1.
Point Theatre
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The Point Theatre was a concert and events venue in Dublin, Ireland, that operated from 1988 to 2007, enjoyed by in excess of 2 million people. It was located on the North Wall Quay of the River Liffey, the Point was closed in the summer of 2007 for a major redevelopment and underwent a rebranding as The O2 in July 2008. Prior to the redevelopment the capacity was 8,500. Following the acquisition of O2 Ireland by 3 Ireland, it was renamed in September 2014 as the 3Arena and it hosted the Eurovision Song Contest on three separate occasions in the 1990s and the 1999 MTV European Music Awards. The building was constructed in 1878 as a depot to serve the nearby busy port. Among railwaymen it was known as The Point Store. Melissa Etheridge being the act for Huey Lewis and the News was the first to play there. U2 played four nights at the venue near the end of their Lovetown Tour from 26–31 December 1989 and their 31 December concert was broadcast live on radio stations around the world and would later receive an official online release via iTunes. Riverdance was first performed in the Point Depot, as the act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994. Tragedy struck the Point on 11 May 1996, when a 17-year-old fan, singer Billy Corgan warned the crowd that people were getting hurt, while at one point, bassist Darcy Wretzky announced, Theres a girl dying backstage, do you care. The show was abandoned, and a show in Belfast the following night was cancelled out of respect. Gardaí were said to be investigating why the bars in the Point remained open for the teen-packed show, the 1999 MTV Europe Music Awards were held in the Point Depot on 11 November. Hosted by Ronan Keating, there were performances from Mariah Carey, The Corrs, Whitney Houston, Iggy Pop, Marilyn Manson, the largest winner was Britney Spears who won four awards. The final event to place before closure and rebranding was a boxing card featuring local boxer. Frank Sinatra performed at the venue on 9,10 and 11 October 1991, kylie Minogue performed at the venue in November 1991, on her Lets Get To It European tour, which was filmed for a VHS release the following year. She returned to the Point in May 2005 with her Showgirl Tour and she played six nights at the Dublin venue, just weeks before she was told she had breast cancer. Irish band Westlife performed at the venue for a record breaking 13 consecutive nights at year 2001 on their Where Dreams Come True Tour from 19, March 2001 to 31, on 19 June 1992, Def Leppard began their Seven Day Weekend Tour of Europe in the Point Depot. The show was the first time Def Leppard had brought their in the stage show outside the United States
2.
Dublin
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Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Irelands east coast, the city has an urban area population of 1,345,402. The population of the Greater Dublin Area, as of 2016, was 1,904,806 people, founded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin became Irelands principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire before the Acts of Union in 1800, following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland. Dublin is administered by a City Council, the city is listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-, which places it amongst the top thirty cities in the world. It is a historical and contemporary centre for education, the arts, administration, economy, the name Dublin comes from the Irish word Dubhlinn, early Classical Irish Dubhlind/Duibhlind, dubh /d̪uβ/, alt. /d̪uw/, alt /d̪u, / meaning black, dark, and lind /lʲiɲ pool and this tidal pool was located where the River Poddle entered the Liffey, on the site of the castle gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle. In Modern Irish the name is Duibhlinn, and Irish rhymes from Dublin County show that in Dublin Leinster Irish it was pronounced Duílinn /d̪ˠi, other localities in Ireland also bear the name Duibhlinn, variously anglicized as Devlin, Divlin and Difflin. Historically, scribes using the Gaelic script wrote bh with a dot over the b and those without knowledge of Irish omitted the dot, spelling the name as Dublin. Variations on the name are found in traditionally Irish-speaking areas of Scotland, such as An Linne Dhubh. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. Baile Átha Cliath, meaning town of the ford, is the common name for the city in modern Irish. Áth Cliath is a name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey near Father Mathew Bridge. Baile Átha Cliath was an early Christian monastery, believed to have been in the area of Aungier Street, there are other towns of the same name, such as Àth Cliath in East Ayrshire, Scotland, which is Anglicised as Hurlford. Although the area of Dublin Bay has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times and he called the settlement Eblana polis. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. The subsequent Scandinavian settlement centred on the River Poddle, a tributary of the Liffey in an area now known as Wood Quay, the Dubhlinn was a small lake used to moor ships, the Poddle connected the lake with the Liffey. This lake was covered during the early 18th century as the city grew, the Dubhlinn lay where the Castle Garden is now located, opposite the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle
3.
Republic of Ireland
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Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is a sovereign state in north-western Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the part of the island. The state shares its land border with Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom. It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, Saint Georges Channel to the south-east, and it is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The head of government is the Taoiseach, who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by the President, the state was created as the Irish Free State in 1922 as a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It was officially declared a republic in 1949, following the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, Ireland became a member of the United Nations in December 1955. It joined the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union, after joining the EEC, Ireland enacted a series of liberal economic policies that resulted in rapid economic growth. The country achieved considerable prosperity between the years of 1995 and 2007, which known as the Celtic Tiger period. This was halted by a financial crisis that began in 2008. However, as the Irish economy was the fastest growing in the EU in 2015, Ireland is again quickly ascending league tables comparing wealth and prosperity internationally. For example, in 2015, Ireland was ranked as the joint sixth most developed country in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index and it also performs well in several national performance metrics, including freedom of the press, economic freedom and civil liberties. Ireland is a member of the European Union and is a member of the Council of Europe. The 1922 state, comprising 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland, was styled, the Constitution of Ireland, adopted in 1937, provides that the name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland. Section 2 of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 states, It is hereby declared that the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland. The 1948 Act does not name the state as Republic of Ireland, because to have done so would have put it in conflict with the Constitution. The government of the United Kingdom used the name Eire, and, from 1949, Republic of Ireland, for the state, as well as Ireland, Éire or the Republic of Ireland, the state is also referred to as the Republic, Southern Ireland or the South. In an Irish republican context it is referred to as the Free State or the 26 Counties. From the Act of Union on 1 January 1801, until 6 December 1922, during the Great Famine, from 1845 to 1849, the islands population of over 8 million fell by 30%
4.
Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Belgium has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 58 times since making its debut as one of the seven countries at the first contest in 1956. The only countries with more appearances are Germany, France and the United Kingdom, Belgium have been absent only three times in total, in 1994,1997 and 2001, due to low scores in the previous contests that relegated them from the contest. Belgium has won the contest once, in 1986, in the first 20 years of the contest, Belgiums best result was Tonias fourth place in 1966. In 1978, Jean Vallée achieved Belgiums first top three placement, when he was second, in 1986, Sandra Kim became the first and to date only winner for Belgium, when she performed the song Jaime la Vie, to win as a 13-year-old in Bergen. Belgiums only other top three result came in 2003, when the group Urban Trad finished second in Riga, losing out by two points. Belgium have finished last in the contest five times, most recently in 2000 and have twice received nul points, in 1962 and 1965. After the introduction of the round in 2004, Belgium failed to reach the final in seven out of eight contests, the exception being Tom Dice. Belgium has since achieved two top ten results, with Loïc Nottet finishing fourth 2015, and Laura Tesoro finishing 10th in 2016. Belgium has two national broadcasters of the contest, Flemish broadcaster Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep and French-speaking broadcaster Radio télévision belge de la communauté française, the two broadcasters rotate selection for the Eurovision Song Contest each year. While VRT normally hosts a national final, Eurosong, when selecting their entries for Eurovision, Belgium has won the contest once, in 1986 when Sandra Kim won with her song Jaime la vie in Bergen, Norway. Although she claimed she was 15 years old, she was actually only 13, currently the minimum age for participation is 16 and thus Sandra Kim will remain the youngest winner unless the age limit is lowered. By winning in 1986, Belgium became the last of the French-speaking countries to win the contest, now Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Monaco and Switzerland all had won at least once. Belgium scored a record at the time, with Sandra Kim earning a never seen before amount of 176 points. Kim received 77. 2% of the maximum score, which, as of 2016. Belgiums next best placing has been second which it has achieved twice at the 1978 and 2003 contests, however, it has been last seven times. In 2003, Urban Trad sang in an invented language earning second place with 165 points,2 points fewer than that years winner Turkey, ishtar did the same in 2008, but came 17th in the first semi-final and thus did not qualify for the final. In the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 Belgium participated in the first semi-final on 12 May 2009, however they received just one point which came from Armenia, the 2010 entry for Belgium was Tom Dice, runner-up of the Belgian Flemish version of The X Factor in 2008. Dice was internally selected and announced by VRT on 25 November 2009, Tom Dice finished 1st in the first semi-final, allowing Belgium to participate to the final for the first time since the introduction of the semi-finals
5.
Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Denmark has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 45 times since its debut in 1957. Having competed in ten consecutive contests until 1966, Denmark was absent for eleven consecutive contests from 1967-1977, since 1978, they have been absent from only four contests. Denmark has won the contest three times, the Danish qualifying competition for the contest is the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix. Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler placed third at the countrys first attempt in 1957, Denmark then won the contest for the first time in 1963 with the song Dansevise performed by Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann. The country would not return to the top five for over twenty years, Hot Eyes then finished third in 1988, as did Birthe Kjær in 1989. In the 1990s, due to performances in the previous years. They did make the top ten three times, with Aud Wilkens fifth place in 1995 being Denmarks only top five result of the decade, the second Danish victory came in 2000, with the Olsen Brothers defying the odds to win with Fly on the Wings of Love. In 2001, as hosts, Denmark finished second with Never Ever Let You Go performed by Rollo & King, in 2002, Malene Mortensen became the first Danish entry to finish last. Denmark were absent from the 2003 contest, in 2005, Copenhagen hosted Congratulations,50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest, an event to commemorate the 50th anniversary. Denmark achieved its best result for nine years at the 2010 contest, a Friend in London then finished fifth in 2011. Denmark won the contest for the time in 2013, with Only Teardrops performed by Emmelie de Forest receiving Denmarks highest ever score with 281 points. Denmark has placed in the top five a total of 14 times and has a score of 65.261 points. Denmark first participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 1957, held in Frankfurt, the country had intended to compete at the first contest in 1956, but had submitted its application past the deadline and was, therefore, not allowed to compete. Denmark was the first Nordic country to take part in the contest, with Sweden, Norway, iceland, however, did not take part until 1986. Denmarks first participants were Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler, who sang the song Skibet skal sejle i nat and their performance was controversial as, at the end of the song, the couple performed an 11-second kiss, which caused outcry in some countries. Nevertheless, the performance achieved a respectable 3rd place, Denmark won the contest for the first time in 1963, when Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann sang Dansevise. When Norway announced its votes, the presenter Katie Boyle could not hear the spokesperson, the final result was valid and the victory went to Denmark. Accordingly, in 1964, the contest was held in Denmark for the first time, after the 1966 contest and a record low 14th place, Denmark withdrew from the contest, as DR´s new head of entertainment Niels Jørgen Kaiser did not view the contest as being quality entertainment
6.
Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Israel has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 39 times since making its debut in 1973. Israel is able to enter the contest as a Israel Broadcasting Authority member organisation of the European Broadcasting Union, Israel has won the contest three times. Israels first appearance at the contest in 1973 was successful, with Ilanit finishing fourth, Israel then achieved back to back victories in 1978 and 1979, with wins for Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta, with the song A-Ba-Ni-Bi and Gali Atari and Milk and Honey, with Hallelujah. The countrys best results in the 1980s were the second-place finishes for Avi Toledano in 1982, former winner Izhar Cohen returned to place fifth in 1985. Duo Datz finished third in 1991, before Israel achieved its third victory in 1998, with Dana International, Eden then finished fifth in 1999. Israel has hosted the contest twice, in 1979 and 1999, in 1980, the IBA declined to host the contest for a second successive year for financial reasons. Instead the contest was held in The Hague, as the date set for the 1980 contest conflicted with Yom Hazikaron – Israeli Memorial Day – Israel did not participate. This is the time that the winning country did not compete the following year. As of 2014, Israel has the record for most participations in the contest without ever coming last, since the Introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, Israel has failed to reach the final six times. In 2014, the failed to qualify for the fourth consecutive year. In 2015, Israel reached the final for the first time in five years, the only Israeli entrant to achieve a better result in the 21st century is Shiri Maimon in 2005, who gave the country its tenth top five result in the contest, finishing fourth. To date there have been three Israeli victories in the contest, Izhar Cohen and Alphabeta won in Paris in 1978 with the uptempo A-Ba-Ni-Bi. On home ground in Jerusalem the following year, Israel won again, unusually, Israel did not defend the title in 1980. The third victory came almost 20 years later in Birmingham in 1998, singer Dana International took top honours with the song Diva, setting off widespread celebrations in Israel. Israels earliest selections were picked by the Israel Broadcasting Authority, the first singer to represent the country in 1973 was Ilanit, who finished 4th. Criticism increased after she was sent again four years later, leading to a rule that the winner of the already established Hebrew Song, the Eurovision Song Contest winners of 1978 and 1979 were selected by this method. From 1981 the selection process was handled by the Kdam Eurovision with the exceptions of 1990,1998,1999,2000, 2002–2004, 2006–2007 and 2010 where the selections were again picked by the IBA. The winner of the 1980 Hebrew Song and Chorus Festival, a band called The Brothers & the Sisters with the song Pizmon Chozer, after winning the contest in 1978 and 1979, the IBA was financially and logistically unable to organise the event for the second consecutive year
7.
Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Slovenia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 22 times since its debut in 1993. Since then, the country has missed two contests, in 1994 and 2000. Slovenias best result in the contest is seventh place, both in 1995 with Darja Švajger and 2001 with Nuša Derenda, the countrys only other top ten result being a tenth-place finish for Tanja Ribič in 1997. Since the introduction of the round in 2004, Slovenia has failed to reach the final on nine occasions. Slovenia had previously represented at the contest as Yugoslavia between 1961 and 1991. Four of the 27 entries were from Slovene artists, the Slovene national final to select their entry is EMA, broadcast, along with Eurovision, by Radiotelevizija Slovenija. Table key NOTE, If a country had won the previous year, in addition from 2004–2007, the top ten countries who were not members of the big four did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. If, for example, Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the countries who placed 11th and 12th were advanced to the following years grand final along with the rest of the top ten countries
8.
Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Turkey participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 34 times from their debut in 1975 with the song Seninle Bir Dakika performed by Semiha Yankı, to their withdrawal in 2013. Turkey has always qualified for the final, except the 2011 Contest. Since their debut in the two years Turkey finished last, they scored nul points, before 1997, the countrys only top ten result was achieved by Klips ve Onlar, who placed ninth in 1986. Turkey achieved six top five results between 1997 and 2010, winning once in 2003 with the song Everyway That I Can by Sertab Erener, in 2004, the home entry in Istanbul, For Real by Athena, placed fourth. In 2007, Shake It Up Şekerim by Kenan Doğulu also finished fourth, in 2008, the band Mor ve Ötesi placed seventh. In 2009, Hadise achieved another impressive result for Turkey, finishing in fourth place, in 2010, the nu metal band maNga, achieved Turkeys second best result in the contest, finishing second. Since the introduction of the free language rule as well as televoting, in 1997, Turkey finished third with the song Dinle by Şebnem Paker, who sung all the song in Turkish. The country sent a song partially in English for the first time in 2000 and completely in English in 2003, since 2000, Turkey has had seven entries completely sung in English and four bilingual songs. TRT announced on 14 December 2012 that they would not attend the 2013 competition in Malmö, in September 2013, Turkeys state broadcaster stated a return is unlikely for the 2014 competition, citing the same reasons. Also there was no television broadcast on TRT in 2013 and 2014, test transmissions started on TRT1 on 31 January 1968. A full national television schedule, which at that time linked the areas in and around Ankara, Istanbul, TRT renewed its membership in the European Broadcasting Union starting on 26 August 1972 with Turkeys first Eurovision Network event, a football match, on 13 January 1973. Turkish national broadcaster televised the Eurovision Song Contest between 1973 and 2012 incessantly, even in the years that they werent participating, Turkey debuted to the Eurovision Song Contest in the 1975 Contest, which is the 20th edition of the Contest and held in Stockholm, Sweden. Greece did not participate in the 1975 Contest for unknown reasons according to the EBU, TRT organized a national final for select the first ever Turkish entrant to the Eurovision Song Contest. The final took place on 9 February 1975 in the studios of TRT, the winning song was picked by averaging the ranks from the professional jury and peoples jury as Seninle Bir Dakika by Semiha Yankı. At the close of voting the song had received only 3 points from Monaco, in 1976, Greek entry aroused controversy as it was about the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This time Turkey withdrew from the Contest to protest the political background of the entry of Greece, Panagia Mou, Turkey didnt take part in the Contest until 1978. The 1979 Contest was held in the Israeli capital, Jerusalem, Turkish entry selected as Seviyorum by Maria Rita Epik but Arab countries compelled the Turkish government to withdraw from the Contest because of Arabs state of war with the host country, Israel. So Turkey withdrew from the Contest for the time in 1979
9.
Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Estonia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 22 times since making its debut in 1994. Estonia has won the contest once, in 2001, Estonias first participation in 1994 was not a successful one, coming second last only to Lithuania. The country was relegated from the 1995 contest. From its second entry in 1996, the country entered its best era in the contest, maarja-Liis Ilus and Ivo Linnas fifth place in 1996 was the first top five ranking for a former Soviet country. This made Estonia the first former Soviet country to win the contest, the 2002 contest was held in Tallinn, with Sahlene finishing joint third for the hosts. Estonias total of nine top ten results, is more than any other Baltic country, Estonias record at the contest was a successful one from 1996 to 2002, only failing once to make the top 10. As such the 2002 contest was held in Estonia, in the capital city Tallinn, at the second semi-final of the 2009 contest, Urban Symphony qualified Estonia to the final of the contest for the first time since 2003, receiving 115 points and placing 3rd. The group performed 15th in the final, where it received 129 points, in 2010, Estonia failed to qualify to the final, with the song Siren by Malcolm Lincoln. In 2011, Estonia was represented by Getter Jaani with the song Rockefeller Street and she was the bookmakers pre-contest favorite for victory along with France. She qualified to the final but eventually placed 24th of 25 entries- tying Silvi Vraits 1994 result for Estonias worst placing in the contest final, in 2012, Ott Lepland qualified Estonia to the final with his song Kuula, ending up 4th in the second semi-final. In the final, he equalled Estonias result of 1999 and 2009, together with Urban Symphony in 2009, Kuula gave Estonia its best result in the contest since 2009. ^ Estonia unsuccessfully attempted to participate in 1993, when there was a round for seven countries hoping to make their debut in the contest. The official Eurovision site does not count 1993 in Estonias list of appearances, as of 2016, Estonias voting history is as follows, Points to and from Estonia eurovisioncovers. co. uk
10.
Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Finland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 50 times since its debut in 1961. Finland won the contest for the first time in 2006 with Lordis Hard Rock Hallelujah, previously, its best showing was Marion Rung’s song Tom Tom Tom in 1973, which was placed 6th. Finland has finished last in the contest ten times, receiving nul points in 1963,1965 and 1982, since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, Finland has failed to reach the final six times. In 2014, the country had its best result for eight years when Softengine finished 11th, in 2015 Finland finished last in Semi Final One with the shortest ever Eurovision entry Aina mun pitää that only lasts 1 minute and 25 seconds by PKN. Before the 2006 victory, Finland was considered by many as the ultimate under-achiever of Eurovision, prior to its triumph, it had placed last a total of eight times, once with nul points after the introduction of the current scoring method. Finlands entry in 1982, Nuku pommiin by Kojo, was one of fifteen songs since the modern scoring system was instituted in 1975 to earn no points. Due to low results, Finland was excluded from the contest in 1995,1997,1999,2001 and 2003, in 2006, Finland won with The band Lordi and its song Hard Rock Hallelujah, an entry different from the mainstream Europop that dominated the competition. The song broke records scoring the highest number of points in Eurovision Song Contest history. The record was broken by Norway in 2009. All of Finlands entries were in English between 1973 and 1976 and again since 2000, both of these periods allowed submissions in any language, two entries,1990 and 2012, were in Swedish, which is an official language in Finland alongside Finnish. All of Finlands other songs have been in Finnish, in voting patterns, Finland has traditionally supported and been supported by the other Nordic countries. In recent years also the Baltic nations, such as Estonia and Latvia have been favoured by Finland, and the other way around. In 2004, Finlands first-place vote went to Sweden, in 2005, it contributed 12 points to Norway, in 2006, it was Russias turn to get the 12 points, but it was Serbia who got their top score in 2007. The first time in Eurovision history that Sweden gave Finland 12 points was in 2006 for Lordis song Hard Rock Hallelujah, in 2007, they repeated this, giving 12 points to Hanna Pakarinen with Leave Me Alone. Finland has also given notably high points to Italy, a country that had not competed in various periods, especially from 1998 to 2010, ^ In 2009, Finland qualified through the back-up jury selection. If a country had won the year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. In addition from 2004-2007, the top ten countries who were not members of the big four did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year
11.
Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Lithuania has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 17 times since its debut in 1994, where Ovidijus Vyšniauskas finished last, receiving nul points. Lithuania then withdrew from the contest, not returning until 1999, LT Uniteds sixth place in 2006 with the song We Are the Winners is Lithuanias best result in the contest. The country reached the top ten for a time in 2016. Having been relegated from the 2000 contest the country returned in 2001 with Skamp and You Got Style and they received 35 points, placing 13th. However the following year, Aivaras could only manage to come second last with 12 points, since the semi-finals were introduced Lithuania again came last with Laura and the Lovers and Little by Little. The following year the Lithuanian broadcaster Lietuvos Nacionalinis Radijas ir Televizija sent LT United to the 2006 contest with the football chant-like song We Are the Winners. They took Lithuania to the final for the first time since 2002, coming sixth in the final with 162 points, Lithuanias best placing as of 2016. The following year Lithuania automatically qualified for the final, however 4Fun could not replicate LT Uniteds success, in 2008 Jeronimas Milius failed to reach the final, coming 16th of 19 competing nations in the second semi-final. Lithuania threatened to boycott the 2009 contest if Russia continues to showcase power, the statement was made in reaction to the Russias actions in the 2008 South Ossetia war. Culture Minister Jonas Jucas stated that it was too early to discuss the boycott since spontaneous decisions might aggravate the efforts of diplomats and thus make the situation worse. At the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, Lithuania qualified from the finals and at the end of the voting in the final had received 23 points. LRT announced in December 2009 that, due to a lack of necessary funds, however, in the event that the necessary funds of 300,000 litas would be found the broadcaster announced that they would attempt to continue the countrys participation. Ultimately, private company TEO LT provided the funding and Lithuania participated in Bærum. In 2011 Lithuania participated in the first Semi Final on the 10 May 2011 and after coming 5th, in the final, Lithuania performed 4th and at the end of the voting had received 63 points putting them 19th. ^ Includes two phrases in French, ^ Includes two phrases in French. American Sign Language was also used during the televised performance. If a country had won the year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. In addition from 2004-2007, the top ten countries who were not members of the big four did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year
12.
Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest
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The Netherlands has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 57 times since making its debut as one of the seven countries competing in the very first contest in 1956. It has missed only four contests so far, the preselection process was often done through the Nationaal Songfestival, with the winner qualifying to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest. The Netherlands has won the contest four times, with four victories, the Netherlands ranks in the top 10 most successful Eurovision countries. The countrys first two came in the 1950s, with Corry Brokken in 1957 and Teddy Scholten in 1959. Sandra & Andres finished fourth in 1972 and Mouth & MacNeal were third in 1974, the Netherlands best result of the 1980s was fifth, achieved by both Maggie MacNeal in 1980 and Marcha in 1987. In the 1990s, Ruth Jacott, with sixth place in 1993 and Edsilia Rombley, with fourth in 1998, the Netherlands have finished last in the contest final on four occasions, in 1958,1962,1963 and 1968. They also finished last in the semi-final in 2011, since the semi-finals were introduced in 2004, the Netherlands has reached the final on only four occasions, failing to reach the final for eight years in a row, from 2005–2012. Opting for a selection has fared well for the Netherlands since 2013, when Anouk became the first Dutch entry in nine years to qualify for the final. In 2016, the Netherlands once again qualified for the final, the Netherlands has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest four times, in 1958,1970,1976 and 1980. The first three times were after winning the year, while the 1980 contest was staged in the Netherlands. Similarly, the Netherlands had declined the right to organise the 1960 contest, the Netherlands has missed only four contests in its Eurovision history. The first of these was at the 1985 contest, held in Gothenburg, the contest, held on 4 May conflicted with the Dutch Remembrance of the Dead and as such the Netherlands withdrew. In 1991 the contest was held on 4 May. There was no Dutch participation in the 1995 and 2002 contests, the Netherlands did compete in 2000. But at 22,00 on Saturday 13 May, the broadcast was cancelled because of the Enschede fireworks disaster which happened a few hours before. The points awarded by the Netherlands were taken from the jury vote. Table key NOTE, The full results for the first contest are unknown, the official Eurovision site lists all the other songs as being placed second. Willem van Beusekom provided NOS TV commentary every year from 1987 until 2005, however, on November 7,2005 it was announced that Van Beusekom would quit his role as Dutch commentator saying Its good to step back
13.
Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Romania has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 17 times, debuting in the 1994 contest. With a total of five top 10 placements, their best results have been third in 2005 with Luminița Anghel & Sistem, fourth in 2006 with Mihai Trăistariu, and third in 2010 with Paula Seling & Ovi. This in turn disqualified their 2016 entry, Moment of Silence sung by Ovidiu Anton, however, it is now officially resolved and they are returning to Eurovision in 2017. In 1994 Romania debuted in Ireland by sending Dan Bittman as the countrys first contestant with the song Dincolo de nori, by failing to receive a high place in the final, Romania was not allowed to participate in 1995, and had to wait until 1996. In 1996 Romania selected Monica Anghel and Sincron for the contest in Oslo, Norway, because of the low results in the previous years, Romania did not enter for the 1997 contest. In 2000 Romania again returned to the contest held in Stockholm, Sweden, the band did not succeed to get a high place, so yet again Romania would have to miss the 2001 contest held in Denmark. They did manage to bring the first „12 points” for the country, after missing the 2001 contest, Romania returned to the contest held in Tallinn, Estonia in 2002. The country finally received their first top 10 place since their debut, Romania ended on 9th place with 71 points, of which 12 from two countries, Macedonia and Russia. The success from last year continued, witnessing Romania reach another top 10 place in Riga, Nicola and her song Dont Break My Heart. The song was on the 10th place by receiving a total of 73 points, once again, they received 12 points from Russia. In 2004, Romania sent Sanda to compete for the country with the song I Admit, yet they received ten points from Spain. Romania was on 1st place in the semi-final with 235 points, more points than those received by winning Greece in the final. Up to date, Romanias best result is third. They got twelve points from Moldova and Spain solely, but received at least one point from every voting nation that year but the Netherlands, yet they received a couplet of twelve points among others. The song wasnt a failure, as it won the Marcel Bezençon composer award and it received points from Moldova. Gheorghe only took top points from Moldova, which awarded her 12 points, Spain, which usually gave Romania their twelve points only rewarded them with seven points. They got the twelve points from Moldova,10 points from Spain, Portugal, Israel, Norway and Sweden and eight points from the United Kingdom, Denmark. During the National Selection, an act was held after the midnight passed. Niamh Kavanagh, Chiara Siracusa, Paula Seling and Ovi sang together Happy New Year, the winner was the band Hotel FM with the song Change
14.
Slovakia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Slovakia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest seven times, debuting in 1994. It had attempted to debut in 1993, but did not pass through the qualifying round, in the first three finals that Slovakia participated in, it placed no better than 18th, which it achieved in 1996. Because of its results, it was forced to miss a year after each contest. It did eventually return to the Contest eleven years later, in 2009, Slovakia had planned on entering the contest at the 1993 contest, but with the introduction of many new countries, a preliminary round was held to trim down the number of new entries. Kvalifikacija za Millstreet featured seven countries competing for three places in the final. Slovakia came fourth in the contest, represented by Elán with Amnestia na neveru, Slovakias Eurovision entries in the 1990s werent very successful, finishing 19th, 18th and 21st. After the 1998 contest, STV decided not to again for a number of years. From 1994 to 1998, STV used a selection to select the Slovak entry for the contest. In 2009, Slovakia organised a national final for the first time. A number of heats preceded a grand final, held on March 8,2009 and Kamil Mikulčík and they finished on 18th place out of 19 in semi-final. Slovakia tried again in 2010 contest with Horehronie by Kristina with similar result, despite being the fan, on 18 February 2011, RTVS revealed their choice for Slovakias Eurovision 2011 entry. The song was Im Still Alive and was performed by twin sisters Daniela, Daniela and Veronika Nízlová had some experience at Eurovision before as backing singers and dancers for Tereza Kerndlová, the Czech entry in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. The 2011 entry was the first Slovak entry performed in English, TWiiNS eventually finished 13th in their Semi Final, which meant they did not qualify for the Grand Final. However, they provided the best result for their country in many years, RTVS sent an artist once again to the Contest in 2012, with a song that was selected internally by RTVS. At a press conference on 7 March 2012, the Slovak entry for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest was announced and he performed in the second semi final, that was held on Thursday, May 24,2012. The song did not qualify in the finals and it was later revealed that the song finished in last place with 22 points. On 4 December 2012, RTVS announced its withdrawal from Eurovision Song Contest 2013 and it had also been announced that Slovakia would not return at Eurovision Song Contest 2015, citing financial constraints and an incompatibility between the contest and the programming goals of RTVS. However RTVS returned to the Eurovision Young Dancers in 2015, with RTVS explaining that the return of Slovakia to EYD supported domestic production, RTVS announced on 28 September 2015 that Slovakia would not participate in the 2016 contest
15.
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 57 times since making its debut at the first contest in 1956, missing only four contests, in 1995,1999,2001 and 2003. Switzerland hosted the first contest in 1956, and won it themselves, Switzerland won the contest again in 1988. Lys Assia won the very first contest in Lugano in 1956 with the song Refrain and she returned to place second in 1958. In 1993, Annie Cotton gave the country its eighth top three result, when she placed third, in the 21st century, Switzerland has only once reached the top ten, in 2005 with the girl band Vanilla Ninja finishing eighth. Since the introduction of the round in 2004, Switzerland has failed to qualify for the final nine times. At the 2014 contest, Sebalter gave the country its second best result of the century, Switzerland had been absent from Eurovision four times since their participation began in the first contest. These absences, in 1995,1999,2001 and 2003 were caused by poor results in previous contests that relegated Switzerland from the contest, Switzerland has four official languages, French, German, Italian, and Romansh. For decades, the requirements stated that the song had to be performed in a national language. Out of their 55 appearances in the Contest, Switzerland has sent 52 songs,24 of which were in French,12 in German, nine in Italian, nine in English, both of Switzerlands winning songs have been sung in French. ^ The full results for the first contest in 1956 are unknown, the official Eurovision site lists all the other songs as being placed second. If a country had won the year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. In addition from 2004-2007, the top ten countries who were not members of the big four did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. If, for example, Germany and France placed inside the top ten, as of 2016, Switzerlands voting history is as follows, Over the years Switzerland has broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest on three television stations, SRF, RTS and RSI. Table key Points to and from Switzerland eurovisioncovers. co. uk
16.
Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Italy has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 42 times since making its debut at the first contest in 1956. It was one of seven countries that competed at the very first contest. Italy competed at the contest frequently until 1997, after a fourteen-year absence, the country competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. Italy has won the contest twice, in 1958, Domenico Modugno finished third with the song Nel blu, dipinto di blu. Renamed Volare, the became a huge international hit, reaching the US number one spot. Emilio Pericoli also finished third in 1963, before Italy won for the first time in 1964 with Gigliola Cinquetti, Cinquetti returned to the contest in 1974 and finished second with the song Si, losing to ABBA. Italy then finished third in 1975 with Wess and Dori Ghezzi, the countrys best result of the 1980s was Umberto Tozzi and Raf finishing third in 1987. Italys second victory in the contest came in 1990 with Toto Cutugno, other good 1990s results were Mia Martini in 1992 and Jalisse in 1997, who both finished fourth. After 1997, Italy withdrew from the competition, the EBU announced that they would work harder to bring Italy back to the contest in 2010, along with former participants Monaco and Austria, but again Italy did not participate in the contest. Italys return to the contest proved to be successful, with Raphael Gualazzi finishing second, Italy has finished in the top ten in four of the last six contests. In 2015, Il Volo won the televoting receiving votes from all countries, since the introduction of the 50/50 voting system in 2009, this was the first time that the winner of the viewers vote did not win the contest. Italy has withdrawn from the Eurovision Song Contest a number of times, the first withdrawal was in 1981, when RAI stated that interest had diminished in the country. This absence continued through the year, before Italy returned in 1983. Italy again withdrew in 1986 when RAI decided not to enter the contest, from 1994 to 1996 Italy withdrew again, with RAI citing a lack of interest in participating. Italy returned in 1997, before withdrawing again without explanation, none of the Eurovision winning songs were particularly successful in the Italian charts. Despite the Eurovision contests taking place more than a month before the vote, Italian censors refused to allow the contest. The song thus remained censored on most Italian state TV and radio stations for over a month, at the contest in Brighton, Cinquetti finished second, losing to ABBA. Sì went on to be a UK top ten hit, peaking at number eight and it also reached the German top 20
17.
Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Monaco has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 24 times since its debut in 1959. The countrys only win in the contest came in 1971 when Séverine performed Un banc, un arbre, in 1972, Monaco was expected to host the contest, but declined. Monaco is still today, the only microstate which has won the Eurovision Song Contest, Monaco finished last at its first contest in 1959 before achieving three top three results in the 1960s. Two of these were achieved by François Deguelt, who finished third in 1960, romuald also finished third in 1964. Severines victory in 1971 was the first of five top four results in eight years, the others were achieved by Romauld, Mary Christy who was third in 1976, Michèle Torr, fourth in 1977 and Caline & Olivier Toussaint who were fourth in 1978. After participating in 1979, Monaco was absent from the contest for 25 years, Monaco returned to the contest for three years from 2004 to 2006 but failed to qualify from the semi-finals. The Monegasque broadcaster then withdrew from the contest saying that regional voting patterns in the contest have effectively given Monaco no chance of qualifying for the final, Monaco participated in the contest 21 times between its debut in 1959 and 1979. Afterwards the country withdrew from the contest for financial reasons and it only returned in 2004,25 years after its last participation. It withdrew again in 2007, after failing to qualify for the final for three consecutive years, Monaco won the contest in 1971, with the song Un banc, un arbre, une rue, performed by Séverine. The Monegasque victory is rather particular in the history of Eurovision because the songwriter, the singer and the director were not from the country they represented, Séverine even declared to journalists that she had never set foot in Monaco, forgetting that the video-clip was filmed there. Séverines producer was dishonest with her and stole her prize, thus she never got paid for her victory, nevertheless, the singer is still a great fan of the contest. Monacos next best placing has been second which it has achieved once at the 1962 and it has been third three times, in 1960,1964 and 1976, and last twice, in 1959 and 1966. Monaco is among the eight countries which finished last on their first participation, the others being Austria, Portugal, Malta, Turkey, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and San Marino. After winning in 1971, the decided to organise the 1972 contest as an open-air show. However, because of a lack of funds and material, Télé Monte Carlo sought help from the French public broadcaster, ORTF, because TMC wanted the show to be held in Monaco while ORTF wanted it in France, negotiations never succeeded. Monaco left it up to the EBU, the EBU asked Spain and Germany, who respectively finished second and third at the 1971 contest, but the countries were not interested in organising the 1972 contest. It was eventually organised by the BBC in Edinburgh, Monaco was absent from the contest between 1980 and 2003, before returning for three years from 2004–2006, but Maryon, Lise Darly and Séverine Ferrer all failed to progress from the semi-finals. TMC broadcast the 2007 contest opening the way for participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, despite this, Monaco did not compete in Moscow in 2009
18.
Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Luxembourg has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 37 times since making their debut at the first contest in 1956. From 1956 to 1993, Luxembourg missed only one contest, in 1959, since 1994, Luxembourg has not participated in the contest. Luxembourg has won the contest a total of five times, the only countries with more victories are Sweden, with six, and Ireland, with seven. Their first victory was in 1961 when Jean-Claude Pascal won with the song Nous les amoureux, France Gall gave them their second victory in 1965 with Poupée de cire, poupée de son. Luxembourgs fifth victory was in 1983 when Corinne Hermes won with Si la vie est cadeau, since being relegated from taking part in 1994, the country withdrew from the contest indefinitely. Luxembourgs Minister of Culture, Maggy Nagel, expressed her desire for the country to return to the contest and this was later explained as a misunderstanding by the Culture Minister. A collaboration with San Marino has been proposed, but later SMRTV clarified that there have only been talks between the two countries and that the broadcaster is evaluating other proposals and it was later announced that the project would not move forward due to funding problems. In 2004, RTL were to return to Eurovision after an absence of 11 years, however, after monetary issues, Luxembourg withdrew. Strong rumours indicated that RTL would participate at the 2005 contest, however, RTL later decided against it, and said that they would never return. In 2008, RTL later reiterated their lack of interest in returning to the contest, in recent years the Luxembourg branch of OGAE has been campaigning for Luxembourg to return to the contest. However, they would have had to secure fees regarding participation, although it was rumoured that Luxembourg would return in the 2012 edition of the contest, RTL has announced that no such intentions exist at present. On 31 July 2014, RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg confirmed that Luxembourg would not be returning to the contest in 2015 and it was reported on 26 October 2014 that the countrys Minister of Culture, Maggy Nagel, expressed her desire for the country to return to the contest. This was later confirmed by Nagel to be a misunderstanding and that the country would not be returning, however, on 24 November 2014, it was announced that Mersch had failed to raise the necessary funds in time for the project to move forward. On 21 June 2016, the Petitions Committee of the Government of Luxembourg received five petitions on various matters in relation to the Grand Duchy, one of which was for Luxembourg to return to the Eurovision Song Contest. The Luxembourg Government will therefore hold a debate to discuss the proposals set out on the petition, nevertheless, RTL reiterated its intention not to participate on 22 August. Between 1956 and 1993 Luxembourg was only absent from the Contest once, however, in 1993 Luxembourg was relegated from taking part in the 1994 Contest, and has yet to return. Due to the small size and the national broadcasters penchant for internal selection, most of Luxembourgs entrants came from outside the Grand Duchy. All five of the artists from Luxembourg were foreign, four were French
19.
Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Yugoslavia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 27 times, debuting in 1961 and competing every year until its last appearance in 1992, with the exceptions of 1977–1980 and 1985. Yugoslavia won the 1989 contest and hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 1990, ljiljana Petrović was Yugoslavias first entrant in the contest in 1961 and placed eighth. In 1962, Lola Novaković gave the country its first top five result and this would remain Yugoslavias only top five result until 1983, when Danijel finished fourth with the song Džuli. Novi Fosili also finished fourth in 1987 with Ja sam za ples, in 1989, the country achieved its only victory in the contest, when Riva won with the song Rock Me. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961, the first to compete in 1961 were Belgrade, Ljubljana and Zagreb, while the others joined in the following years. During its existence, SFR Yugoslavia was represented by a variety of artists from five of the eight Yugoslav federal units and these artists were from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia, with Macedonia, Vojvodina, and Kosovo never passing the national pre-selection. Croatia was the most successful constituent republic, as its performers won the national contest 13 out of the 26 times SFR Yugoslavia took part in the contest, from 1977 to 1980, and in 1985, Yugoslavia didnt participate in the contest. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia won the Eurovision Song Contest 1989 with the song Rock Me by the group Riva, following the rules of the contest, the Eurovision Song Contest 1990 took place in Zagreb, as the entry came from Croatia. On 28 March 1992, the countries that still constituted the fading and it included artists not only from Serbia and Montenegro, but also from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although the latter declared independence on 1 March of that year, among it candidates was Alma Čardžić. The winner of that pre-selection was Ljubim te pesmama performed by Extra Nena from Serbia, Yugoslavia was banned from participating in the Song Contest until 2004 due to UN sanctions during the Yugoslav Wars and the Croatian War of Independence. After the dissolution of SFR Yugoslavia its former constituent republics proclaimed independence, the once subnational public radio and TV stations changed to national but under new names, including, RTV Slovenia, HRT, RTS, MKRTV and so on. Since joining the EBU respectively, all of the countries have participated in the Eurovision Song Contest, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro. The following lists the 27 contestants that won the local competition, note that the selected entries of 1978–1980 and 1985 did not actually compete at the contest, as Yugoslavia did not participate during those years because of internal political reasons. Yugoslavia is one of the few countries that have sent all the songs in one of the official languages, despite this Yugoslavia have had organized national finale for 1978,1979,1980 as part of Opatija music festival. Opatija was not held in 1977, points to and from Yugoslavia eurovisioncovers. co. uk
20.
Morocco in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Morocco entered the Eurovision Song Contest for the first, and so far only, time at the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 with the song Bitaqat Hob, performed by Samira Bensaïd in the Arabic language. Their debut entry also marked the first time that Arabic was performed in the contest and their song for the contest was Bitaqat Khub, performed by famous Moroccan singer Samira Bensaïd. The song only received 7 points, all from Italy, and placed 18th, after their poor placing in the contest, SNRT announced that they would be withdrawing from the 1981 contest, and have never returned since. A rival Moroccan broadcaster to SNRT, 2M TV, has expressed their intention to join the European Broadcasting Union, should their application be successful, 2M TV, could potentially return Morocco to the contest. Table key As of 1980, Moroccos voting history is as follows, Points to and from Morocco eurovisioncovers. co. uk
21.
Voting at the Eurovision Song Contest
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The winner of the Eurovision Song Contest is selected by a positional voting system. Each country awards two sets of 12,10, 8–1 points to their 10 favourite songs, one from their professional jury, the current system has been in place since 2016. In 2003, Eircoms telephone polling system malfunction, irish broadcaster RTÉ did not receive the polling results from Eircom in time, and substituted votes by a panel of judges. Between 1997 and 2003, lines were opened to the public for five minutes after the performance. Between 2004 and 2006 the lines were opened for 10 minutes, in 2010 viewers were allowed to vote during the performances, but this was rescinded for the 2012 contest. The BBC contacted regional juries by telephone to choose the 1956 winners, and this method continued to be used until 1993. The following year saw the first satellite linkup to juries, to announce the votes, the contests presenters connect by satellite to each country in turn and inviting a spokesperson to read the countrys votes in French or English. The presenters originally repeated the votes in both languages, but since 2004 the votes have been translated due to time constraints, the scoreboard displays the number of points each country has received and, since 2008, a progress bar indicating the number of countries which have voted. Note The most-used voting system was last used for the 1969 contest and this system was used from 1957 to 1961 and from 1967 to 1969. Ten jurors in each country each cast one vote for their favourite song, in 1969 this resulted in a four-way tie for first place, with no tie-breaking procedure. A second round of voting in the event of a tie was introduced to this system the following year, from 1962 to 1966, a voting system similar to the current one was used. With the latter system, a country could choose to give points to two instead of three, in 1965, Belgium awarded the United Kingdom six points and Italy three. Although it was possible to one country nine points, this never occurred. The 1971,1972, and 1973 contests saw the jurors in vision for the first time, each country was represented by two jurors, one older than 25 and one younger, with at least ten years difference in their ages. Each juror gave a minimum of one point and a maximum of five points to each song, in 1974 the previous system of ten jurors was used, and the following year the current system was introduced. Spokespeople were next seen on screen in 1994 with a link to the venue. The 2004 contest had its first semifinal, with a change in voting. This resulted in Ukraines Ruslana finishing first, with a record 280 points, to date, non-qualifying countries are still allowed to vote in the final
22.
Eurovision Song Contest 1994
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1994 was the 39th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 30 April 1994 in the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. As of 2017, it was the last time the contest was held in April, the presenters were Cynthia Ní Mhurchú and Gerry Ryan. The pair hosted the evening in French, English and Irish, once again Ireland won the contest for the third time in a row, when Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan were the winners with a song written by Brendan Graham, Rock N Roll Kids. This was a sixth victory for Ireland, giving it the outright record number of victories at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was also the first time — and to date the only time — that the contest had been won by the country in three consecutive years. The contest opened with a film of stars floating in water, fireworks and caricatures dancing around, drinking coffee. The cameras then went live to the venue itself, where dressed in white and wearing caricatured heads of well-known Irish figures. The presenters entered the stage spectacularly from a bridge which descended from the roof of the theatre and this year’s video postcards had a literary theme, showing contestants reading, fishing and doing other activities around Ireland. The floor was painted with a dark blue paint to give a watery effect. Because Italy and Luxembourg withdrew voluntarily, the bottom 5 of the 1993 Contest were relegated and this meant that Belgium, Denmark, Israel, Slovenia and Turkey did not participate this year opening spaces for the new countries. This contest also saw Luxembourg withdraw from Eurovision indefinitely, Poland took part for the first time and caused a scandal when Edyta Górniak broke the rules by singing her song in English during the dress rehearsal. Only six countries demanded that Poland should be disqualified, though the rules required 13 countries to complain before Poland could be removed from the competition. The proposed removal did not occur and Poland went on to come 2nd in the contest, for the first time in Eurovision history, voting was done via satellite instead of by telephone, and as a result, viewers could see the spokespersons onscreen. When the voting started, Hungary took the lead from the first six juries and was ahead of all the other countries. However, Ireland powered their way through the board ending up the winners with a 60-point lead over second-placed Poland. The interval act was the first ever performance of the Irish dancing spectacular Riverdance, featuring Michael Flatley, ^ Contains some words in English. Each country had a jury who awarded 12,10,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 point for their top ten songs. With advances in technology, this was the first contest in which the spokesperson for each national jury appeared on-screen, live from their own countries
23.
Eurovision Song Contest
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The competition was based upon the existing Sanremo Music Festival held in Italy since 1951. The contest has been broadcast every year for sixty years, since its inauguration in 1956 and it is also one of the most watched non-sporting events in the world, with audience figures having been quoted in recent years as anything between 100 million and 600 million internationally. Eurovision has also been broadcast outside Europe to several countries that do not compete, such as the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and China. An exception was made in 2015, when Australia was allowed to compete as a guest entrant as part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the event. In November 2015, the EBU announced that Australia was invited back as a participant in the 2016 contest after their success in 2015, following their success again in 2016, Australia will compete again in 2017. Since 2000, the contest has also been broadcast over the Internet via the Eurovision website, winning the Eurovision Song Contest provides a short-term boost to the winning artists career, but rarely results in long-term success. Notable exceptions are ABBA, Bucks Fizz and Céline Dion, all of whom launched successful careers after their wins. Ireland holds the record for the highest number of wins, having won the contest seven times—including four times in five years in 1992,1993,1994 and 1996. Under the current voting system, the highest scoring winner is Jamala of Ukraine who won the 2016 contest in Stockholm, under the previous system, in place from 1975 to 2015, the highest scoring winner is Alexander Rybak of Norway with 387 points in 2009. Satellite television did not exist, and the Eurovision Network comprised a terrestrial microwave network, the name Eurovision was first used in relation to the EBUs network by British journalist George Campey in the London Evening Standard in 1951. The first contest was held in the town of Lugano, Switzerland, seven countries participated—each submitting two songs, for a total of 14. This was the only contest in more than one song per country was performed, since 1957. The 1956 contest was won by the host nation, Switzerland, the programme was first known as the Eurovision Grand Prix. This Grand Prix name was adopted by Denmark, Norway and the Francophone countries, the Grand Prix has since been dropped and replaced with Concours in French, but not in Danish or Norwegian. The Eurovision network is used to carry news and sports programmes internationally. However, in the minds of the public, the name Eurovision is most closely associated with the Song Contest, a country as a participant is represented by one television broadcaster from that country, typically, but not always, that countrys national public broadcasting organisation. The programme is hosted by one of the participant countries, during this programme, after all the songs have been performed, the countries then proceed to cast votes for the other countries songs, nations are not allowed to vote for their own song. At the end of the programme, the song with the most points is declared as the winner, the programme is invariably opened by one or more presenters, welcoming viewers to the show
24.
Eurovision Song Contest 1996
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1996 was the 41st Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 18 May 1996 in Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, Norway. The presenters were Ingvild Bryn and Morten Harket, Harket, lead singer of a-ha, opened the show with a performance of his single Heavens Not for Saints. Twenty-three countries participated in the contest, with Eimear Quinn of Ireland crowned the winner after the voting, with the song. The song was written by Brendan Graham, who composed the 1994 winner Rock n Roll Kids. It was also a seventh win for Ireland and the most recent win of Ireland. Germany, Israel, Denmark, Hungary, Russia, Macedonia, Macedonia eventually went on to make their debut in 1998. The 1996 contest remains the only Eurovision without a German entry and this year, they reverted to the pre-qualifying round that had been used for the 1993, but this time with just one country exempt from the process - the host Norway. The audio-only pre-qualification round, which was never televised, was used by the EBU in order to shortlist the number of participating nations that would compete in the televised final. With exception to the hosts Norway, audio entries from twenty-nine countries were played to national juries, Germany, Israel, Denmark, Hungary, Russia, Macedonia, and Romania all failed to qualify. As a result, Macedonias submission was never classified as an entry by the EBU. As a leading contributor to the contest, Germany were particularly aggrieved that their entry. It was the year in the history of the ESC in which Germany did not participate in the final. But of course the only good luck wish that was rewarded in the end was that of Irish Taoiseach John Bruton. Secondly, the section was conducted using blue screen virtual reality technology provided by Silicon Graphics. The host Ingvild Bryn introduced the viewers to the room, upon which a 3D scoreboard, views of the green room. The only physical aspects were Ingvild herself and two podiums, for the first time in the Eurovision history, during the voting a spokesperson came to stage down next to Ingvild, the Norwegian one, Ragnhild Sælthun Fjørtoft. Despite a submitted entry from Macedonia, it was never classified as a debut entry. Shaded countries were eliminated from the competition Each country had a jury that awarded 12,10,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 point for their top ten songs
Belgium
Denmark
Israel
Slovenia
Turkey
Estonia
Finland
Lithuania
Netherlands
Romania
Slovakia
Switzerland
Norway
Poland – Noel Kelehan
Ireland – Noel Kelehan
Germany – Hermann Weindorf
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Sinan Alimanović
Norway – Geir Langslet
Russia – Mikhail Finberg
Iceland – Frank McNamara
Austria – Michael F. Kienzl
Spain – Eduardo Leiva
Turkey – Melih Kibar
Croatia – Stipica Kalogjera
France – Michel Bernholc
Hungary – Miklós Malek
Belgium – Alec Mansion
United Kingdom – Mike Dixon
Portugal – Thilo Krassman
Cyprus – George Theophanous
Sweden – Anders Berglund
Denmark – Frede Ewert
Slovenia – Jože Privšek
Israel – Gadi Goldman
Malta – Ray Agius
Greece – Charis Andreadis
FR Yugoslavia
