For the first time in its 64-year-old history, Eurovision Song Contest has been cancelled. Many have been saddened by this abrupt break of tradition – and rightfully so. Unlike any other televised music competition in the world, Eurovision Song Contest has given us numerous hits, captivating performances and memorable moments throughout its rich history. But Eurovision Song Contest has always been about more than just music. The contest has undergone many changes since its inception, and had to endure many challenges along the way. But one thing has remained the same – the idea of coming together, as different nations, bringing together people from different cultures and backgrounds, to celebrate the diversity of musical styles and traditions. In a tribute to this time-honoured tradition, today’s article dives deeper into how the contest came to be, and how it has developed over the years. We discover how the contest earned its legacy, and attempt to understand why the contest has been and continues to be such an important event for so many people across the world to this day.
A musical extravaganza is born
The idea of a music contest involving different countries was born in 1955, during a meeting with members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Modelled after the annual Sanremo Music Festival in Italy, the contest was initially designed to test the limits of live television broadcasting technology at the time. The first Eurovision Song Contest was held a year later, in 1956, in Lugano, Switzerland, with seven competing countries. The participating countries, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland, sent two songs each, which were performed by solo artists accompanied by an orchestra of 24 musicians. This first contest was mainly a radio show, but it was also broadcast on television and watched by the few Europeans who owned a TV set at the time. Each participating country sent two jury members who would decide the winner by each awarding two points to their favourite song. Since Luxembourg’s officials could not make it, the EBU allowed Switzerland to include two more jury members to replace them. The jury members cast their votes in secret, and were allowed to vote for any country they liked – including their own! Since the votes were never made public, we cannot know for sure how each jury member voted, but those two extra jury members from Switzerland might have been the reason why Switzerland, with singer Lys Assia and the song Refrain, won the first ever Eurovision Song Contest 64 years ago.
Since then, a lot has happened. Looking back, it is safe to say that the contest was an immediate success. Already the following year, three new countries (Austria, Denmark and the United Kingdom) joined the competition, which was hosted in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. This time, a rule was introduced stating that juries were not allowed to vote for their own country – a rule that has been in place since. Also notable for the 1957 contest is the fact that Italy’s song Corda dellamia chitarra, performed by Nunzio Gallo, lasted 5.09 minutes, leading to a rule firmly stating that entries should be no longer than three minutes being introduced the following year. The 1958 contest was held in the Netherlands after Corry Brokken’s win with the song Net Als Toen, and would see the participation of one of the most commercially successful songs in the contest’s history. Despite only ending up third in the contest, Domenico Modugno’s song Nel Blu Diponte Di Blu, better known as Volare, became a worldwide hit, reaching number 1 on the American Billboard List and winning three Grammies. 1958 was also the year of Sweden’s debut, a country that has since gone on to become one of the most dedicated participants in the contest.
The show goes on
Going into the 1960s, several more countries joined the contest. Monaco made its debut in 1959, while Norway, Finland, Spain, Yugoslavia, Portugal and Ireland all made their respective debuts a few years later. In 1965, Luxembourg claimed its second victory with the song Poupée de cire, poupée de son, performed by 17-year-old singer France Gall, which would become immensely popular all across Europe. The Swedish entry, Absent friend, performed by Ingvar Wixell, was the first song in the contest that was not sung in the participant's native language. This led to a rule being put in place stating that all contestants had to sing in their respective national languages, a rule that was active until 1972, then implemented again in 1977, before finally being abolished for good in 1999. Moving on, the 1967 contest delivered one of many Eurovision classics, this time from the United Kingdom. Sandie Shaw's Puppet on a string won a landslide victory, gathering more than twice as many points as Ireland's Sean Dunphy with If I could choose. The following year's contest, held in London, marked an important milestone in the history of the contest. The 1968 edition of Eurovision was the first time the contest was broadcast in colour! The contest also expanded its broadcasting range to Eastern Europe and Tunisia, enabling more people to follow the competition. The 1969 contest, held in Madrid, Spain, is best remembered for its unusual result: France, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom received 18 points each, resulting in a tie where all four countries ended up being declared winners of the contest.
The “voting scandal” of the preceding year did not sit well with Finland, Norway, Sweden and Portugal, who decided to boycot the 1970 contest in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In order to avoid something similar happening again, a tie rule was created. Ireland gained its first victory this year, with singer Dana's All kinds of everything, which became an international hit. In 1972, the contest was broadcast in Asia for the first time. The winning song, Après toi, performed by Vicky Leandros for Luxembourg, became an instant hit. The 1974 contest in Brighton, United Kingdom, marked the big breakthrough for Swedish group ABBA, who won with the song Waterloo. The 12-point system with the coveted douze points that is still in use today was introduced the following year. The United Kingdom delivered yet another hit with the song Save your kisses for me performed by the group Brotherhood of Man in 1976, while Germany gave us the group Dschinghis Khan which performed their eponymous song Dschinghis Khan in 1979. At the end of the decade, four new countries had made their debuts in the competition.
The competition grows
Moving into the 1980s, the 1980 contest in the Hague, the Netherlands, would be the first and only time an African country entered the competition. Morocco entered with the song Bitaqat hub, performed by renowned artist Samira, but ended up second last, leading Morocco to the decision to never participate in the contest again. The 1980s delivered hits such as the United Kingdom's Making your mind up by Bucks Fizz in 1981, and Germany's Nicole with the song Ein biβchen Frieden in 1982. The following year, Belgium earned its first, and to date, only, victory with the song J'aime la vie, which was performed by Sandra Kim, who was just 13 years old at the time. The 1988 contest in Dublin, Ireland provided the starting point for Canadian singer Céline Dion's international career, when she won the competition for Switzerland with Ne partez pas sans moi. The last contest of the decade would see the introduction of a minimum age rule, after France and Israel had entered with singers who were just 11 and 12 years old.
While the 1980s had only seen the debut of two additional countries, Cyprus and Iceland, the 1990s saw a large expansion of the contest to Eastern Europe, where more than ten new countries entered the contest for the first time. The 1994 contest would see the victory of Ireland once again, making it the only country to have won the contest three times in a row. 1994 was also the year of the Riverdance, which became one of the most popular interval acts to have ever featured in the contest. The following year, Norway scored its second victory with the song Nocturne, performed by the group Secret Garden. Notably, the song consisted of just 24 words, accompanied by Celtic-inspired music. The 1996 contest also featured a song that would become a huge international hit, namely Australian Gina G's Ooh...aah...just a little bit, representing the United Kingdom. 1997 was a groundbreaking year in Eurovision history, because this was the first time that televoting was used. Originally trialled in five different countries, it became so popular that it was extended to almost all participating countries the following year. The introduction of televoting meant that fans and audiences no longer only watched the contest on their television screens, but that could actively take part in deciding who should win. The millennium ended with the removing of the orchestra that had been in place since the inception of the contest, giving way to the use of backing tracks when performing.
A new era has begun
The 21st century began with the contest being broadcast on the internet for the first time in 2000. The 2000s saw an even larger expansion than in the 1990s as no less than 14 new countries made their debuts. The first decade of the new millennium can best be described as a time for new countries to shine. Several countries had their first victories during this time, including Turkey with Sertab Erener's Everyway that I can in 2003, Ukraine with Ruslana's Wild dances in 2004, Greece with Helena Paparizou's My number one and Finland with Lordi's Hard rock hallelujah. In order to fit in all the new countries, a semi-final was introduced in 2004, and then another one in 2008, giving us the familiar concept of two semi-finals plus a grand final we are used to today. The 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland saw the debut of Serbia, which won with the song Molitva, performed by singer Marija Šerifović. However, it was the runner-up, Ukraine's Verka Serduchka with the song Dancing lasha tumbai, that would become the real hit of the year. The decade ended with a record-breaking victory for Norway's Alexander Rybak and the song Fairytale, which gained the thitherto highest score, 387 points.
The 2010s began with a victory for Germany with the song Satellite performed by Lena. Two years later, Sweden won the contest with Euphoria by Loreen, which became a big hit. The 2015 contest in Vienna would mark the 60th anniversary of the contest, which was celebrated by extending a special invitation to Australia, which is known for being a huge fan of the contest, to participate, ending up in 5th place with the song Tonight again by Guy Sebastian. After its successful attempt, Australia was welcomed back to the contest the following year, making its debutant as a “real contestant” with Dami Im and Sound of silence, which finished second, behind Ukraine's Jamala and the song 1944. The 2017 contest in Kyiv would earn Portugal its first ever victory with the song Amar pelos dois performed by Salvador Sobral, which scored a record breaking 758 points. Finishing off the decade, the Netherlands won the contest for the first time in 44 years with the song Arcade by Duncan Laurence.
At last, we have reached present day. This was just some of the very few highlights of the contest's 65-year history. There are many more songs, performances and moments that could have been mentioned, but that would have required an article of at least double length. However, as this article has hopefully been able to show, the contest's development from a small scale affair with a few countries to a huge event with an audience and fans from all parts of the world, has meant that even more people have had the opportunity to join the huge party that Eurovision brings every year. The contest has survived through times of war and crisis, bringing together a whole continent in a celebration of music in a spirit of unity and solidarity – a spirit that has since extended to the rest of world. Although we will not have a Eurovision Song Contest this year, I know we will be back, coming together again to continue celebrating the spirit of Eurovision.
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