! Thomas Neuwirth, aka Conchita Wurst and magnificent Drag-Queen, will win the contest under the eyes of millions of viewers totally in shock, or totally in love, as you choose. The bearded woman does exist, the proof !
2015 ... the big novelty of the year will be the fact that the competition is open to...Australia ! A spectacular arrival due to the fact that the country has been broadcasting the Competition for more than 30 years and that he was strongly involved in the previous edition even if it did not participate. Who would've believed that...?
2016 ... an edition that will see come second...Australia ! Decidedly, nothing is going any more on the old European continent and the 'Big Four' just have to behave. Spread the word...
2017 ... the huge surprise of the 2017 edition is the unexpected victory of... Portuga! First victory for the country after 49 participations, which would also have believed it. It was high time !
2018 ... after Dana International, it's Netta's turn to create the event. Clearly, Israel will never do like the others and will propose a new candidate, to say the least, out of the ordinary. Astonishing paradox on the part of a hyper-conservative country ...
2019 ... main highlight of the 2019 edition : the production of Madonna during the last intermission. It is the Israeli-Canadian 'philanthropist' Sylvan Adams who will pay for this little fantasy for the modest sum of 1.3 million dollars, just that !
2021 ... no edition in 2020 due to COVID 19. Back in 2021 and victory for Italy, which had not won for more than 20 years. Hoping that the next edition will not be canceled in turn ...
2022...
2023...
2023...
Wiki :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :