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Milestone Moments: 1965 - Eurovision Goes Pop!

28 August 2016 at 17:00 CEST
France Gall, winner of the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest Philips Records (Billboard)
The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the longest running television shows in the world. Over the next few weeks we will be looking back at some of the major milestone moments that have shaped the contest over the decades. Today we go back to 1965, the tenth edition of the show, which was held in Naples, Italy.

18 countries participated in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest, a record at that time. It was the year that Ireland made its debut in the contest. Ireland would later go on to become the reigning Eurovision champion with 7 victories. The Swedish performer, Ingvar Wixell, performed his entry in English prompting a rule change the following year. Spain, Germany, Belgium and Finland all scored nul points. 

1965 represents a milestone moment in the Eurovision Song Contest since it is the first time that a pop song won the contest. The winning entry for Luxembourg, Poupée de cire, poupée de son was written by French Serge Gainbourg and was performed by France Gall. The song went on to become an international hit and had a huge impact on the type of songs that would be entered into the Eurovision Song Contest over the following years.