Eurovision Facts

Facts about Eurovision

FACTS:

Eurovision is actually the name given to the Europe-wide TV distribution network run by the European Broadcasting Union. It was set up in the mid-1950s, and continues to supply news and sports material across the continent and beyond.
The Eurovision Song Contest was first staged in Switzerland in 1956. It grew out of the Italian San Remo Song Festival, the pet project of Frenchman Marcel Baison, who saw the event as a way of uniting the nations of post-war Europe. The San Remo Festival is also still running.
The competition is restricted to members of the EBU - hence the presence of Israel and other countries not generally found on a map of Europe. And because there are more countries than slots available at the song contest, there's an elimination procedure, based around how well you've done over the last few years. Unless you happen to be one of the EBU's big four contributors - the UK, Germany, France, and Spain - in which case, you qualify automatically.
We say the UK is the most successful Eurovision nation. Alright, Ireland may have won more often (seven victories to our five), but we've finished second an astonishing 15 times now. Luxembourg and France have also won five contests, but how many times have they come second, eh? No more than three...
There's no restriction on the nationality of performers, as American-born Katrina Leskanich proved with The (Cambridge-based) Waves two years ago. Another recent UK foreigner was Ozzie Gina G. And Greek icon Nana Mouskouri represented Luxembourg in 1963.
Countries are only allowed six performers on stage in the Final. A phalanx of backing singers meant Katrina & The Waves songwriter Kimberley Rew didn't actually get to appear on stage in 1997 (even though he's one of Britain's finest guitarists). No chance of Chumbawamba representing UK in their present format.
Belgium's Sandra Kim was only 13 years when she won the 1986 Contest with "J'aime La Vie". Nowadays, performers must reach the age of 16 in the year of the Contest in order to qualify.
There are strict rules governing what goes on during the Final. No amplifiers on stage, and drummers must use the drum-kit provided. Which means it's lucky backing tracks are allowed (providing they are instrumental only). And any song that's longer than three minutes runs the risk of disqualification.
Here's one for the musos: traditionally in the UK, concert pitch is A=440 Hz. But Eurovision rules explicitly state that "pitch shall be 442." Slightly higher, though it shouldn't be enough to test the range of our British stars.

DID YOU KNOW THAT...

... Italian television (RAI) in 1974 broadcast the ESC with a delay of several days to avoid the Italian entry having any influence on the result of the national referendum on abortions. The title of the entry was "Sì" (Yes).
... the Italian jury chairman was stricken by geographical confusion during the 1990 ESC in Zagreb, when he suddenly said that he was the representative of the Spanish jury.
... the same thing happened to Swedish commentator Jan Jingryd, who in 1993 commenced by wishing the Swedes "welcome to Millstreet here in England, eeer sorry, Ireland."
... when Israel débuted in the contest in 1973, no risks whatsoever were taken having the tragedy during the Munich Olympics the year before fresh in mind. It is claimed that the performer Ilanit had a bullet-proof vest under her dress when singing the Israeli entry. This has never been confirmed, though.
... the Swede Sven-Olof Walldoff dressed up as Napoleon, when conducting "Waterloo" in Brighton in 1974.
... the Briton Ronnie Hazlehurst conducted with an umbrella dressed up as "a typical Londoner" including bowler hat in 1977.
... the Danish conductor Henrik Krogsgaard left his position in front of the orchestra, only to join the group of backing vocalists on stage.
... during the 1982 ESC, Finland's drummer went in for his mission with such passion that he accidentally smashed a hole into his drum. This was pro-bably not the only reason why Finland was last that year.
... in Stockholm in 1975, the German conductor Rainer Pietsch stamped his feet a little bit too vigorously when starting "Ein Lied kann eine Brücke sein". The conductor's podium broke and Maestro Pietsch almost lost his balance.
... programme host Lill Lindfors "loses" her skirt when she is about to re-enter the stage for the voting in 1985. In reality, the skirt is part of the dress and as soon as the shock has sunk in with the audience, she folds it down from her shoulders.
... the Danish duo at the 1957 ESC - Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler - finishes off their performance with a very loooooong kiss, when the director gets carried away by the situation.

Dispelling The Myths about Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest has been surrounded by many myths. Read about some of the most common ones:

The entries should reflect the individual characters of the pariticipating countries.
No, no, no. This has never been the case. The rules say that the contest should stimulate the production of new songs in the countries taking part. The above mentioned myth is not only to be found in Scandinavia, but also in many other smaller countries.
The Nordic countries only vote for each other's songs.
Well, this is to exaggerate. But generally speaking, neighbouring countries do often give each other points. Perhaps it is be because they understand each other's languages (Latin countries, Greece-Cyprus, former Yugoslav republics etc), but may also be due to the fact that neighbours often have similar musi-cal cultures and therefore are able to appreciate the songs to a greater extent.
The voting in the ESC is rigged.
There are a lot of rumours and stories, and some countries have been accused of trading and bribing. Nothing has been proven as of yet, and no country has been banned by the EBU because of this. However, one could sometimes think that the voting from some countries look a little too bizarre. Favourite countries, which for some odd reason manage to avoid giving any points to their supposedly most "dangerous" rivals, and others who for some reason receive 12 or 10 points from countries they themselves have given the same amount of points, but otherwise very few points.
The curse of starting as number two.
In 45 years, a song which has been performed as number two in the ESC has never won the contest, and people have almost started to believe there is curse over this starting position. The probable reason is that the concentration on the first song is always so intense that number two must be extremely good to be able to stand out.