Posted June 27, 200718 yr LUGANO 1956 Seven countries (Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg and Italy) participated with two songs each. Only the winner was announced: one of the two Swiss songs "Refrain" by Lys Assia. There are many speculations about the rest of the classification but the rest of the results were never confirmed. There is only footage of the reprise of the winning song. FRANKFURT 1957 Three countries participated for the first time, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Austria, so 10 countries took part in this contest.The 1957 contest was a good example of why we would get the three-minute rule. The song All, submitted by the United Kingdom, lasted 1:52 minutes. The next song, Corde della mia chitarra (Italy), lasted 5:09 minutes. Also it was decided the winning country would organize the next contest. The singers of the Danish entry kissed at the ened of the song. Netherlands won with "Net als toen" by Corry Brokken. HILVERSUM 1958 The UK withdraw and Sweden debuted. The Italian song, the well-known "Nel blu dipinto di blu" had to be performed again as the first performance had problems in transmission. France won with "Dors, mon amour" by André Claveau. Host country Netherlands came last with the same singer who had won the year before. CANNES 1959 Domenico Modugno, who had a major hit last year with his Eurovision entry, now entered the contest again and reached a sixth place. But again, his song "Piove" became a big hit particularly in Europe. The new participating country Monaco ended up with only one point. The United Kingdom returned to the contest while Luxembourg backed out for one year, making the number of participants in this contest 11. The Netherlands won for the second time with "Een beetje" by Teddy Scholten. The UK got the first of its 15 second places with "Sing little birdie" LONDON 1960 The number of participants grew to 13 as Norway made its debut and Luxembourg returned to the contest. The winning song "Tom Pillibi", giving France its second victory, became a hit in whole Europe. We would see host Katie Boyle back in the future for three times. The UK was second again with bryan Johnson and "Looking high, high, high". CANNES 1961 The stage was much bigger than the previous years and now decorated with flowers. Belgium, Spain and Yugoslavia were discussed because some thought it was not politically correct (due to regimes) to accept these countries. There were 16 countries competing in this contest with Spain, Yugoslavia and Finland making their debut. Luxembourg achieved their first victory with Jean-Claude Pascal singing "Nous les amoureux", which is said to be about a gay relationship. For the thrid year straight, UK gets runners-up spot, this time with The Allisons. LUXEMBOURG 1962 France eventually grabbed their third win in the contest-history with Isabelle Aubert and "Un premier amour". The UK tied for fourth place with Yugoslavia with Ronnie Carroll singing "Ring-a-ding girl". LONDON 1963 The BBC made an experiment of this Eurovision Song Contest. The songs were broadcasted from a studio, the audience and the jury were located on another location. Every song had a different stage, the change of set was done very quickly. And thus the never verified rumor goes around that the performances were recorded. For the third time in a row, the same 16 countries participated in the contest. After the casting of the votes it seemed that Switzerland won the contest but Norway called in again and changed their votes, giving the victory to Denmark. Many artists that participated in this contest would have a very successful career afterwards like Nana Moskouri (Luxembourg), François Hardy (Monaco) and Alain Barriére (France). Ronnie Carroll represented the UK once again and once again was fourth with "Say wonderful things". COPENHAGEN 1964 A man with a banner came on stage after the Swiss entry, saying "'Boycott Franco & Salazar", both were dictators at the time in Spain and Portugal. The director took a shot of the scoreboard and the man was removed. It was Portugal's first participation but because Sweden skipt a year, the number of participants remained unchanged. The winner, Gigliola Cinquetti from Italy, also took part in 1974 and was the host of Eurovision Song Contest 1991 together with Toto Cutugno. There is no footage of this contest except that of the reprise of the winning song. At 16, Cinquetti who sang the classic "Non ho l'etá" was the youngest ESC winner to date. The UK was second with Matt Monro's "I love the little things". NAPLES 1965 It was quite a shock when the Swedish participant Ingvar Wixell performed his song, originally called Annorstädes vals, in English instead of Swedish. This incident was the base for the language rule. For the first time, the Eurovision Song Contest was also broadcasted by Intervision, the Eastern Europe equivalent of Eurovision. Sweden returned to the contest and with Ireland as newcomer, the number of participants grew to 18. Luxembourg got it's second victory. The song "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" performed by France Gall was written by Serge Gainsbourg of "Je t'aime moi non plus" fame. The UK was second again, this time with Kathy Kirby's "I belong".
June 27, 200718 yr Author LUXEMBOURG 1966 Many countries tried to follow the same formula of last year's winning song: a young woman singing an upbeat cherful song. Such were the cases of Portugal, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Finland. The Italian participant Domenico Modugno was not satisfied with the orchestra and left stage angry during the dress rehearsal. It was uncertain if he would perform during the live show, which happened after all, though coming up last. His song, "Dio come ti amo", became a huge success in South-America for Gigliola Cinquetti afterwards. Winner Udo Jürgens from Austria had already participated twice before so he was third time lucky with "Merci chérie". Future ESC hosts Lill Lindfors and Åse Kleveland took part in this contest, finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively. Netherlands' Milly Scott was the first black person to perform at the ESC. The UK sent Scottsman Kenneth McKellar who sang "A man without love" dressed with a kilt, ending up 8th. VIENNA 1967 For the first time there was a camera in the green room. EBU scrutineer Clifford Brown made some rude statements towards the host, Erica Vaal. She was so confused that she already announced the United Kingdom as winner while there was still one country to receive votes from. Eventually the United Kingdom won for the first time after they had finished 2nd for five times in nine years with Sandie Shaw's legendary rendition of "Puppet ona string". Because Denmark didn't participate (they would not return until 1978), there were 17 countries participating. Angola-born Eduardo Nascimento became the first black man in the ESC while representing Portugal. The Monaco entry was written by Serge Gainsbourg, who wrote the winning song of 1965. LONDON 1968 This was the first Eurovision Song Contest that was broadcasted in color. The stage was a replica of the Eurovision logo and the voting was one of the most exciting ones in the history of the contest. Eventually Spain obtained the victory with only one point more than the United Kingdom. Juan Manuel Serrat was selected to sing for Spain, but because he only wanted to sing in Catalan, which the Franco regime forbid, he was replaced by Massiel. Cliff Richard's "Congratulations" had to settle for second place. MADRID 1969 The singer for Monaco was a 12-year old boy. The number of participants was reduced to 16 as Austria didn't want to send a singer to a country ruled by a dictator. Four countries ended up with an equal number of points. The Netherlands, Spain, UK and France all gained 18 points. Because the rules had no solution for this situation, all countries were declared as winner. There were four medals available (one for the winning singer and three for the winning songwriters) which were given to the four singers. The songwriters of the four winning songs received a medal afterwards. The winning songs: "Vivo cantando" by Salomé (Spain), "De trobadeur" by Lenny Kuhr (Netherlands), "Un jour, un enfant" by Frida Boccara (France) and of course, Lulu's "Boom bang-a-bang" for the UK. AMSTERDAM 1970 Only 12 countries participated. Norway, Sweden, Finland and Portugal boycotted the contest because they were not happy with the 4 winning countries a year before and the voting system used. Austria was also absent. It was a little insecure if the Eurovision Song Contest had a future, but the Dutch organization did a good job. During the dress rehearsal the stage collapsed, but during the live broadcasting everything ended up okay. For the first time, short films with each one of the singers were shown before each performance. Ireland won the Eurovision Song contest for the first time, partly because Belgium gave them 9 points out of 10. Dana sang "All kinds of everything", surpassing Welshwoman Mary Hopkin who represented the UK with "Knock, knock, who's there?". DUBLIN 1971 18 countries were present at the Eurovision Song contest 1971. The four countries that withdrew in 1970 returned, as well as Austria that had missed two contests. Malta was a new country to participate, but unfortunately for them they ended up last. A new jury system was introduced where two jury members, one older than 25 years and the other one younger, of every country were asked to give between 1 and 5 points to every song. Some jury members gave a small amount of points to keep their own chances high. For example: Luxembourg gave 43 points to all other countries, France 107. Groups were finally allowed to participate and the rule of six people on stage was established. Monaco won with the song "Un banc, un arbre, une rue" by French-born Séverine who was living in Germany. Curiosly, she has never been to Monaco! This was also the only time where second and third place received the awards and reprised their songs, which were Spain's Karina and Germany's Katja Ebstein. Clodagh Rogers came fourth for the UK with "Jack in the box". Rogers and Luxembourg singer Monique Melsen performed wearing hotpants. EDIMBURGH 1972 Monaco, last year's winner, was not able to host the 17th Eurovision Song Contest because they couldn't provide a decent venue for the contest. The BBC stepped in and hosted the contest in Scotland. For the first time, a kind of video wall was used where a picture of the participant and the title of the song were displayed prior to each performance. Malta ended up last again and a Greek performer won the contest on behalf of Luxembourg, Vicky Leandros with the classic "Après toi". Leandros already had represented Luxembourg in 1967. The New Seekers gave the UK yet another 2nd place with "Beg, steal or borrow". This year had a trend of man-woman duos (Netherlands, Belgium, Monaco, Finland, Norway and Malta). LUXEMBOURG 1973 In 1973 17 participants took part. Malta decided to withdraw after two last places and Austria also didn't participate. The first non-European country, Israel, made it's debut. As member of the EBU they were allowed to do so. The achieved the 4th place in their first contest. The voting system with the two jurors was used for the third and last time, partly because a juror from Switzerland was trying to steal the show. The first female conductor stepped on the Eurovisionstage for Sweden, and another woman conduted the Israeli song. The usage of the native language was not obligated anymore so Finland, Norway and Sweden sang in English. Luxembourg won for the second time in a row (fourth overall) with 21-year old French girl Anne-Marie David singing "Tu te reconnaitras". However the biggest classic was Spain's "Eres tu" by six-piece Mocedades which was second. Cliff Richard defended the UK once again with "Power to all our firends" and was third. BRIGHTON 1974 The BBC took over the hosting-job for the second time in three years as the RTL didn’t want to host the show in two consecutive years. 17 countries took part as France withdrew at the last moment. Their president died during the festival week and so the song "La vie a vingt cinq ans" by Dani was never performed. Greece participated for the first time. Gigliola Cinquetti, a former winner (1964), took part for Italy where the contest wasn't broadcasted live as the song title "Si" was seen as misleading towards the referendum over the divorce that were held in Italy shortly after the contest. The Portuguese song also went on to have a political meaning as it was used a password for the movement of the April revolution that ended the end of Fascist regime in Portugal. Sweden won and the winning group, ABBA, started a worldwide career. Their song "Waterloo" is by far the most famous Eurovision song of all time. Olivia Newton-John sang "Long live love" for the UK and had to share the 4th place with Luxembourg and Monaco. STOCKHOLM 1975 A record of 19 participants took part. France and Malta returned to the contest and Turkey took part for the fist time. It wasn't a big success as Turkey finished last. For the first time in history the voting system with 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 10 and 12 points was used. The votes were casted in the order of which the songs were performed. The Netherlands performed as the first entrant and in the end of the show the jury still remembered the song "Ding-a-dong" and the Netherlands won for the 4th time. The Shadows sang "Let me the one" and gave the UK yet another second place. Edited June 27, 200718 yr by N-S
June 27, 200718 yr Author THE HAGUE 1976 Sweden withdrew form the contest, a year after they had hosted the show in Stockholm. Turkey and Malta withdrew as well but Greece and Austria returned so there were still 18 countries left. The Greek song was about the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Former Dutch winner Corry Brokken was this year’s host. France gave 4 points to Yugoslavia but they never mentioned them at the casting of the votes. Because the scuteneer didn't notice this, the 4 points from France to Yugoslavia were never included into the final result. The UK won for the third time with Brootherhood Of Men and their million-selling hit "Save your kisses for me". Just like in 1969, Liechtenstein submitted a song but wasn't allowed to particpate as it didn't have its own national television. LONDON 1977 The show was held in the Wembley Confernce Centre. This contest was postponed for five weeks due to a strike of the BBC cameraman and technicians. It was supposed to be held on April 2nd. 18 participants entered a song, Sweden returned (finishing last) while Yugoslavia withdrew. At first Tunisia was supposed to participate as well (they were drawn as 4th) but they withdrew in the end. The rule that a country had to use his native language was introduced again but because Belgium and Germany had already chosen an English-languaged song, they were allowed to have it performed in English after all. France won for the fifth time with Portuguese-blooded Marie-Myriam and the classic "L'oiseau et l'enfant". The United Kingdom reached the top 4 for the 11th consecutive time, as Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran came second despite singing that they were "Rock bottom". PARIS 1978 After 11 years Denmark returned to the contest. Because Turkey also decided to participate again and no country withdrew, a new record was established, 20 countries took part. Israel won the contest and received 5 consecutive 12 point-votes (which is still a Eurovision record) for the song "Abanibi" by Izhar Cohen & Alphabeta. When it was obvious that Israel would win, the broadcasting company of Jordan stopped the live broadcast claiming they had technical difficulties. A day later they presented the song from Belgium as the winning song. For the first time the contest was hosted by two people. Norway didn't get a single vote, which was unique for the new voting system, but that feat would be repeated several times in the future. Each singer entered the stage on an elevator. For the first time, the UK was out of the top 10 as Co-Co and their song "The bad old days" could only make to 11th. One of its members Cheryl Baker, would do much better three years later. JERUSALEM 1979 Turkey withdrew from the contest for this year as several Arab countries were against a Turkish participation in a contest staged in Israel. 19 countries took part and some of them had artists that returned to the contest or that would return afterwards such as Tommy Seebach, Elpida, Peter, Sue & Marc, Anne-Marie David, Anita Skorgan and Katri-Helena. Spain was the last country to cast it's votes. At that moment Spain was in the lead with 1 point more than Israel. Spain gave 10 point to Israel and so for the second time in a row Israel won with "Hallelujah". Before each song an humoristic comedy film spoofing the characteristics of each country was shown. The UK sent Black Lace of "Agadoo" fame who chalked a 7th place with the song "Mary Ann". THE HAGUE 1980 Israel had no means to organize the Eurovision Song Contest again. The Uk was asked to do that job, but the BBC said no too and so The Netherlands became the organizer although there was not many time left. The NOS picked April 19th as the date for the contest. That day is a remembrance day in Israel so the defending champion had to withdraw. For the first time Morocco participated, but when they ended up 18th it is said the king of Morocco decided the country could never participate in the contest. Turkey also returned to the contest but Monaco withdrew and returned 24 years later. Each country brought along a presenter of it's own to introduce the song in their native language. Ireland won for the second time with Johnny Logan's "What's another year" seeing off the heavy-favourite German song. The Norwegian song included eskimo chants. The UK was thrid with six-piece Prima Donna saying they had "Love enough for two". DUBLIN 1981 In 1981 there were 20 countries again. Morocco withdrew after their first participation and Italy withdrew as well because the interest in the contest was diminished. Yugoslavia on the other hand returned to the contest after five years, just as Israel that had missed out one contest. Cyprus made it's debut. The producers of the 26th Eurovision Song Contest focused on the nature of Ireland. During the postcards and during the show the Irish nature, beer and culture were highly promoted. The stage was divided in three: one for the voting, one for the orchestra and one for the performers. 1961 winner Jean-Claude Pascal represented the Luxembourg 20 years later and was 11th. Bucks Fizz, the group that won the contest, got some of their points for the famous skirts act while performing "Making your mind up". HARROGATE 1982 France was absent because they thought that the Eurovision Song contest was not interesting anymore, but in 1983 the French audience forced the national broadcaster to be in the contest again. Greece also withdrew, leaving 18 countries in competition. The show was staged in an unknown village , Harrogate. The Finnish singer Kojo tried to impress the audience by hitting himself on the head. He finished last with 0 points. Germany performed last and won the contest, it was their first victory. At the reprise, singer Nicole sang the song in 4 languages, German, English, French and Dutch. The English version of the song became the UK's 500th #1 single. MUNICH 1983 This was the year of the stage that Terry Wogan described as the biggest electric heater in the world. In the beginning all the contestants walked onstage like an Olympic parade of nations (the event was held in a former Olympic facility). With Italy, France and Greece back in competition and Ireland stepping out for one year there were 20 countries again. Host Marlene Charell tried to announce each song in English, French and German, which was pretty hard for her, and so she made a lot of mistakes. During the voting she made thirteen further mistakes. There were a lot of eccentric songs this year, including those of Turkey and Spain that didn't get a single point. Eventually it was Luxembourg to win the 28th Eurovision Song Contest, the 5th victory for the small country. Parisian Corinne Hermés sang "Si la vie est un cadeau" seeing off Israel's Ofra Haza, famous for her 80's hit "Im nin alu". The UK was 6th with the trio Sweet Dreams that included Fame Academy teacher Carrie Grant. Future ESC winner Carola was third for Sweden. LUXEMBOURG 1984 Ireland returned to the contest, finishing second (with a song written by Johnny Logan and sung by future winner Linda Martin), while Greece and Israel withdrew. It was Remembrance Day in Israel so IBA decided not to send a song. Sweden won the Eurovision Song contest with the happy song Diggi-loo diggy-ley, performed by the trio The Herrey's. This song became a real evergreen, but the Italian song "I treni di Tozeur" became a huge hit all over Europe although it only became 5th. The song had a little opera-part in it, which was song in German. The UK was 7th with the "Love Games" sung by Belle & The Devotions despite being heavily booed by the crowd because of the Bristish hooliganism that caused so much mayhem in the 80's. GOTEMBOURG 1985 This year the Netherlands withdrew because of their remembrance day. Yugoslavia also decided not to take part. The places of these two countries were occupied by Greece and Israel, so there were 19 countries again. This contest was very modern with 10.000 seats for the audience and a nice modern decor. Among the participants was former Eurovision winner Izhar Cohen. The contest was hosted by former participant Lill Lindfors who surprised the audience and the EBU with an act in which it seemed that her skirt was torn off but it was all rehearsed. After a curse of last places there was finally some luck for Norway. The swinging song "La det swinge" by the Bobbysocks won. Both members of the duo had previous ESC experience and would return again in separate. Vikki Lawson sang "Love is" for the UK and was 4th.
June 29, 200718 yr Author BERGEN 1986 20 countries were in competition again. The Netherlands and Yugoslavia returned and Iceland made their debut. They wanted to participate for some years but they couldn't afford to host the event after a victory so they decided to wait until they were ready for that. Italy and Greece withdrew. Luxembourg brought us the 500th song for the Eurovision Song Contest, L'amour de ma vie. The contest was one big commercial for Norway as a country, which was very unusual for that period. Winner Sandra Kim from Belgium sang in her song "J'aime la vie" that she was 15 years old, in fact she was only 13. Belgium won for the first time and all the countries that participated in the very first contest in 1956 now had all won the contest at least once. The UK was 7th with the group Ryder and their song "Runner in the night". BRUSSELS 1987 A record breaking 22 countries found their way to Brussels for this contest with Greece and Italy returning to the competition again. The Wallonian entry won the 1986 contest, but in 1987 the Flemish broadcaster BRT was responsible for the Belgian entry. BRT also wanted to organize the contest but the Wallonian broadcaster RTBf could not agreed with that and insisted on organizing the Eurovision Song Contest 1987 themselves. Johnny Logan won for Ireland, he became the first artist that won the contest twice, this time with "Hold me now". Germany's Wind had to settle for 2nd like in 1985. Rikki's "Only the light" was only 13th, the least successful UK entry up to then. DUBLIN 1988 The song that Cyprus wanted to send to the contest didn't match the contest rules so Cyprus withdrew, leaving 21 countries to compete. This contest brought us Céline Dion and Lara Fabian, who both became world famous after their Eurovision participation. Céline Dion won the contest for Switzerland with "Ne partez pas sans moi". After the victory in the very first contest, this was the second win for Switzerland, beating the United Kingdom's Scott Fiztegerald by a single point. Denmark was represented by the duo Hot Eyes who came in 3rd and already took part in 1984 and 1985: singer Kirsten Siegaard was eight months pregnant (she had already sung pregnant in 1984!). LAUSANNE 1989 With Cyprus back in competition, there were 22 countries again. The French participant was 11 years old (almost 12), one of the Israelian representatives was 12 years old. The EBU couldn't face it any longer and in 1990 they introduced the minimum-age rule. A participant must at least turn 16 in the year a contest is held. Céline Dion performed two songs, "Ne partez pas sans moi" and "Where does my heart beat now", as interval act. Last mentioned became a worldwide hit three years later. It was a big surprise that Yugoslavia won with the simple song "Rock me", beating the UK song "Why do I always get it wrong" by Live Report. Denmark also repeated 1988's thrid place. ZAGREB 1990 This contest featured many songs about the fall of the Berlin wall and an united Europe. A false start for Spain as the Spanish conductor couldn't hear the music on tape and stopped conducting. Italy won for the second time. The well-known singer Toto Cotugno sang the song "Insieme 1992" about an united Europe and grabbed the victory. He was so nervous at the end of the voting procedure that the sweat on his head made his hair paint spoil his costume. France came second with "White & Black blues", penned by Serge Gainsbourg for Joelle Ursul, tied with Ireland's "Somewhere in Europe". ROME 1991 For the second time in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, the Netherlands had to withdraw because the contest was held on their remembrance day. Malta, returning after 16 years of absence, took the open spot. Due to the Gulf War and rumorous times in Yugoslavia, RAI decided to move the contest from San Remo to Rome, which felt a bit more secure. Because of this late move it seemed that the RAI was not completely ready for the show. Toto Cutugno and Gigliola Cinquetti had big difficulties with the pronunciation of the song titles and names of the artists and conductors. At the end of the voting Sweden and France both had 146 points but Sweden was declared winner as they gained more 10-point votes from other countries. Carola sang her song "Fangad av en stormvind" with a wind machine blowing on her face. UK tied with Ireland for 10th place with bombeshell Samantha Janus sending "A message to your heart". MALMO 1992 Because the Netherlands returned, a new record was set. 23 countries traveled to Malmö for the 37th Eurovision Song Contest. The stage represented a big Viking ship, in which Linda Martin performed and won with the song "Why me" for Ireland. The song was composed by Johnny Logan, who also won the contest in 1980 and 1987. Martin had been secnd in 1984. Michael Ball's "One step out of time" gave the UK yet another second-place. MILSTREET 1993 Several records were broken again in 1993. 25 countries were in competition aas the former Yugoslav republics Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia made their debut. These three new countries won a preliminary heat in which 7 countries from Eastern Europe, who all wanted to participate, competed. Russia, Slovakia, Hungary and Estonia didn't qualify. Furthermore the city where the contest was held had never been smaller than this year’s host city Millstreet. A rich inhabitant of Millstreet offered RTÉ his riding school as venue, which they gladly accepted as it reduced the costs a lot. Ireland notched its second consecutive victory with Niamh Kavanagh, ahead yet again of the UK with Sonia's "Better the devil you know". Luxembourg participated for the last time to date. Belgium was last but its singer Barbara Dex would make Eurovision history by giving the name of the award of the worst dressed. DUBLIN 1994 The number of countries that wanted to take part became too big for the event so the EBU decided on a relegation system. In this contest, the 7 countries that finished on the bottom 7 spots of last years contest were relegated and Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia made their debut. Because Italy withdrew voluntarily, only the bottom 6 of the 1993-contest were actually relegated. The most memorable part of the evening was the interval act Riverdance. In the years afterwards millions of people visited this dance show. Ireland won for the third time in a row, with Charlie McGettigan and Paul harrington singing "The rock'n'roll kids". Poland finished second, a memorable debut whilst Hungary was the early leader. Frances Ruffelle sang "Lonely symphony (we will be free)" for the UK was 10th. DUBLIN 1995 The EBU decreased the number of participants back to 23 to make sure the show wouldn't last longer than 3 hours. 5 of the 6 countries that were relegated last year came back to the contest, Luxembourg decided to stop participating totally and Italy withdrew voluntarily, as in 1993. The bottom 7 countries of 1994 were relegated. Because it was the 40th edition of the contest, the program started with a three-minute compilation of previous contests. The winning song "Nocturne" came from Norway and the lyrics consisted of 24 words. Ireland didn't win for the 4th time in a row although the violinist of the Norwegian group Secret Garden was Irish. The UK had the first rap song in Eurovision with Love City Groove's eponymous song, coming 10th tied with Malta. Edited March 5, 200916 yr by N-S
June 29, 200718 yr Author OSLO 1996 The relegation system was replaced by a qualification system. Only last years winner, Norway, was admitted directly into the contest, all the other potential participants (29 countries), competed in an audio-preselection (songs were judged only by listening to them) for 22 places. Germany, Israel, Denmark, Hungary, Russia, FYR Macedonia and Romania failed to qualify for the actual final. The Norwegian broadcaster NRK tried to modernize the contest. For example virtual reality was used to visualize the voting. In the introduction postcards every participant received the best wishes from a government representative (for example the prime minister). Ireland got it's seventh victory, the fourth in five years with Eimar Quinn's "The Voice", denying Elisabeth Andreasson of Norway a second victory (she had won in 1985). Two other ladies stood out this year: Portugal's Lúcia Moniz who conquered her country's best result ever and would go on to star in the film "Love actually" and Aussie Gina G. singing for the UK with her #1 hit "Ooh..ah...just a little bit." DUBLIN 1997 The number of participants was 25 again. Last years audio-preselection was changed for a new system. The average results of all countries in the last 5 contests were measured and the 25 countries that had done best in that period qualified. Israel withdrew voluntarily, Bosnia Herzegovina took their place. Again, Ireland was responsible for the organization of the Eurovision Song Contest. RTÉ almost ended up bankrupt due the high costs, which was no surprise after we saw the giant modern stage! This year the televoting was introduced in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. It was interesting to see that Iceland got 16 of it's 18 points from these 5 countries. Ireland was the best scoring country in the televoting-part but the United Kingdom became the overall winner, for the fifth time with Katrina & The Waves of "Walking on sunshine" fame and the song "Love shine a light". Italy took part for the last time so far. The infamous Barbara Dex award was awrded for the first time, the dubious honour going to Debbie Scerri from Malta. BIRMINGHAM 1998 The participants list of 25 countries was composed by last year's winner (United Kingdom), the other 3 countries of the so-called big four (Germany, France and Spain), all countries that failed to qualify for last years contest (including debutant FYR Macedonia), complemented with the top of the 5-years average list introduced last year. The controversial Israelian candidate got all the attention on forehand, because she was a transsexual! Dana International, born as a boy (Yaron Cohen), presented herself and her song to Europe, giving Israel it's 3rd contest-victory. The UK was second again with Imaani's "Where are you". This was the last time orchestra was used. JERUSALEM 1999 The EBU issued some changes in the ESC rules. The language in which the singers had to perform the song became a free choice and the number of participants was reduced to 23 again. Latvia wanted to take part at first but withdrew at a late stage because of financial problems. Hungary was offered the free spot but they declined and so Portugal eventually got the opportunity to go to Jerusalem. While the security was an important issue during this Eurovision Song Contest, the atmosphere from Jerusalem was pleasant. The predictable but still favorite ABBA-sound from Sweden's Charlotte Nilson and her song "Take me to your heaven" ended up as winner. Iceland finished second, performing as the 13th country with the song "All out of luck". Precious defended the UK with "Say it again" who came in a disappoiting 14th place. One of its members, Jenny Frost would achieve much success by replacing Kerry Katona in Atomic Kitten. STOCKHOLM 2000 The EBU intended to have 25 countries in this contest, the 45th, but after the withdrawal of Greece, they didn't appoint a replacing country so 24 countries were in competition. Among them was Latvia that made a great debut finishing 3rd. Denmark was a surprising winner with the Olsen Brothers who had been trying their luck in the Danish finals since 1978 won with "Fly on the wings of love". A dance version of that song by XTM was a huge UK hit in 2003. The internet polls were wrong, favorites like UK and The Netherlands became 16th and 13th while winner Denmark was predicted to finish 18th in the internet polls. Nicki French was the UK representant with "Don't play that song again". One could say that they asked for it. COPENHAGEN 2001 23 countries were in competition this year. Poland, Bosnia Herzegovina, Slovenia, Portugal, Lithuania and Greece returned to the contest, replacing the 7 countries with the lowest average result in the past 5 contests. The Eurovision Song Contest broke last years spectators-record again. Near 35.000 people watched the show live in the Parken soccer Stadium. The EBU introduced a new qualification rule. Only the top 15 and The Big-4 could participate in 2002, together with the passive countries. Estonia won the contest for the first time, which was rather a surprise, as they weren't mentioned among the pre-contest favorites. "Everybody" was a duet with Tanel Padar and Aruba-born Dave Benton, who became the first black person to win the ESC, ahead of the host Denmark. The songs from Greece and France, that were 3rd and 4th, were huge hits in Europe. Lindsay Dracass stepped up for the UK with "No dream impossible" and was 15th. In the interval act, famous Danish acts Aqua and Safri Duo performed. TALINN 2002 Based upon the new rules only 22 countries would be able to compete in Tallinn but the EBU changed their own rules again to have 24 countries competing. Israel and Portugal were invited to join the 22 initial countries. Israel accepted the invitation but Portugal declined, giving the opportunity to Latvia, the country that would eventually win this contest. People in Europe where afraid that the Estonians could not afford to host the contest but Estonian fundraising solved that problem and everything ended up like a fairytale, which was also the theme of the show. Latvia won after a eye-catching performance where Marie N. sung "I wanna" while going through various clothing changes. Malta was second and Estonia and UK were joint third. Jessica Garlick, who was one of the first Pop Idol finalists along with Will Young and Gareth gates, sang the ballad "Come back". RIGA 2003 2003 saw yet another debutant in the Eurovision Song Contest. Ukraine participated for the first time. Due to this, 26 countries were present in Riga, a new Eurovision record. The famous duo t.A.T.u. from Russia participated and they kept both the organisation and the press rather busy during the rehearsal week by not caring about rehearsal schedule’s and threatening with indecent behaviour on stage during the final. Eventually the alleged lesbian duo finished 3rd after Turkey (which was victorious for the first time) and Belgium. Another novelty in the Eurovision Song Contest was the stage in which a video floor was embedded. Turkey's song was "Every way that I can" by sertab Erener. The UK suffered its biggest ESC disaster ever by failing to get a single point with the song "Cry baby". An off-key performance by Jemini certainly helped. Edited June 29, 200718 yr by N-S
June 29, 200718 yr Author ISTAMBUL 2004 The 2004 Eurovision Song Contest was the first contest that lasted two nights. The EBU decided to change the showformat this way so every interrested country could participate. On Wednesday 24 countries competed for 10 spots in the final for which 14 countries (the big four and the top 10 of 2003) directly qualified. Serbia & Montenegro, Albania, Andorra and Belarus debuted and Monaco returned after 25 years of absence. The first two qualified for the final along with Ukraine, Greece, Croatia, Macedonia, Netherlands, Malta, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Cyprus. Ukraine won on its second particpation with Ruslana's "Wild dances" surpassing Serbia & Montenegro who had won the semifinal. Former Fame Academy contestant James Fox was 16th for the UK with "Hold on to our love". KIEV 2005 39 countries took part, as Bulgaria and Moldova debuted and Hungary returned after 7 years of absence. Moldova and Hungary joined Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Israel, Croatia, Macedonia, Latvia and semi-final winner Romania in the 10 countries qualified for the final. Iceland was shockingly out despite being a huge favourite. In the final, the big 4 countries were bottom 4. Greece won for the first time with Helena Paparizou's "You're my #1", seeing off Malta. Javine's "Touch my fire" was only 22nd. ATHENS 2006 Austria, Hungary and Serbia & Montenegro withdrew. Armenia debuted and qualified for the final with Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Russia, Turkey, Bosnia & Hercegovina, Lithuania, Ukraine and Macedonia. Shockingly, Belgium's international popstar Kate Ryan was left out. After 45 years comepting in the ESC and so many disastrous results, Finland finally won with monster-faced band Lordi and "Hard rock hallelujah", ahead of Russia and Bosnia-Hercegovina. 1991 winner Carola came 5th for Sweden. The UK was represented by Daz Sampson of Bus Stop and Uniting Nations fame with "Teenage life" and was 19th. HELSINKY 2007 A record 42 nations took part, as Austria and Hungary returned, Serbia and Montenegro competed as separate nations and Czech Republic and Georgia debuted. Only Monaco withdrew. Serbia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Georgia, Hungary, Turkey, Moldova, Latvia, Belarus and Bulgaria qualified which led to many complaints that the ESC was being overtaken by Eastern Europe nations who voted among themselves. Famous Swiss star DJ Bobo falied to qualify. Serbia with its song "Molitva" by Marija Serifovic won the final ahead of controversial Ukraine transvestite Verka Saduchka. 7-times winner Ireland was last for the first time. Early 2000's pop band Scooch made a comeback to represent the UK with "Flying the flag for you" and were 19th joint with France.
March 4, 200916 yr Author BELGRADE 2008 43 countries took part including newcomers Azerbaijan and San Marino. Austria withdrew. For the first time there were held two semifinals from each the top 9 plus a tenth country chosen by the votes of the juries would qualify. These allowed Sweden (represented by ESC1999 winner Charlotte Perelli) to qualify even though it was palced 12th in its semifinal. Azerbaijan, Norway, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Russia, Greece, Armenia, Finland, Israel, Romania and Poland (jury choice and 10th place) moved on from semifinal 2. Portugal, Ukraine, Latvia, Georgia, Croatia, Denmark, Iceland, Albania, Turkey and Sweden qualified through semifinal 2. Host country Serbia and the Big4 countries were automatically qualified. Ireland raised eyebrows by being represented by a non-human performer: the infamous Dustin The Turkey. However it didn't qualify. After coming second in 2006, Dima Bilan gave Russia its first ESC victory with "Believe", even though he was only third in his semifinal. He shared the stage with Hungarian violin virtuoso Edvin Marton and Olympic Figure Skating champion Evgney Pluchenko. The UK brough X-Factor runner-up Andy Abraham with "EVen if" but it had to share last place with Germany and Poland.
March 5, 200916 yr Thanks for this update. This should be pinned really! Great thread. A lot of people act like Eurovision was invented in the 90s...
March 5, 200916 yr Thanks for these :) Just one little thing, though: NORWAY 1995 The EBU decreased the number of participants back to 23 to make sure the show wouldn't last longer than 3 hours. 5 of the 6 countries that were relegated last year came back to the contest, Luxembourg decided to stop participating totally and Italy withdrew voluntarily, as in 1993. The bottom 7 countries of 1994 were relegated. Because it was the 40th edition of the contest, the program started with a three-minute compilation of previous contests. The winning song "Nocturne" came from Norway and the lyrics consisted of 24 words. Ireland didn't win for the 4th time in a row although the violinist of the Norwegian group Secret Garden was Irish. The UK had the first rap song in Eurovision with Love City Groove's eponymous song, coming 10th tied with Malta. That should be Dublin 1995 :)
March 5, 200916 yr BEGGREN 1986 20 countries were in competition again. The Netherlands and Yugoslavia returned and Iceland made their debut. They wanted to participate for some years but they couldn't afford to host the event after a victory so they decided to wait until they were ready for that. Italy and Greece withdrew. Luxembourg brought us the 500th song for the Eurovision Song Contest, L'amour de ma vie. The contest was one big commercial for Norway as a country, which was very unusual for that period. Winner Sandra Kim from Belgium sang in her song "J'aime la vie" that she was 15 years old, in fact she was only 13. Belgium won for the first time and all the countries that participated in the very first contest in 1956 now had all won the contest at least once. The UK was 7th with the group Ryder and their song "Runner in the night". Bergen 1986 :P
March 5, 200916 yr Author BERGEN 1986 20 countries were in competition again. The Netherlands and Yugoslavia returned and Iceland made their debut. They wanted to participate for some years but they couldn't afford to host the event after a victory so they decided to wait until they were ready for that. Italy and Greece withdrew. Luxembourg brought us the 500th song for the Eurovision Song Contest, L'amour de ma vie. The contest was one big commercial for Norway as a country, which was very unusual for that period. Winner Sandra Kim from Belgium sang in her song "J'aime la vie" that she was 15 years old, in fact she was only 13. Belgium won for the first time and all the countries that participated in the very first contest in 1956 now had all won the contest at least once. The UK was 7th with the group Ryder and their song "Runner in the night". BRUSSELS 1987 A record breaking 22 countries found their way to Brussels for this contest with Greece and Italy returning to the competition again. The Wallonian entry won the 1986 contest, but in 1987 the Flemish broadcaster BRT was responsible for the Belgian entry. BRT also wanted to organize the contest but the Wallonian broadcaster RTBf could not agreed with that and insisted on organizing the Eurovision Song Contest 1987 themselves. Johnny Logan won for Ireland, he became the first artist that won the contest twice, this time with "Hold me now". Germany's Wind had to settle for 2nd like in 1985. Rikki's "Only the light" was only 13th, the least successful UK entry up to then. DUBLIN 1988 The song that Cyprus wanted to send to the contest didn't match the contest rules so Cyprus withdrew, leaving 21 countries to compete. This contest brought us Céline Dion and Lara Fabian, who both became world famous after their Eurovision participation. Céline Dion won the contest for Switzerland with "Ne partez pas sans moi". After the victory in the very first contest, this was the second win for Switzerland, beating the United Kingdom's Scott Fiztegerald by a single point. Denmark was represented by the duo Hot Eyes who came in 3rd and already took part in 1984 and 1985: singer Kirsten Siegaard was eight months pregnant (she had already sung pregnant in 1984!). LAUSANNE 1989 With Cyprus back in competition, there were 22 countries again. The French participant was 11 years old (almost 12), one of the Israelian representatives was 12 years old. The EBU couldn't face it any longer and in 1990 they introduced the minimum-age rule. A participant must at least turn 16 in the year a contest is held. Céline Dion performed two songs, "Ne partez pas sans moi" and "Where does my heart beat now", as interval act. Last mentioned became a worldwide hit three years later. It was a big surprise that Yugoslavia won with the simple song "Rock me", beating the UK song "Why do I always get it wrong" by Live Report. Denmark also repeated 1988's thrid place. ZAGREB 1990 This contest featured many songs about the fall of the Berlin wall and an united Europe. A false start for Spain as the Spanish conductor couldn't hear the music on tape and stopped conducting. Italy won for the second time. The well-known singer Toto Cotugno sang the song "Insieme 1992" about an united Europe and grabbed the victory. He was so nervous at the end of the voting procedure that the sweat on his head made his hair paint spoil his costume. France came second with "White & Black blues", penned by Serge Gainsbourg for Joelle Ursul, tied with Ireland's "Somewhere in Europe". ROME 1991 For the second time in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, the Netherlands had to withdraw because the contest was held on their remembrance day. Malta, returning after 16 years of absence, took the open spot. Due to the Gulf War and rumorous times in Yugoslavia, RAI decided to move the contest from San Remo to Rome, which felt a bit more secure. Because of this late move it seemed that the RAI was not completely ready for the show. Toto Cutugno and Gigliola Cinquetti had big difficulties with the pronunciation of the song titles and names of the artists and conductors. At the end of the voting Sweden and France both had 146 points but Sweden was declared winner as they gained more 10-point votes from other countries. Carola sang her song "Fangad av en stormvind" with a wind machine blowing on her face. UK tied with Ireland for 10th place with bombeshell Samantha Janus sending "A message to your heart". MALMO 1992 Because the Netherlands returned, a new record was set. 23 countries traveled to Malmö for the 37th Eurovision Song Contest. The stage represented a big Viking ship, in which Linda Martin performed and won with the song "Why me" for Ireland. The song was composed by Johnny Logan, who also won the contest in 1980 and 1987. Martin had been secnd in 1984. Michael Ball's "One step out of time" gave the UK yet another second-place. MILSTREET 1993 Several records were broken again in 1993. 25 countries were in competition aas the former Yugoslav republics Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia made their debut. These three new countries won a preliminary heat in which 7 countries from Eastern Europe, who all wanted to participate, competed. Russia, Slovakia, Hungary and Estonia didn't qualify. Furthermore the city where the contest was held had never been smaller than this year’s host city Millstreet. A rich inhabitant of Millstreet offered RTÉ his riding school as venue, which they gladly accepted as it reduced the costs a lot. Ireland notched its second consecutive victory with Niamh Kavanagh, ahead yet again of the UK with Sonia's "Better the devil you know". Luxembourg participated for the last time to date. Belgium was last but its singer Barbara Dex would make Eurovision history by giving the name of the award of the worst dressed. DUBLIN 1994 The number of countries that wanted to take part became too big for the event so the EBU decided on a relegation system. In this contest, the 7 countries that finished on the bottom 7 spots of last years contest were relegated and Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia made their debut. Because Italy withdrew voluntarily, only the bottom 6 of the 1993-contest were actually relegated. The most memorable part of the evening was the interval act Riverdance. In the years afterwards millions of people visited this dance show. Ireland won for the third time in a row, with Charlie McGettigan and Paul harrington singing "The rock'n'roll kids". Poland finished second, a memorable debut whilst Hungary was the early leader. Frances Ruffelle sang "Lonely symphony (we will be free)" for the UK was 10th. DUBLIN 1995 The EBU decreased the number of participants back to 23 to make sure the show wouldn't last longer than 3 hours. 5 of the 6 countries that were relegated last year came back to the contest, Luxembourg decided to stop participating totally and Italy withdrew voluntarily, as in 1993. The bottom 7 countries of 1994 were relegated. Because it was the 40th edition of the contest, the program started with a three-minute compilation of previous contests. The winning song "Nocturne" came from Norway and the lyrics consisted of 24 words. Ireland didn't win for the 4th time in a row although the violinist of the Norwegian group Secret Garden was Irish. The UK had the first rap song in Eurovision with Love City Groove's eponymous song, coming 10th tied with Malta.
November 16, 200915 yr Author MOSCOW 2009 Slovakia returned to the ESC after an 11 year absence. San Marino withdrew and Georgia's chosen song was eliminated for not conforming with ESC rules (it was deemed to be too ouvertly political, as it poked fun of Russian former President and current Prime Minitser Vladimir Putin). Iceland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, Bosnia & Hercegovina, Israel, Malta and Armenia qualified from the first semifinal, and so did it Finland, as chosen by the jury. In the second semifinal, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Moldova, Greece, Albania, Ukraine and Croatia (as the jury choice), followed through. The main favourite, Alexander Rybak from Norway had an easy win with his song "Fairytale", whilst Iceland repeated the 2nd place of 1999 and Azerbaijan got the 3rd place. Jade Ewen, who would went on to join the Sugababes, sang "It's my time" penned by Andrew Lloyd-Webber, for the UK and reached fifth place. French diva Patricia Kaas defended her country and came up in eighth. Malta's Chiara who was 3rd in 1998 and 2nd in 2005, could not palce better than 22nd. Estonia, which ended up in 6th, qualified for the first time since the ESC has semifinals.
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