Facts
and more facts
Milestones in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC)
1955
- a brilliant idea
Inspired
by the popular Italian San Remo Festival, the idea for the
ESC was born during a meeting in Monaco in 1955 and adopted
in Rome shortly after.
The event was to be held for the first time the following
year in Lugano, Switzerland; it was entitled "The Eurovision
Grand Prix", a name thought up by a British journalist.
1956
7
countries entered the contest
Each participant was allowed to submit two songs in the language
they wanted. The only restriction: the performance was limited
to 3˝ minutes.
The winner was chosen by a jury consisting of two delegates
from each country who could award between 1 and 10 points.
» And THE WINNER IS: Lys Assia (Switzerland) with her song
"Refrain".
1957
The
whole ESC moved to West Germany, the new hosting country.
(N.B. the rule that determines that the winner's home country
will be hosting the next contest did not exist then!)
New rule: Everyone was allowed one song only! AND: The scoreboard
entered the scene!
» Top of the list was the name of Corrie Brokkens (Netherlands)
with "Net als toen".
1958
Ok,
here we go now: the winning country will be hosting the next
ESC from now on! (Generally speaking, anyway – some countries
did make exceptions once in a while.)
» And this was France's big day! Andre Claveau won the trophy
with "Dors mon amour".
1959
»
The fourth ESC, and the second victory for the Netherlands:
This time it was Teddy Scholten doing the trick with "Een
beetje".
1960
»
Congratulations, France: "Tom Pillibi", performed
by Jacqueline Boyer, doesn't only leave her ESC competitors
behind, she also really cleaned up internationally.
1961
By
now, there are 16 songsters competing in the ESC.
» But only Luxembourg can shine with Jean-Claude Pascal and
his song "Nous, les amoureux".
1962
A
new scoring system is introduced. Now the winner can obtain
a maximum of 60 points.
» Result: Belgium, Spain, Austria and the Netherlands are
left empty-handed; Isabelle Aubret from France makes it to
the top with 26 points.
1963
»
Two international stars, Nana Mouskouri (for Luxembourg) and
Francoise Hardy (for Monaco) enter the race but only reach
the 7th and 5th places respectively as Grethe and Jorgen Ingmann
from Denmark win with "Dansevise".
1964
And
to keep everyone on their toes the voting system is changed
again (now each jury can only award 9 points).
Udo Jurgens (for Austria) makes his debut at the ESC and doesn't
let his 5th place put him off - he's taking part again the
following year.
» In the year of his debut, however, he could only congratulate
Gigliola Cinquetti from Italy for her song "Non ho l'eta".
1965
Udo
Jurgens can work his way up one place. Wouldn't it be ridiculous
if there wasn't more to it?!
» Not this year, anyway: Luxembourg wins. Thanks to France
Gall with her song "Poupee de cire, poupee de son"
by Serge Gainsbourg.
1966
From
now on, all contestants must sing their song in their own
language!
» There was more in it for Austria, and – as if he'd known
it: Udo Jurgens had laid his "thank you" out ready
– "Merci, cherie"!
1967
»
The moment of ESC-glory had come for the UK: Sandie Shaw sang
her way into the hearts of the jury with "Puppet on a
string". This was something Switzerland unfortunately
didn't manage – 0 points!
1968
»
Massiel from Spain makes it onto the medallists' podium with
"La, la, la" – beating Cliff Richard's "Congratulations".
1969
»
This would no longer be possible now: 4 out of the 16 countries
shared the Grand Prix – France (Frida Boccara with "Un
Jour, Un Enfant"), Netherlands (Lenny Kuhr with "De
troubadour"), Spain (Salome with "Vivo cantando")
and UK (Lulu with "Boom bang a bang").
1970
The
Netherlands is elected host country.
» In the end, though, Dana from Ireland can celebrate her
victory with "All kinds of everything".
1971
Who
would have thought it?! The voting system is amended yet again
... What came out of it was a new jury constitution and the
award of 10 points per song.
» Severine from Monaco won with her very naturalist title
"Un banc, un arbre, une rue" ("A bench, a tree,
a street").
1972
»
"Apres toi": All the other artists did follow her
in the other places until the last runner-up. Vicky Leandros
wins for Luxembourg.
1973
Change
of rules: Everyone could sing as they liked. The language
of the song was no longer specified.
» And for the second time in a row, Luxembourg makes it to
the very top. In 1973, with Anne-Marie David and the song
"Tu te reconnaitras".
1974
»
The ESC reached a climax: ABBA's "Waterloo" turned
out to be anything but a defeat. Sweden won, and ABBA was
and will be the all time favourite of the ESC.
1975
A
new scoring system. 1-8, 10,12 ..., this is the way it is
still done today.
» Teach-in from the Netherlands wins with a sound as clear
as a bell: "Ding Dinge Dong".
1976
»
The UK decides the ESC in its favour: Brotherhood of Man wins,
pleading "Save Your Kisses for Me".
1977
Yet
another change of direction: all contestants have to sing
in their native language again.
» Marie Myriam sings about a bird and a child for France winning
Europe’s heart ("L'oiseau et l'enfant").
1978
»
Ihzar Cohenand the Alphabeta : With this band name, it’s hardly
a surprise that the song's entitled "A-Ba-Ni-Bi"?!
Delight for Israel!
1979
»
And, once again, Israel strikes the right note to make it
to the top - "Hallelujah" (performed by Gali Atari
& Milk and Honey).
1980
ESC
reaches Africa: Morocco enters the contest.
» Johnny Logan and Chorus & Sax get up there for Ireland
with "What's another year", win hearts, and turn
out to be right with their lyrics – except that that one year
turned into seven ...
1981
Egypt
broadcasts the ESC for the first time.
» Bucks Fizz takes the trophy for the UK with "Making
your mind up".
1982
»
This is something the world of pop needed badly: "Ein
bisschen Frieden" ("A little bit of peace").
Nicole took the trophy and the ESC to Germany
1983
Down
under: Australia broadcasts the ESC for the first time.
» And the winner was Luxembourg, , with Corinne Hermes and
her song "Si la vie est un cadeau".
1984
»
"Diggi-loo-diggi-ley": Sweden sends Herrey' into
the race to win the prize.
1985
This
was the first time the ESC was broadcast via satellite only.
» The Bobbysocks from Norway let it swing and got the cup
with "La det swinge".
1986
»
"J'aime la vie": 15-year-old Sandra Kim could truly
say that life was cool. First place for Belgium!
1987
»
Remember 1980: same country, same star, same place – only
a different title. Johnny Logan is the first artist to win
the ESC for the second time, this time with "Hold me
now".
1988
»
And the winner is ... Switzerland! And no less a person than
now international star Celine Dion made it possible with "Ne
partez pas sans moi".
1989
Another
new rule: only those over 16 could enter the contest.
» This time it was Riva! They rocked the house for Yugoslavia
– "Rock Me".
1990
New
idea: The postcards presenting the participants were introduced.
» Ciao, Italia! Toto Cutugno and his song "Insieme 1992"
had no reason to fear the competition. First place!
1991
»
France and Sweden: two countries were level on points. In
the end, Carola made the race with "Fangad av en stormvind",
leaving Amina singing "C'est le dernier qui a parle qui
a raison" behind. Why? Sweden got more 12-point votes.
1992
»
Johnny Logan: Take 3! Ireland, asserts itself again with a
song by Johnny Logan, "Why me?". Performer: Linda
Martin.
1993
»
And on goes the story of Irish success: The 5th Emerald Isle
victory in the history of the ESC was thanks to Niamh Kavanagh
with "In your eyes".
1994
»
It's almost becoming routine: Ireland practically holds a
season ticket for first place. For the third time in a row,
the Irish win the ESC when Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan
pull off this unheard-of trick with "Rock'n' roll kids".
1995
»
An evening song, "Nocturne" grants Secret Garden
its victory. Norway goes into raptures!
1996
The
number of participants is limited to a maximum of 23 countries.
» And, well, almost the order of the day by now: the Grand
Prix goes to Ireland! The 7th victory in ESC history is won
by Eimear Quinn with his winning song "The Voice".
1997
»
A bit of variety at the top: Katrina and the Waves take the
next event to the UK with them, and while they're at it, score
an international hit with "Love Shine a Light".
1998
Power
to the people: televoting is introduced in the countries with
the necessary infrastructure.
» And another novelty: For the first time, a transsexual "diva"
won the Grand Prix. Dana International strutted onto the podium
for Israel!
1999
Change
of rules once again: contestants can choose what language
they want to sing in!
» Take me to your heaven": Sweden's Charlotte Nilsson's
plea was answered – first place in this year’s ESC paradise.
2000
ESC
goes multimedia: for the first time a commercial CD featuring
all 24 ESC songs comes out, and the event is broadcast live
on the Internet. Additionally, all fans in Asia can now be
reached via permanent facilities.
» The Olsen Brothers from Denmark were not only flying "On
the Wings of Love", but also riding the wave of success.
2001
Held
in front of an audience of 38,000 at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen,
the biggest event in ESC history is broadcast all around the
world.
» Here, Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL from Estonia convinced
crowds and jury with their title "Everybody".
2002
Yet
another change of rules: The number of participating countries
is raised to 24.
» Marie N helped the Grand Prix to stay in the Baltic states
– it travelled from Estonia to Latvia.
2003
»
The award now journeys south from Riga to the Golden Horn:
Sertab Erener mixed pop and rap in 2003, seasoning the blend
with oriental flavours, and shone for Turkey in the end. Istanbul,
here we come!
2004
»
And the story never ends
|
