History of Eurovision. Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision took place in 1957 in the city of Lugano in Switzerland. 7 European countries took part in it: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland and West Germany. Denmark, Austria and the UK were also going to take part, but due to technical reasons they were excluded because they did not submit their application on time.

From each participating country, two performers performed their songs at the competition. The organizers considered it desirable that each of the participants be selected by a strict jury - spectators of the competition in each country. There were practically no restrictions on songs, performances, the number of props and participants in the act, although they should not last more than three and a half minutes. The order in which the countries performed was determined by a draw, but the participants themselves decided which song to perform first. The first winner was Switzerland, represented by singer Lis Assia with the song "Refrain".

The first Eurovision and until 1997 were determined by a qualified jury selected in each country. According to the rules, juries also do not have the right to represent their own country. Since 1997, the jury has been abolished and is held online. The jury was elected and then it voted, but the scores assigned by the jury were given to the artists only in conditions that did not allow the population to vote. However, since 2009, their grades are again taken into account when assigning overall scores.

New rules for participants

Now Eurovision has acquired many rules: each subsequent competition is held in the winning country of the previous year. A Eurovision participant must be over 16 years old, sing live, only 6 participants in the performance can be on stage at the same time.
However, at different times there were more stringent rules in the competition. For example, from 1970 to 1998 at Eurovision a song could only be performed in the national language of the participating country. Until 2013, a song that had not been performed on stage until September 1 of the previous year could take part in the music battle.

Every year, without participating in the semi-finals, a representative of the winning country, as well as the Big Five countries - France, Great Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy, can take part in the competition. The remaining participants, before performing on the stage of Eurovision itself, must win the hearts of the audience in the semi-finals. Now about 40 countries participate in Eurovision every year.

Russia has already participated in the competition 18 times by 2014; the best result was achieved by performer Dima Bilan, who brought Eurovision to Russia in 2009. The Eurovision Song Contest held in Russia became one of the most expensive and grandiose competitions in history. It was during Eurovision in Moscow that new records were set for the number of points scored by the winner and the number of people who voted for the performers.

Song Contest Eurovision(Eurovision) is a song competition that has been held annually for over 50 years. Although part of the name of the competition is “Euro”, among the participants there are representatives of countries that are outside Europe, because the competition is held within the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

The purpose of the Eurovision Song Contest

The main idea was to create an entertaining event that would inspire and promote the cultural unity of Europe. An example of such a program was the Sanremo Music Festival, which is still held in Italy to this day. It was this festival that was taken as a basis more than 50 years ago, and has turned into one of the most anticipated and prestigious events in the musical life of Europe. The popularity of the competition around the world has grown so much that more than 100 million television viewers watch this event every year.

Each participating country Eurovision represents one participant with one composition. The winner of the competition is determined by voting by viewers and a jury from each participating country. The first music competition was held in Switzerland in 1956. Seven countries participated in the first competition. Each participant presented 2 songs, and this was the first and last time. The following year, they adopted a rule that has remained in place to this day: participants can only submit one song. Each participant must submit only a new song (the composition must not be in commercial rotation until September preceding the competition). The winner of the first Eurovision became Switzerland. Liz Assia won the competition with the song “Refrain”.

First rules and first winners

There were more and more people wishing to take part in the competition. Simultaneously listening to the speeches of all participants has become difficult. Therefore, firstly, it was customary to exclude from the competition countries that were in last place in the previous year. Secondly, since the airtime of the competition finals is limited, since 2004 Eurovision a semi-final appeared, giving everyone the opportunity to participate in the competition. After the semi-finals, only 10 participating countries advance to the finals, of which five countries (the founders and main sponsors of the competition) - Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy, France - have the right to nominate their performers directly to the final part of the competition.

For many decades, Eurovision remained largely Western European due to the closed borders of the USSR, but after the fall of communist regimes it became truly pan-European, expanding and uniting, as it was intended back in 1956, the cultural borders of Europe.

Around the competition Eurovision disagreements regularly arise regarding the quality of the song material, the original purpose of the event, methods of voting for the winners, excessive politicization - but some scandal turns into good PR both in the press and on the Internet, only increasing interest in the competition.

Ireland was the most successful participating country, winning the award 7 times, with Great Britain in second place, although the British were runners-up 15 times, France and Luxembourg with 5 wins. The youngest winner Eurovision became 13-year-old Sandra Kim from Belgium, who won the competition in 1986. According to the new rules, contestants must be over 16 years old. Therefore, the youngest winner of the 21st century was 23-year-old Elena Paparizou from Greece, and 23-year-old Norwegian of Belarusian origin Alexander Rybak, and the oldest was 38-year-old Sertab Erener, a representative of Turkey.

Theme music played before and after the song competition broadcasts Eurovision(and other Eurovision broadcasts) is a prelude to Marc Antoine Charpentier's Te Deum.

It should be noted that participants representing a certain country do not necessarily have to have citizenship of that country. For example, Katrina Leskanish was born in America, and performed with the Waves group from Cambridge. Another example was Ozzy Gina J., who represented Great Britain at the competition. The Greek in 1963 and the Belgian in 1988 played for Luxembourg. And the Canadian singer brought victory to Switzerland in 1988. And it should be noted that it was the victory at this competition that turned the unknown singer into a real star.

Conditions for Eurovision

Held annually in mid-May in the country that won the competition in the previous year. Symbol Eurovision is the word "Eurovision" with a heart instead of the letter "v", inside which is the flag of the country hosting the competition and winning the previous year. Who will represent the country at the competition is chosen by the television company that has the rights to broadcast Eurovision, and there can also be a vote of viewers or both options at the same time.

Countries that were in the Top 10 in the previous competition based on points scored automatically qualify for the finals of the competition (without selection in the semi-finals). The competition also has certain rules for participants: it is prohibited to use a soundtrack, the duration of the performance should not exceed three minutes. Group performances have been permitted since 1970, but there can be a maximum of 6 people on stage (including backing singers and backup dancers). Winner Eurovision signs a contract with obligations to speak and attend events planned by the European Broadcasting Union.

Eurovision rules

Participants are required to have live sound (the recording can only contain accompaniment), an original three-minute composition and no more than 6 people on stage at the same time. You can sing in any language. Participants must be over 16 years old: for minor musicians, Junior Eurovision was founded in 2003 (participants in the 2006 children's competition, the Tolmachev sisters, represented Russia at the adult competition in 2014).

The show is broadcast live, and after that SMS voting begins, allowing you to choose the best performers. Depending on the number of voters, participants receive from 12 to 1 points from each country (or do not receive any points if they are not voted for). And six years ago, music experts joined the audience: five professionals from each country also vote for their favorite songs.

Sometimes countries receive the same number of points - in this case, the number of 10 and 12 point assessments is taken into account. By the way, in 1969, when this rule had not yet been taken into account, four countries were declared winners: France, Spain, the Netherlands and Great Britain. The other participants didn’t like this much, so now the jury is choosing their favorite more carefully.

Eurovision countries

Only countries that are members of the European Broadcasting Union can participate in Eurovision (hence the name of the competition), that is, it is not geography that is important, but the channel that will broadcast the show live. For many applicants, this regulation becomes a serious obstacle: Kazakhstan, which submitted an application to join the EMU, was never approved by the organizers of the competition.

The organizers of Eurovision do not generally advocate much for new participants, but this does not interrupt the appetite of many countries dreaming of participating in the competition. Compared to 1956, the number of performers has increased 9 times: instead of 7 countries, 39 are now competing. By the way, Australia will take the stage this year. The green continent will be represented for the first time in history by singer Guy Sebastian. The only “but”: if Australia wins, they have not yet been allowed to host Eurovision.

But there are those who are never denied participation: these are the countries of the so-called “Big Five”, which includes Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. These states never hesitate for qualifying performances and always automatically find themselves in the finals.

Eurovision refusals

Eurovision is an expensive pleasure, so the most common reason for country refusals is economic. In second place is politics, which every now and then interferes with the competition. For example, Armenia refused to send its musicians to Baku in 2012 due to strained relations with Azerbaijan, and Morocco did not appear at the competition for a long time due to conflicts with Israel.

There are also those who do not want to go to the show, accusing the judges of bias. The most dissatisfied country was the Czech Republic: since 2009, the state has stubbornly avoided Eurovision (over three years of participation, the Czechs scored a total of only 10 points), and only this year they decided to try their hand again.

This year, Türkiye, which has accumulated complaints, said “no.” Muslims are angry about bearded Conchita Wurst's victory last year and Finnish Krista Siegfrids' lesbian kiss with her backing singer, which was caught on camera during the semi-finals in 2013.

Famous Eurovision participants

Many performers believe that Eurovision is a stepping stone to global popularity. In fact, the competition may give a few seconds of fame, but few people give the chance to become truly famous. There are also pleasant exceptions. For example, in 1974, the Swedish group ABBA, at that time unfamiliar even within their native country, won first place with the song Waterloo. This victory instantly brought success to the group all over the world: 8 singles of the group, one after another, firmly settled at the top of the British charts, and in the USA, three of the quartet’s albums went gold and one went platinum. By the way, the hit Waterloo in 2005, thanks to a vote of viewers from 31 countries, was recognized as the best Eurovision song in history.

Celine Dion was already a star in Canada and France by the time of the competition. The victory in 1988 with the song Ne partez pas sans moi (the singer represented Switzerland) expanded her geography: Dion’s records began to be sold in Asia, Australia and most European countries, and made her think about recording singles in English. A similar story happened with the Spaniard Julio Iglesias, who in 1994 reached fourth place with the song Gwendolyne, and then learned to sing in Portuguese, French and Italian and made a name for himself in Europe.

For the group Brainstorm, which took third place in 2000 (these, by the way, were the first performers to perform in the competition from Latvia), Eurovision, if it didn’t open up the whole planet, allowed them to successfully tour Scandinavia and consolidate their success in Eastern Europe, the Baltics and Russia.

It also happened the other way around: when well-known performers took part in a music competition, but they never achieved leadership in the competition. Thus, Tatu, despite encouraging forecasts, took only third place, the British Blue became 11th, and Patricia Kaas was eighth.

Eurovision scandals

People like to criticize Eurovision: the first places were probably bought, the lyrics are unoriginal, and countries vote not for the composition, but for their neighbors. Even the texts, behavior and appearance of some participants in the competition become the cause of conflicts.

In 1973, fans of the Israeli singer Ilanit were seriously worried about the singer’s life. On the eve of the competition, the singer received threats from Islamic radicals who did not hide the impending attack. Nevertheless, the performer went on stage, having previously donned a bulletproof vest. Fortunately, nothing dangerous to her life happened.

In 2007, a scandal arose around a Ukrainian participant, singer Verka Serduchka (aka Andrey Danilko), in whose song the words “Russia, good bye” were heard. The culprit of the story herself explained that the text contains the phrase Lasha Tumbai, translated from Mongolian as “whipped cream.” Be that as it may, Verka’s performance turned out to be prophetic: relations with Russia have deteriorated sharply, and now the singer is a rare bird in our area.

And the Spaniard Daniel Dijes was “lucky” to be the victim of the hooligan in the red cap, Jimmy Jump, who usually breaks into football matches to make the audience laugh and get into the frame. In 2010, Jimmy chose Eurovision as the venue and snuck onto the stage during Daniel's performance. Jimmy showed off in front of the cameras for a full 15 seconds until the shocked security began to act. Dihes (who didn't lose his cool during Jump's antics) was allowed to sing again.

Non-standard participants in the show - representatives of sexual minorities or alternative musical genres - also attract attention. Several times such musicians managed to win, which angered many spectators, but did not cancel their victory. In 1998 it was transgender Dana International from Israel; in 2006, hard rockers Lordi caused a wave of irritation, and last year the bone of contention was Thomas Neuwirth, who appeared on stage in the image of a woman with a beard, Conchita Wurst.

Russia can turn away from Europe as much as it wants with its cheeses and liberal values, but this does not apply to the large-scale pseudo-musical competition “Eurovision”. In 2015, Polina Gagarina, a veteran of music competitions and winner of the second Star Factory, was sent to the anniversary competition. Although Eurovision today can hardly boast of a truly interesting musical program, few remain on the sidelines. During the competition, everyone, from Russia to Iceland, is literally seized with a fever, comparable only to large sports championships. The final will take place tomorrow - in anticipation of it, we’ll figure out why everyone is still crazy about Eurovision and what’s really behind this competition.

Dasha Tatarkova

Where did Eurovision come from?

It was invented after the Second World War in order to unite nations experiencing the results of a tragic event and concentrate on the joys of peacetime. Eurovision was held for the first time in 1956 according to the idea of the European Broadcasting Union. The festival in San Remo was taken as an example. The competition was held in the company's homeland, Switzerland, 7 countries participated, and the organizing country won.

Since then, the Eurovision Song Contest has become one of the oldest and largest television programs in the world: more than 100 million people have already watched it this year, and at its peak the audience of the program reached 600 million viewers. The ideological mission of the organizers - to unite nations - has been fulfilled: the main unity in which the participating countries merge is aggressive rivalry, especially noticeable today, when any sneeze of the participants is immediately spread throughout the Internet.

Eurovision today is a spectacular show, somewhere at the intersection of Cirque du Soleil and reality competitions like The Voice. This is not yet a Lady Gaga concert, but it seems that everything is heading towards that. Of course, this was not always the case: at first the competition was very simple, the participants simply went on stage to the microphone and performed very modest and calm numbers by today’s standards; after all, we are talking about the fifties. Since then, the intensity of the performances has been increasing.

Although for Eurovision it was as if neither rock and roll, nor punk, nor other musical revolutions existed, it absorbed innovations in non-conflict pop music with pleasure. The effectiveness of what was happening on stage changed along with the volume, until eventually the formats familiar to us today were established. Note that the manner of singing in English also did not come immediately, but eventually globalization took its toll.

How to get to Eurovision?

The name is misleading: it seems as if membership in the competition is guaranteed only to countries that are members of the European Union. In reality, this is not the case: the competition involves different countries that are not geographically tied to Europe. Applications are submitted by TV channels that are members of the European Broadcasting Union, which created the competition. Each country, or rather a television company, can nominate only one participant, having previously conducted its selection at home in a format convenient for it.

Thus, the composition of participants changes from year to year, depending on who decides to apply. However, some members, for example the Vatican, have never taken advantage of such an opportunity, which is a pity - a representative of the Pope would do well to shake up the whole event. Today, Eurovision participants are mainly artists who are familiar with music competitions first-hand, or those who have passed the local selection based on a principle similar to the main competition. This is exactly why winners or participants of reality talent shows like our “Star Factory” often go to represent the country.

After the TV companies have selected their representatives and the song, the semi-finals begin. They were invented quite recently (the first circle appeared in 2004, and the second in 2008), since the number of participants has increased significantly. In previous years, potential contestants for the following year were eliminated based on current Eurovision scores and requirements such as broadcasting, so the semi-finals now give many more countries a shot at breaking through to the top. In addition to the contenders fighting for the opportunity to reach the final, Eurovision has its own elite, to whom this right was initially assigned. Since 2000, these have been the “big four”: Great Britain, Germany, France and Spain. In 2010, Italy joined them, and in 2015, Australia also joined as an exception. Plus, a place in the final is always reserved for the winning country of the previous year.

Why is the music at Eurovision so bad?

The songs of the participants are always one hundred percent radio hits. Nowadays, from year to year, they bet either on a cheerful pop melody, or on a soulful ballad, or on local exoticism, at least in the eyes of other countries. Eurovision likes to boast that it gave rise to the worldwide fame of Celine Dion, ABBA and Julio Iglesias. However, in a crowded music market, becoming a global pop star simply because of winning a competition is becoming more and more difficult every year. Those who try to break the paradigm of plastic songs performed by young and attractive people are much more memorable.

Few people remember just the pop songs that won in different years, but the heavy metal Lordi, which Finland unexpectedly put up, Conchita Wurst, over whom the whole of Europe quarreled, or the slightly ridiculous but charming “Buranovsky Grandmothers” are still remembered. 2015 is no exception in this sense. This time Finland is again trying to push the boundaries of the tight competition - they sent the punk band Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät, whose participants were diagnosed with developmental delays, and the representative of Poland Monika Kuszynska will be the first to perform at the competition in a wheelchair.

How does voting work?

The votes are divided in half between the audience and the jury. Each country chooses 10 favorite numbers, and then points are distributed depending on the popularity of the track in each country, from 12 to zero. The method of voting has changed over time, at first it was decided solely by the jury, then it was only the audience's choice. Since 2009, a mixed system has been established: both spectators and a special jury of professionals from each country influence the outcome of the competition. To vote today, you don’t have to call or send an SMS - just download the official Eurovision app. The counting of votes takes place during the out-of-competition final presentation of the organizing country. This year the closing song will be performed by Conchita Wurst.

No matter how much the founders of Eurovision tried to avoid favoritism, since the audience's sympathies began to be converted into numbers, it has become obvious that everyone votes primarily based on geopolitical sympathies. Neighbors vote for neighbors and are deeply offended if someone violates this order. It even has its own memes - just remember the guy with the saxophone, whose performance at Eurovision was turned into into a 10 hour video. Great Britain, which performs very poorly from year to year, is viewed rather condescendingly, despite victories in the distant past, and Russia is treated with caution. The Tolmachev sisters, who performed last year, were booed in light of the country's internal politics, which thundered throughout the world.

Why did Australia become Europe?

In 2015, the competition is being held in Vienna, since last year’s winner was Conchita Wurst, representing Austria. Eurovision 2015 is the 60th, and in honor of the anniversary, the organizers wanted to make some spectacular gesture - they decided to invite Australia to participate, where the show has been popular for many years. The SBS television company, which represented the country at the competition in 2015, has been broadcasting Eurovision for more than thirty years.

Despite the time difference, Australians will vote on equal terms with everyone else. The choice of a local lucky winner for the competition is quite natural. The Australian jury, in accordance with the unspoken tradition of modern times, decided that it was best to entrust such an important task to the winner of the first Australian “Idol” - Guy Sebastian. However, what will happen if Australia wins is not clear. Since it is participating as an exception, the country will not be able to bring the competition home, although, perhaps, Australia simply does not count on winning. Pageant officials have however stated that if Australia emerges as the winner, its broadcaster SBS will have to choose a European country for the next competition, but whether Australia will then still be a participant has not yet been decided.

What is the essence of the competition if not the music?

The Eurovision Song Contest is anything but a musical event: behind the plastic facade it combines several diverse phenomena, only hiding behind music as a form of existence. At the same time, for ordinary Europeans this is the only vote that, despite all its obvious political overtones, remains exciting and fun. Moreover, other elections may envy his transparency. Countries vote for their neighbors and friends, who are often closer rather than further away, so that the finger-pointing process explains the distribution of political likes in and around Europe.

“Eurovision” has become a litmus test not only for political ideas, but also for a certain average taste. Not all countries send someone more or less famous in their homeland to the competition, but most radio-friendly tracks talk about what kind of pop music, in the opinion of TV channel producers, is most profitable and will definitely attract attention in their homeland. It is more difficult to judge other countries, but if you remember who Russia sent away, everything falls into place: “Buranovskie Grandmothers” and Dima Bilan talk equally a lot about the preferences of our compatriots.

“Eurovision” has become a competition in a cube: it combines popular reality shows like “Idol”, “The Voice”, “Star Factory”, dance battles and even beauty contests. Titles songs about love, peace and unity - like the lines of answers from contestants fighting for a sparkling tiara. It’s just like in “Miss Congeniality”: the participants dream of “world peace.” The competitiveness of what is happening makes Eurovision something of a sport for everyone. The language of music is universal: to watch it, you don’t need to understand the rules, and to cheer, you don’t need to know the teams or the results of previous selections. It's simple: one country, one participant and a sea of emotions.

Behind all this, the music itself fades into the background. The song lasts three minutes and no more, there is a maximum of six people on stage. The fact that songs and not something else are competing is rather nominal, especially today, when the performance itself plays no less a role. Just remember Alexander Rybak from Norway, who was inspired largely by the fact that he played the violin while gymnasts jumped around him. The diversity of world music exists separately from Eurovision. Here, year after year, they present dance tracks that go straight to the Turkish disco, or power ballads, a kind of pure technical soul for white people.

This is very easy-to-understand music that can be easily broken down into its components: here’s the beat, here’s the verse, here’s the bridge; the singer hits pure notes, the stronger the voice, the better. Producers treat creating a hit as a matter of honor, in which there is no room for experimentation: the track must hit all the proven pain points, and nothing else. Perhaps this is precisely why, of the solo performers, 28 victories belong to women, and only 7 to men. An impressive ballad just typical of women's repertoire.

When did Russia participate and who represented it?

For political and ideological reasons, at the time the competition appeared, the USSR did not even think about sending anyone to sing for the country. During Gorbachev's reforms, in 1987, the USSR Minister of Education proposed sending Valery Leontyev to Eurovision - to establish contact with the Western capitalist world, but no one supported him. Not all countries of the former Soviet Union received a place in the competition as easily as Russia did after the collapse of the Union. Many are still refused participation due to political and economic considerations, fearing that the applicant TV channel will not be able to adequately fund the event on its part.

For the first time, Russia was represented at Eurovision by singer Maria Katz under the pseudonym Judith. After her from us to the competition went a variety of participants: at first they tried to rely on local figures like Alla Pugacheva and Philip Kirkorov, but their performances turned out to be among the most disastrous Russian numbers. Since then, Russia has had several refusals to participate, and then several shock hits. Alsou earned second place, Tatu - third. Before winning, Dima Bilan came close to second place in 2006; in 2012, “Buranovskie Babushki” ended up there. The “Silver” group became a prize-winner in 2007, finishing in third place.

Russia's overall score, considering its recent participation and even one victory, is very good. In the overall ranking we are in 16th place, second only to the oldest participants in the competition. Russia has become a Eurovision winner six times, taking one of the first three places; Dima Bilan brought the competition to his homeland once - in 2008. It is indicative how the political climate within a country influences who is chosen to represent the entertainment industry. In very recent 2009, Russia was represented by Anastasia Prikhodko, who sang in Russian and Ukrainian - unfortunately, such friendship of peoples is now difficult to imagine on the stage of the official TV channel. But if last year they sent the extremely positive Tolmachev sisters, this time they decided to loosen their grip a little. Polina Gagarina allows herself to take a selfie with Conchita Wurst and, despite the rather mediocre song, she does not lose her charisma and gives her all on stage.

Who made it to the finals and who can win?

This year's semi-finals included 33 countries. After the selections, 20 winners will compete for the title of winner, as well as 5 sponsoring countries, Germany, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, France, as well as Australia, plus the host country - Austria. The final finalists were revealed tonight after the second semi-final. The countries also received serial numbers of performances: Polina Gagarina will sing third from the end.

The Russian singer's chances are rated as one of the highest in the competition. Around Eurovision, as around any competition, there has long been a huge betting industry and a pool of bookers offers similar estimates of the likely outcome. So far, according to one estimate, Gagarin is in second place, losing the championship to Sweden; according to another, our chances of winning are still less, somewhere around 10 to 1, after Estonia, Sweden and Australia.

Eurovision is one of the largest music competitions in the world, which is held every year and attracts the best performers from member countries of the European Broadcasting Union. In this regard, as a viewer of the project, you will be able to see fascinating performances by representatives of not only European countries, but also countries such as Israel and Egypt. According to the rules, only one singer can perform from each country, and the winner is determined by the results of voting by viewers from all over the world.

History of Eurovision

The very first Eurovision Song Contest was organized in Switzerland in the mid-fifties of the last century. The reason for its holding was the desire to create a project similar to the large Italian festival called “San Remo”. The main goal, according to Marcel Besson, was the opportunity to unite in creativity nations that had been separated in the post-war period.

Despite the fact that the festival is still held in Italy, Eurovision is still significantly ahead of it and has become the most popular and anticipated event of the year. Today, friends, relatives and even groups of strangers, numbering more than one hundred million, gather together to watch the performances of the participants and vote for their favorite.

Before each Eurovision Song Contest, participants who wish to become finalists of the project undergo a qualifying round, based on the results of which the list of countries participating this year is determined. The undisputed participants each time are the four founding countries - Germany, Great Britain, Spain and France, which are united under the name “Big Four EMU”.

If we talk about Eurovision winners, then the luckiest country should be called Great Britain. Despite the fact that Ireland took first places more often (seven to five), this country is the leader in the number of second places, since it has fifteen such victories. This may be due to the fact that the UK often had to become the venue for the competition, as France refused this advantage.

Viewers often wonder why, for example, an American singer (Katrina Leskanish with the Cambridge group Waves or Ozzy Gina J.) performs from England, or a performer from Greece from Duxerburg? The fact is that absolutely anyone can be a representative from a particular country, regardless of nationality and even citizenship.

Interesting facts from the history of Eurovision

Throughout the history of the competition, the most unexpected performers have become leaders, and our country only gained momentum in the mid-2000s. We decided to make a selection of the most interesting moments for you.

The victory at the very first competition went to the Swiss performer Lis Assia for the song Refrain.
Since 1959, composers cannot be members of the professional jury.
In 1960, Eurovision was shown live for the first time, although only in Finland.
1988 is a landmark year for Celine Dion. Now everyone knows her, but then it was the finest hour for an unknown girl.
The winner in 1986 was a singer from Belgium, who was only thirteen years old. Throughout the history of Eurovision, both eleven- and twelve-year-old singers have taken part in the competition. Today this is impossible, since the age limit is 16 years, and for younger talents there is their own Junior Eurovision.
The rule that participants must perform a song in the language of their country was introduced in 1966.
In the Spanish victory song La La La (1968), this very word is repeated 138 times.
After 4 countries took first place at once (1969), it was decided to adjust the rules: if several leading countries score the same number of points, their performers perform their routine again, and the decision is made by the jury.
Philip Kirkorov, who represented our country in 1995, took only seventeenth place, and the following year Russia did not take part in the project at all.
Conchita Wurst is not the first freak of this kind in Eurovision history. In 2007, the winner almost became Verka Serduchka (the image created by the artist from Ukraine Andrei Danilko), who ultimately took an honorable second place. And almost ten years earlier, a performer from Israel named Dana International (1998) surprised viewers with her transsexuality.
The year 2000 is Russia's first notable achievement. Alsou took second place. The next successful representative was the TaTu group, which took third place.

The best Eurovision songs ever

To understand what kind of music Europe loves, a music service called Deezer created a ranking of the best hits and winners of the show.

Euphoria and Swedish singer Lorin Zineb Noka Tagliaoui (2012).
Only Teardrops by Emily De Forest from Denmark (2013).
Unforgettable Conchita Wurst with the composition Rise Like A Phoenix (2014).
Also very resonant hard rock band Lordi and the song Hard Rock Hallelujah from Finland (2006).
A performance by two musicians - from Ireland and Norway - called Secret Garden with the song Nocturne (1995).
Johnny Logan from Ireland and his composition Hold Me Now (1987).
Abba Waterloo (Sweden) with a hit called Hold me now (1974).
Song Satellite by German Lena Mayer-Landrut (2010).
Gina G and Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit from the UK (1996).
Finally, the charming Italian Toto Cutugno with the song Insieme (1990).

It should be noted that every year of the event is associated with completely unexpected decisions and victories. We don’t know whether this depends on the unpredictable tastes of listeners or on the desire of the performers themselves to make the most vivid impression possible. But we look forward to the continuation of this musical story.