The Origins of Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest began as a technical experiment in television broadcasting: the live, simultaneous, transnational broadcast that Europe has now been watching for nearly 70 years was in the late 1950s a marvel.

The first Eurovision Song Contest was held on May 24, 1956, and saw seven nations compete: the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg and Italy. Austria and Denmark wanted to take part but missed the deadline, and the United Kingdom sent their apologies as they were busy with their own contest that year.

In the first edition, each country submitted two songs, with Switzerland’s Lys Assia triumphing with her second song Refrain; the French language number fared better than her first ditty, Das alte Karussell.

Over the years the format has evolved into the week-long, boundary pushing, technologically innovative, multi show spectacular we enjoy today… but how did the Eurovision Song Contest first come about?

As television services were introduced in most European countries in the mid 20th century, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) created the Eurovision Network in 1954 for the exchange and production of common television programmes, in order to cost-effectively increase the programming material for national broadcasting organisations.

The proposal for the Eurovision Network had come from Marcel Bezençon, the director general of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. But the idea for the Eurovision Song Contest would come from RAI. The Italian national broadcasting organisation began regular television services in January 1954, although the first experimental television broadcasts in Italy had occurred in Turin in 1934.

The most popular and successful programme that the Eurovision Network would produce would be its namesake: the Eurovision Song Contest. After the Eurovision Network broadcast its first programmes in 1954 in Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and (what was then) West Germany, discussions ensued in the EBU as to how its co-productions could be made more entertaining and spectacular.

Following suggestions put forward at the meeting of its Programme Committee in Monte Carlo, Monaco in 1955, the EBU decided at the session of its General Assembly in Rome later in that year to establish the Eurovision Song Contest. The inspiration for the Contest came from RAI, which had been staging Festival di Sanremo (the Sanremo Italian Song Festival) in the seaside resort town of the same name from 1951. Members of the Programme Committee attended the Sanremo Italian Song Festival in 1955, when it was also broadcast through the Eurovision Network.

However, Sanremo was not the only song contest in Italy at the time: in the mid-1950s, the City of Venice and RAI organised the International Song Festival in Venice. The first edition in 1955 included entries submitted by the radio services of EBU members from Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, Monaco and the Netherlands. They each submitted six songs that were original and no longer than 3 and a half minutes, with the entries being voted on by national juries and the winner being awarded the Golden Gondola prize.

The Venice International Song Festival was therefore similar in its structure to the Eurovision Song Contest, except that it was only broadcast on radio. Still, the Venice International Song Festival was the world’s first-ever international song contest based on the participation of national broadcasting organisations, and some of its participants would go on to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Yet, for technical reasons, the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956 was not held in Italy but in Switzerland: its geographical centrality in Europe made it a natural node for the terrestrial transmitters required for this experiment in live, simultaneous, transnational broadcasting. The EBU’s headquarters were also in Switzerland. But the first Eurovision Song Contest still reflected an international fashion for Italian popular culture, as it was staged in the Swiss-Italian city of Lugano and was hosted in Italian.

In those first few Contests it seemed obvious to participating artists that they should enter songs sung in their native tongue, but as the event expanded and grew in popularity, songwriters began to assume that the more universal the lyrics, the more likely the song would resonate with juries. Which could explain the popularity of classic Eurovision winners like Boom Bang A Bang and La La La.

The rule on performing in your country’s native language changed over the years, alongside rules regarding the number of performers on stage, the inclusion of dance moves, and more recently the use of backing track vocals (brought in to reduce the number of delegation members needed to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic).

The Eurovision Song Contest is always evolving to provide the most exciting show for its millions of viewers across the planet. 

Contests & Winners

• Lugano 1956 - Switzerland 🇨🇭 / Lys Assia - Refrain

• Frankfurt 1957 - Netherlands 🇳🇱 / Corry Brokken - Net Als Toen

• Hilversum 1958 - France 🇫🇷 / Andre Claveau - Dors Mon Amour 

• Cannes 1959 - Netherlands 🇳🇱 / Teddy Scholten - Een Beetje

• London 1960 - France 🇫🇷 / Jacqueline Boyer - Tom Pillibi

• Cannes 1961 - Luxembourg 🇱🇺/ Jean-Claude Pascal - Nous Les Amoureux

• Luxembourg 1962 - France 🇫🇷 / Isabelle Aubret - Un Premier Amour

• London 1963 - Denmark 🇩🇰 / Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann - Dansevise

• Copenhagen 1964 - Italy 🇮🇹 / Gigliola Cinquetti - Non Ho L'étà

• Naples 1965 - Luxembourg 🇱🇺 / France Gall - Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son

• Luxembourg 1966 - Austria 🇦🇹 / Udo Juergens - Merci Chérie

• Vienna 1967 - United Kingdom 🇬🇧 / Sandie Shaw - Puppet On A String

• London 1968 - Spain 🇪🇸 / Massiel - La, La, La…

• Madrid 1969 - [4-way tie] France 🇫🇷 / Frida Boccara - Un Jour, Un Enfant | Netherlands 🇳🇱 / Lenny Kuhr - De Troubadour | Spain 🇪🇸 - Salomé - Vivo Cantando | United Kingdom 🇬🇧 / Lulu - Boom Bang-a-Bang

• Amsterdam 1970 - Ireland 🇮🇪 / Dana - All Kinds of Everything

• Dublin 1971 - Monaco 🇲🇨 / Séverine - Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue

• Edinburgh 1972 - Luxembourg 🇱🇺 / Vicky Leandros - Après Toi

• Luxembourg 1973 - Luxembourg 🇱🇺 / Anne-Marie David - Tu Te Reconnaîtras

• Brighton 1974 - Sweden 🇸🇪 / ABBA - Waterloo

• Stockholm 1975 - Netherlands 🇳🇱 / Teach-In - Ding-A-Dong

• The Hague 1976 - United Kingdom 🇬🇧 / Brotherhood of Man - Save Your Kisses For Me

• London 1977 - France 🇫🇷 / Marie Myriam - L'oiseau Et L'enfant

• Paris 1978 - Israel 🇮🇱 / Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta - A-Ba-Ni-Bi

• Jerusalem 1979 - Israel 🇮🇱 / Milk and Honey - Hallelujah

• The Hague 1980 - Ireland 🇮🇪 / Johnny Logan - What’s Another Year

• Dublin 1981 - United Kingdom 🇬🇧 / Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up

• Harrogate 1982 - Germany 🇩🇪 / Nicole - Ein Bißchen Frieden

• Munich 1983 - Luxembourg 🇱🇺 / Corinne Hermès - Si La Vie Est Cadeau

• Luxembourg 1984 - Sweden 🇸🇪 / Herrey’s - Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley

• Goetherberg 1985 - Norway 🇳🇴 / Bobbysocks! - La Det Swinge

• Bergen 1986 - Belgium 🇧🇪 / Sandra Kim - J'aime La Vie

• Brussels 1987 - Ireland 🇮🇪 / Johnny Logan - Hold Me Now

• Dublin 1988 - Switzerland 🇨🇭 / Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi - Céline Dion

• Lausanne 1989 - Yugoslavia / Riva - Rock Me

• Zagreb 1990 - Italy 🇮🇹 / Toto Cutugno - Insieme: 1992

• Rome 1991 - Sweden 🇸🇪 / Carola - Fångad Av En Stormvind

• Malmö 1992 - Ireland 🇮🇪 / Linda Martin - Why Me

• Millstreet 1993 - Ireland 🇮🇪 / INiamh Kavanagh - In Your Eyes

• Dublin 1994 - Ireland 🇮🇪 / Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan - Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids

• Dublin 1995 - Norway 🇳🇴 / Secret Garden - Nocturne

• Oslo 1996 - Ireland 🇮🇪 / Eimear Quinn - The Voice

• Dublin 1997 - United Kingdom 🇬🇧 / Katrina and The Waves - Love Shine A Light

• Birmingham 1998 - Israel 🇮🇱 / Dana International - Diva

• Jerusalem 1999 - Sweden 🇸🇪 / Charlotte Nilsson - Take Me To Your Heaven

• Stockholm 2000 - Denmark 🇩🇰 / Olsen Brothers - Fly On The Wings Of Love

• Copenhagen 2001 - Estonia 🇪🇪 / Tanel Padar, Dave Benton & 2XL - Everybody

• Tallinn 2002 - Latvia 🇱🇻 / Marie N - I Wanna

• Riga 2003 - Türkiye 🇹🇷 / Sertab Erener - Everyway That I Can

• Istanbul 2004 - Ukraine 🇺🇦 / Ruslana - Wild Dances

• Kyiv 2005 - Greece 🇬🇷 / Helena Paparizou - My Number One

• Athens 2006 - Finland 🇫🇮 / Lordi - Hard Rock Hallelujah

• Helsinki 2007 - Serbia 🇷🇸 / Marija Šerifović - Molitva

• Belgrade 2008 - Russia 🇷🇺  / Dima Bilan - Believe

• Moscow 2009 - Norway 🇳🇴 / Alexander Rybak - Fairytale

• Oslo 2010 - Germany 🇩🇪 / Lena - Satellite

• Düsseldorf 2011 - Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 / Ell & Nikki - Running Scared

• Baku 2012 - Sweden 🇸🇪 / Loreen - Euphoria

• Malmö 2013 - Denmark / Emmelie de Forest - Only Teardrops

• Copenhagen 2014 - Austria 🇦🇹 / Conchita Wurst - Rise Like A Phoenix

• Vienna 2015 - Sweden 🇸🇪 / Måns Zelmerlöw - Heroes

• Stockholm 2016 - Ukraine 🇺🇦 / Jamala - 1944

• Kyiv 2017 - Portugal 🇵🇹/ Salvador Sobral - Amar Pelos Dois

• Lisbon 2018 - Israel 🇮🇱 / Netta - TOY

• Tel Aviv 2019 - Netherlands 🇳🇱 / Duncan Laurence - Arcade

• Rotterdam 2021 - Italy 🇮🇹 / Måneskin - Zitti E Buoni

• Turin 2022 - Ukraine 🇺🇦 / Kalush Orchestra - Stefania

• Liverpool 2023 - Sweden 🇸🇪 / Loreen - Tattoo

• Malmö 2024 - Switzerland 🇨🇭 / Nemo - The Code

• Basel 2025…