1.
Point Theatre
–
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
Point Theatre
–
The rocket, located just outside the venue itself.
Point Theatre
–
McFly performed at the Point in 2006.
2.
Dublin
–
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
Dublin
–
Clockwise from top:
Samuel Beckett Bridge,
Trinity College,
Custom House,
Dublin Castle,
O'Connell Bridge, and
Convention Centre Dublin.
Dublin
–
Father Mathew Bridge, formerly Dublin Bridge, is understood to be near the ancient "Ford of the Hurdles" (Baile Átha Cliath), the original crossing point on the River Liffey.
Dublin
–
Dublin Castle was the fortified seat of
British rule in Ireland until 1922.
Dublin
–
Henrietta Street, developed in the 1720s, is the earliest Georgian Street in Dublin.
3.
Republic of Ireland
–
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%
Republic of Ireland
–
The
Irish Parliamentary Party was formed in 1882 by
Charles Stewart Parnell (1846–1891).
Republic of Ireland
–
Flag
Republic of Ireland
–
In 1922 a new parliament called the
Oireachtas was established, of which
Dáil Éireann became the
lower house.
Republic of Ireland
–
Éamon de Valera (1882–1975)
4.
Ronan Keating
–
Ronan Patrick John Keating is an Irish recording artist, singer, musician, and philanthropist. He debuted in 1994 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch and his solo career started in 1999 and has recorded nine albums. He gained worldwide attention when his single When You Say Nothing at All was featured in the film Notting Hill, Ronan Keating was born on 3 March 1977, the youngest of five children. He grew up on the Northside of Dublin and County Meath and his father Gerry Keating was a lorry driver, his mother Marie was a mobile hairdresser. He has one sister, Linda, and three brothers, Ciaran, Gerard and Gary and he was a track and field athlete and represented Ireland in several tournaments, winning the All Ireland under-13 200m title. He also worked as an assistant in a shoe shop just as his siblings emigrated to the United States, also, Keating auditioned for Stars in Their Eyes. Keating, Keith Duffy, Richard Rock, Shane Lynch, Mark Walton, Walton and Rock would later leave the group before being replaced by Michael Graham. The group performed in clubs and pubs before being signed by PolyGram in 1994. The group also released a version of Love Me for a Reason which would peak on several charts. In 1998, his mother died at the age of 51 from breast cancer, at the age of 21 years, Keating married Yvonne Connolly in April 1998 and together, the couple have three children, Jack, Marie and Ali. The couple are now divorced after Keating had an affair, in 1999, while still a member of Boyzone, Keating recorded a version of When You Say Nothing at All for the motion picture Notting Hill. The single peaked at one in the UK charts, leading to a successful solo career. Keating released his solo album, titled Ronan, in 2000. The album was given negative reviews, although it sold over 750,000 copies. It debuted at one on the UK Albums Chart, and has been certified four-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of 1.2 million copies. In the singers native Ireland, the album debuted at number two, the album also became a commercial success in other European countries, where it charted within the top ten of eight countries. Keating collaborated with major stars, including Elton John, Lulu, LeAnn Rimes. Keating and Paul Brady co-wrote the 2001 hit single The Long Goodbye, one of Keatings most loved hits amongst fans, Keating and Brady won the BMI European song-writing award for the single
Ronan Keating
–
Ronan Keating in January 2012
Ronan Keating
–
Boyzone performing at the tour with Ronan Keating as the lead singer.
Ronan Keating
–
Keating performing "When You Say Nothing at All" in August 2012
5.
Noel Curran
–
Noel Curran is a media executive and former Director-General of RTÉ, who has worked in the Editorial, Management and Commercial areas of media. Curran was born in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan where he attended primary and secondary school. He studied Communications in Dublin City University where he specialised in Irish and he also wrote about European Broadcasting Policy while studying for post-grad. He joined Raidió Teilifís Éireann as a Business and Investigative reporter in 1992 after a working as Deputy Editor for Business & Finance magazine. While working at Business & Finance Curran was involved in several prominent investigations. He became Deputy Editor of Business & Finance before leaving for RTÉ and he joined Current Affairs as a Senior Financial Journalist before becoming a Television producer. He then became Executive Producer of live Entertainment series and productions and he was a member of the EBU Eurovision and Entertainment group. His younger brother is Richard Curran, Deputy Editor of the Sunday Business Post, Curran left RTÉ in 2000 to become a Director of a private independent production company. As an independent, he won an IFTA award as Executive Producer of the investigative documentary Bad Blood and he returned to RTÉ as Editor of Current Affairs, where he helped launch the Prime Time Investigates series of documentaries. He was Editor of the Mary Raftery documentaries Cardinal Secrets and Broken Trust, in 2003, he was appointed Managing Director of TV, at 37 the youngest person to hold the position, according to the Irish Independent and Irish Times. He led a policy of increased investment in Irish TV production during his tenure, according to the Sunday Business Post Currans tenure marked the first time Editorial and Commercial departments in TV were integrated under one Managing Director. Programme investment reached a peak of over 170 million Euro, with record hours for Drama production, TV Factual, RTEs Programming, Commercial, Acquired and Technical areas were integrated through one TV Board for the first time under Curran as MD. With the upheaval in international markets in 2008 and collapse in advertising, based on press reports, RTE TV reduced costs by over 40 million Euro in the next two years. In March 2010, Curran left RTÉ to pursue a consultancy and other business interests before being interviewed. The Sunday Times said RTE faced difficult circumstances, both profiles quoted industry figures praising his leadership of RTE TV but pointing out the challenges. RTE also faced press and public criticism for two Current Affairs programmes it broadcast, Curran describing one of them as one of the gravest editorial mistakes ever made at RTE, News and Current Affairs was restructured in response. RTE Publishing became RTE Digital with a new Digital Strategy launched, the Commercial Division was resturctured with a new Group Head of Commercial appointed from outside the organisation. RTE News Now App and Channel were launched, RTE launched its biggest infrastructural project, the new DTT service Saorview. Curran also announced that the Network provider, RTE NL, was to become a subsidiary of RTE with its own Board
Noel Curran
–
Services
6.
Boyzone
–
Boyzone are an Irish boy band. Their most famous line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Stephen Gately, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating, Boyzone have had 21 singles in the top 40 UK charts and 22 singles in the Irish charts. The group have had 6 UK number one singles and 9 number one singles in Ireland with 12 of their 24 singles in the UK being in the UK Top 2, Boyzone are one of the most successful bands in Ireland and the United Kingdom. They were put together in 1993 by Louis Walsh, who is known for managing Johnny Logan. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉs The Late Late Show, Boyzone made a comeback in 2007, originally with the intention of just touring. The band have sold 2 million records since their return, Gately died on 10 October 2009 of natural causes while on his holiday in the Spanish island of Majorca with his civil partner, Andrew Cowles. To date, Boyzone have released four albums and seven compilation albums. Based on BPI certifications, they have sold over 13 million records in the UK alone, in 1993, an advertisement appeared in many Irish newspapers calling for auditions to form a new Irish boy band group. The advertisements were sent out by theatrical manager Walsh who was looking to make an Irish Take That following on from their success, the auditions were held in The Ormond Center, in Dublin, in November 1993. More than 300 people replied to the advertisement, at the auditions the applicants were asked to sing the song Careless Whisper by George Michael. Each audition would be taped and watched again to judge the applicants performance, out of the 300,50 were selected for a second audition. For the second audition the applicants where asked to sing two songs, including one of their own choice with a backing tape, out of this 50,10 were selected for a third audition. In the end, Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, Keith Duffy, Richard Rock, Shane Lynch, Graham originally was rejected but would later join after the departure of Rock. Rock left citing musical differences with Ronan Keating, Keating initially faced a lot of opposition from his parents and teachers. He was planning to move to New York to study in college on a sports scholarship, in the end Ronan decided to give up his education and go along with Boyzone. Duffys parents were against their son throwing away a solid and promising career, Louis Walsh set about trying to get a deal with a good record company but it would take many rejection letters before the boys would be signed. In 1994 Lynch and Duffy were involved in a fatal car crash. Walsh was reportedly furious, and drew up contracts for all the boys to sign and it reached No.3 in the Irish Charts
Boyzone
–
Boyzone in 2015
Boyzone
–
Boyzone during a 2009 performance at Wembley Arena
Boyzone
–
The four surviving Boyzone members during their
Brother Tour.
7.
Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
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
Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Birthe Wilke and
Gustav Winckler in Frankfurt (
1957)
Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Denmark
Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Grethe and
Jørgen Ingmann (
1963)
Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
DQ at
Helsinki (
2007)
8.
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
No other country has been represented as often. France and the United Kingdom come in a second, missing only two contests each. Before German reunification in 1990, it presented as West Germany. Germany has won two contests, in 1982 and 2010, Germany first won the contest in 1982, at the 27th attempt in Harrogate, when Nicole won with the song Ein bisschen Frieden. The second German victory came 28 years later at the 2010 contest in Oslo, Germany have finished second four times and third five times, for a total of eleven top three placements. Katja Ebstein, who finished third in 1970 and 1971, Germany also finished second with Lena Valaitis in 1981 and the group Wind in both 1985 and 1987. The other third places were achieved by Mary Roos in 1972, Mekado in 1994, with one win and four second places, Germany is one of the most successful countries of the 1980s. Germany has finished last on seven occasions, receiving nul points in 1964,1965 and 2015, Germany, along with the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Spain, is one of the Big Five countries that are automatically qualified to the final, regardless of the placing. This is due to being the largest financial contributors to the contest, since 1996, ARD consortium member Norddeutscher Rundfunk has been responsible for Germanys participation in the contest. The Eurovision Song Contest semi-final is broadcast on NDR Fernsehen, and the final is broadcast on Das Erste, although German contestants have had varied levels of success, public interest remains high and the contest is one of the most watched events each year. Between 2010 and 2012, private broadcaster ProSieben worked in partnership with NDR, Germany has often changed the selection process used in order to find the countrys entry for the contest, either a national final or internal selection has been held by the broadcaster at the time. ARD had selected an artist and song to represent them at the Eurovision Song Contest 1996, to be held in Oslo, due to the large number of countries wanting to compete at Eurovision, they determined that only 23 of the 30 countries could compete. Hosts Norway qualified automatically, the other 29 songs went into an audio only pre-qualification round, unfortunately for Germany its entry, Leon with Planet of Blue, failed to earn enough points to progress to the final, finishing 24th. ARD and the EBU were not happy with this, as Germany was the biggest financial contributor at the time and this is the only time that Germany has been absent from the contest. In the 2000s, Germany has been notable for their adoption of musical styles which are not typical of Eurovision, such as country and western, Germany tied for last at the 2008 contest for points, but was awarded 23rd of 25th place when the results were posted. In 2009, ARD held a selection for the first time since 1995 due to lack of interest. Alex Christensen and Oscar Loya were selected to represent Germany at the 2009 contest, however they only managed to receive 35 points, placing 20th of 25 competing countries. In 2010, ARD approached former entrant and songwriter Stefan Raab and it has been said that Raab was approached due to his good record at the contest, finishing 5th in 2000 as well as writing entries in 1998 and 2004, which finished 7th and 8th respectively
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Walter Andreas Schwarz at
Lugano (
1956)
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Germany
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Katja Ebstein at
Amsterdam (
1970)
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Roger Cicero at
Helsinki (
2007)
9.
Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Hungary has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 14 times since making its debut in 1994. Hungary attempted to participate in 1993 but failed to qualify from a qualifying competition set up for seven former eastern bloc countries. Hungarys first contest in 1994 remains its most successful, with Friderika Bayer finishing in fourth place, Hungary would not return to the top ten for 13 years, until Magdi Rúzsa finished ninth in 2007. This was followed in 2014 by András Kállay-Saunders, who gave Hungary its fourth top ten placement and best result since 1994, when he finished fifth. The countrys first entry would have been Andrea Szuláks in 1993 but a round was installed just for former Eastern Bloc countries. The first real participation was of Friderika Bayer in 1994, after three rounds of voting the Hungarian entry had taken the top marks each time and was in contention to win. However, as the competition progressed it attracted fewer votes, though it ended up in a credible fourth place. This made Hungary the only debuting nation to lead the voting, the 1995 entry was not as successful, garnering only 3 points, narrowly beating last placed Germany. In 1996 Hungary suffered another qualification lost when Gjon Delhusas song didnt make it through the pre-qualification round, Hungary began a hiatus from the competition after the 1998 contest, returning in 2005 when they reached a 12th place in the final with NOX. Hungary however announced not to again in 2006, although it returned to the contest in 2007 with Magdi Rúzsa. She came 9th in Helsinki with her song Unsubstantial Blues, the first Hungarian entry in English, after coming last in the semi-final in the 2008 contest, Magyar Televízió, the Hungarian broadcaster, confirmed Hungarys participation at the 2009 contest in Russia. Ádok eventually finished 15th in the second semi-final, failing to qualify Hungary to the final for the second time. On 27 December 2010, it was confirmed that MTV had agreed to return to the 2011 edition, on 22 May 2011, MTV confirmed their 2012 participation. In 2013, Hungary made it to the Top 10, when ByeAlex reached the 10th place with Kedvesem. They achieved even more success in 2014, when András Kállay-Saunders reached the 5th place with his song Running, achieving the best result Hungary has had since their first participation in 1994. Hungary is one of two countries to have unsuccessfully attempted to participate in both 1993 and 1996. The official Eurovision site does not count either year in Hungarys list of appearances, as of 2016, Hungarys voting history is as follows, Composer Award Points to and from Hungary eurovisioncovers. co. uk
Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Magdi Rúzsa at Helsinki (
2007)
Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Hungary
Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Csézy at Belgrade (
2008)
Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Kati Wolf at Düsseldorf (
2011)
10.
Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
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
Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Bobby Solo in Naples (
1965)
Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Italy
Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Marco Mengoni in Malmö (
2013)
Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Il Volo in Vienna (
2015)
11.
Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Russia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 20 times since their debut in 1994 and has participated every year since 2000. Russia is the country that has never missed the final since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004. Their debut was in the 1994 contest after Russia became a member of the European Broadcasting Union, in 2003,2007 and 2016 Russia placed 3rd, with t. A. T. u. According to unconfirmed information, Russia was required to submit Tatyana Ovsiyenko with the song My Sun, since the introduction of the semi-finals, Russia is the only country that has never missed a final. Russia won their first Eurovision Song Contest in 2008, when Dima Bilan, participating for the time in the contest, won with the song Believe. Russia was the most successful country in Eurovision in 2000-2009, with one win, however, in 2010 they finished 11th, and in 2011 they were 16th, which was the worst place for Russia since 1995. Interest in the fell, but in 2012 Buranovskiye Babushki finished in second place. Since 2008, there is an alternation on broadcast and selection, with Russia-1 on even years, ^ In 1996 Russia failed to qualify from the audio only pre-qualification round. The official Eurovision site does not count 1996 in Russias total list of appearances, ^ Russia was forced to sit out another year in 1999, as the EBU only allows countries which had broadcast the previous years contest to enter the next years contest. If a country won the year, they did not have to compete in Semi Finals. In addition, back in 2005-2007, countries who done well did not have to compete in Semi Finals the following year. co. uk
Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Serebro at
Helsinki (
2007)
Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Russia
Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Dima Bilan at
Belgrade (
2008)
Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Anastasiya Prikhodko at
Moscow (
2009)
12.
Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
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
Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Xandee performing "
1 Life " at Istanbul (
2004)
Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
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The KMG's performing "
Love Power " at Helsinki (
2007)
Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Ishtar performing "
O Julissi " at Belgrade (
2008)
13.
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
Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Viktor Klimenko at
Naples (
1965)
Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Hanna Pakarinen at
Helsinki (
2007)
Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Teräsbetoni at
Belgrade (
2008)
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
Slovakia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Nela Pocisková in Moscow (
2009)
Slovakia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Slovakia
Slovakia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Kristina in Oslo (
2010)
Slovakia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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TWiiNS in Düsseldorf (
2011)
15.
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
Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Marjorie Noël performing "
Va dire à l'amour " in Naples
Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest
16.
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
Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Camillo Felgen in Luxembourg (
1962)
Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Luxembourg
Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest
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France Gall in Naples (
1965)
Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest
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David Alexandre Winter in Amsterdam (
1970)
17.
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
Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Gali Atari and
Milk and Honey at Jerusalem (
1979)
Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Israel
Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest
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David D'Or at Istanbul (
2004)
Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Teapacks at Helsinki (
2007)
18.
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
Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Vice Vukov performing "
Čežnja " in Naples
Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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(1961–1991)
Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Eva Sršen performing "
Pridi, dala ti bom cvet " in Amsterdam
19.
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
Morocco in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Morocco
20.
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
Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Todomondo at Helsinki (
2007)
Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Romania
Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Nico &
Vlad at Belgrade (
2008)
Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Mandinga at Baku (
2012)
21.
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
Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest
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4Fun performing "
Love or Leave " at Helsinki (
2007)
Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Lithuania
Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Jeronimas Milius performing "
Nomads in the Night " at Belgrade (
2008)
22.
Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Macedonia, presented in the contest as Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 16 times since its official debut in 1998. The country had attempted to participate in 1996, but failed to qualify from the qualifying round. Macedonia is one of the most unsuccessful countries in the contest, Macedonias best result in the contest is Elena Risteskas 12th place finish in 2006. Macedonia has failed to qualify from the round in eight of the last nine contests, the exception being Kaliopi. Macedonias first appearance in the contest was in 1998, the countrys best result was in 2006, when Elena Risteska sang Ninanajna in Athens, Greece and came 12th. Macedonia is the country to have qualified from every semi-final from 2004 to 2007. Since then, only in 2012 Macedonia have made the final, also, Macedonian composers wrote songs for candidates from other parts of Yugoslavia. However, the Macedonian entries never managed to win, and the SR Macedonia was the federal state never to send a Yugoslav entry to the Eurovision Song Contest. ^ Macedonia unsuccessfully attempted to participate in 1996, when there was an audio-only pre-qualifying round for all countries, the official Eurovision site does not count 1996 in Macedonias list of appearances. Macedonia did not progress to the final in either year, in 2008 Sweden beat Macedonia to the final, if a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. The other reason being that back in 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. co. uk Eurovision Macedonia
Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Toše Proeski at
Istanbul (
2004)
Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Karolina Gočeva at
Helsinki (
2007)
Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Tamara,
Vrčak and
Adrian at
Belgrade (
2008)
23.
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
Voting at the Eurovision Song Contest
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"The Pyrenean Axis" (Andorra and Spain)
24.
Love Shine a Light
–
Love Shine a Light was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1997, performed by Katrina and the Waves as the 1997 Eurovision entrant by the UK and the lead single from the album Walk on Water. It is the groups biggest success since Walking on Sunshine 12 years earlier, all you need is a hit song, and we want you to do it. And if you do do it we’ll give you a deal, adds Leskanich. Leskanich would also state that Kimberley Rew had said of Katrina, however Rew was absent from the Katrina and the Waves performance of Love Shine a Light at the Eurovision 1997 final held on 3 May 1997. They came with five different designers and every single outfit made me look like a clown or a chair cover, so while I was doing the song, I had to remember to lift my left shoulder slightly to even it out with the other. She also wore leather trousers and black high-heeled boots. Don Airey, who played as a musician on the single recording of the song. He added strings, brass and a flute, giving the song a more anthemic feel. I mean we wouldnt come here unless we were intending to win. For Eurovision you need a song with a message, lighters in the air, Coca-Cola. Song has a universality about it that everyone and I think people are looking for that message in Eurovision. It also received the maximum 12 points from ten countries, a feat not matched until 2005, by a more directly comparable measure, Love Shine a Light received an average of 9.458 points per country or 78. Katrina Leskanich commented that it was the landslide of the week – the Labour Party led by Tony Blair had won the UK general election held two days earlier, on 1 May 1997. In a 2009 interview Leskanich restated her opinion of Love Shine a Light, it was such a feel-good, lighters-in-the-air and it would have been embarrassing for it not to win. How can you have a contest about whats the best song, the song was succeeded in 1998 as Contest winner by Dana International representing Israel performing Diva. This song was performed as part of a medley in the introduction of the 50th anniversary show for the ESC in Copenhagen as well as the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. A remix of the song was performed during the UK selection process final of 2008, Eurovision, in 1997 the German schlager singer Christian Anders published a Single Liebe und Licht as a slowed-down version. Heidi Kyrö recorded the song in 1998, the Finnish version of the name Päivänvaloon, the song was covered in a way of eurodance by the DJ Mauro Farina a. k. a. Speedmaster in 2002, appearing on Dancemania Speed 9 with the name Love Shine A Speedy Light, in 2008, Italian Eurodance group Katty B released a Euro House cover that became popular in Italy
Love Shine a Light
–
"Love Shine a Light"
25.
Eurovision Song Contest 1996
–
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
Eurovision Song Contest 1996
26.
Eurovision Song Contest
–
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
Eurovision Song Contest
–
Opening act in Düsseldorf in 2011
Eurovision Song Contest
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Entered at least once
Eurovision Song Contest
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Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen 2014
Eurovision Song Contest
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Lena, representing Germany, performing
Satellite during a rehearsal in 2010
27.
Eurovision Song Contest 1998
–
The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd annual Eurovision Song Contest. The contest took place in Birmingham in the United Kingdom, following Katrina and it was the UKs fifth win, and the eighth time that the UK hosted the contest, the last being in Harrogate in 1982. The UK has not won or hosted the contest since, belgium, Finland, and Slovakia returned to the contest after a 1996. Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Italy did not return until 2011. Dana International eventually went on to win the contest, scoring 172 points, with the song Diva, written by Svika Pick and Yoav Ginai. The singer had attracted media attention both in Israel and Europe since she had undergone gender reassignment in 1993, being the first openly transgender performer to enter the competition. The United Kingdom, along with their national broadcaster the BBC and it was the first time since the 1982 that the Eurovision Song Contest was staged in the United Kingdom, and the last to date. This was an eighth time that the United Kingdom staged the contest, having done so for the 1960,1963,1968,1972,1974,1977. The National Indoor Arena had been used for major events in the past. The week after the Eurovision Song Contest, the city was to host the 24th G8 summit, with Terry Wogan vacating his hotel room to make way for Bill Clinton. Ironically, the contest was held in an English speaking country for the last time the contest was run without the free language rule, so only the UK, Malta, and Ireland performed in English. The postcards continued with the theme of Birmingham old and new, looking at a traditional object. Popular Britpop songs and also pieces of classical music were used as background music. Finally, the flag of the country about to perform was formed, a jury was used if there were exceptional reasons not to use a televote. Macedonia, participating as Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, took part for the first time, Israel could have returned in 1997, but opted not to due to Holocaust Remembrance Day, meaning they returned for the first time in three years. The Italian broadcaster, RAI, decided to withdraw from the contest, Russia and Italy did not broadcast the event due to withdrawals. Because Russia did not participate, Channel One decided not to broadcast the 1998 contest, according to other sources Channel One had expected Channel Russia to broadcast the contest. Danijela returned for Croatia after last taking part in 1995 as part of the group Magazin, egon Egemann who was the violinist for Gunvor this year, last participated for Switzerland at the 1990
Eurovision Song Contest 1998
–
The
National Indoor Arena, which hosted the contest.
Eurovision Song Contest 1998
28.
Eurovision Song Contest 1993
–
The Eurovision Song Contest 1993 was the 38th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 15 May 1993 in Millstreet, County Cork, Ireland. Niamh Kavanagh was the winner of this Eurovision for Ireland with the song and this was Irelands fifth victory, and equalled the tally of five Eurovision victories achieved by France in 1977 and Luxembourg in 1983. However, the venue, a large indoor well- equipped equestrian centre was deemed more suitable as the location by RTÉ. With huge support from local and national authorities, plus several businesses in the region and it was also the largest outside broadcast ever attempted by state broadcaster RTÉ and was deemed a technical triumph for all involved. The stage was created by Alan Farquharson, who was also chief production designer two years later in Dublin, BBC newsreader Nicholas Witchell caused controversy by remarking on the air, shortly before the contest, that it would be held in a cowshed in Ireland. The top two countries of this contest were the same as the top two countries in the years contest, being Ireland and the United Kingdom. This was, however, merely a measure that was plainly not a sustainable solution for future years. After some extremely tight voting, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia edged through, each country had a jury who awarded 12,10,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 point for their top ten songs. The voting required a jury to deliberate in the midst of the war in Bosnia. Warm applause rang round the hall as a voice on a phone line was heard to deliver the familiar greeting, Hello Millstreet. By the final few juries it became clear that either Ireland or the United Kingdom were going to win, after the penultimate jury had voted, it looked to be a lost cause for second-placed Sonia of the UK as she was eleven points behind Niamh Kavanagh. Ostensibly due to technical difficulties, the final jury to announce their results was the Maltese jury. However, the name of neither country came up, instead it was Ireland that were awarded the final points of the evening, finishing with what looked in retrospect a comfortable twenty-three-point victory. Interestingly, given the way the votes were cast, having Maltas vote announced last was the way for the contest for victory to go down to the final jury. 1993 was the last year that the points were announced by telephone
Eurovision Song Contest 1993
29.
Eurovision Song Contest 1995
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1995 was the 40th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 13 May 1995 in the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. This years competition was the last with one host until 18 years later in 2013 in Malmö. This contest broke the chain of victories that Ireland enjoyed in 1992,1993 and this was Irelands 3rd year in succession to host the contest - and to mark the 40th show, it was opened with a 4-minute retrospective showing images from the contests history. The Norwegian group Secret Garden was the winner of this contest with the instrumental song. Incidentally, Secret Gardens violinist was Fionnuala Sherry, who is Irish and it was his birthday that night, but according to host Kennedy, He wouldnt say which one. Nonetheless, the audience sang Happy Birthday for him, assisted by the orchestra, after winning the 1994 contest, RTÉ were worried about whether they could afford to host a third consecutive contest in 1995. The BBC had offered to take on the responsibility of hosting the contest, in the end RTÉ decided to stage the contest on its own. However they did ask the EBU that, should Ireland win once more, the favourite to win the contest, according to bookmakers, was Sweden with the pop-ballad Se på mig. Other countries in contention for the win were Croatia, Denmark, Israel, Spain, the winning song was something new at Eurovision in that it contained only 24 words accompanied by long violin solos. The United Kingdom contributed a modern rap number, while the previous year’s runner-up, Poland, after the voting was completed, Norway was the winner with 148 points, followed by Spains Vuelve conmigo with 119 points, and Sweden gaining 100 points. The stage was designed by Alan Farquharson who also designed the set of the 1993 contest that took place in Millstreet, the interval act consisted of several well known Irish performers including Clannad, Brian Kennedy and was composed by leading musician Michael OSuilleabhan. The EBU decreased the number of back to 23 to make sure the show wouldnt last longer than 3 hours. 5 of the 6 countries that were relegated the year came back to the contest, Luxembourg decided to stop participating completely and Italy withdrew voluntarily. This rumour did, however inspire a popular episode of Father Ted, in any event, RTÉ ended up hosting the contest once again in 1997. Each country had a jury that awarded 12,10,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 point for their top ten songs. Below is a summary of all 12 points in the final, FR Yugoslavia After the breakup of Yugoslavia, third channel of Radio Television of Serbia broadcast the show, although Yugoslavia did not participate
Eurovision Song Contest 1995
30.
United Kingdom
–
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
United Kingdom
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Stonehenge, in
Wiltshire, was erected around 2500 BC.
United Kingdom
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Flag
United Kingdom
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The
Bayeux Tapestry depicts the
Battle of Hastings, 1066, and the events leading to it.
United Kingdom
–
The
Treaty of Union led to a single united kingdom encompassing all Great Britain.
31.
Katrina and the Waves
–
Katrina and the Waves were a British-American rock band best known for the 1985 hit Walking on Sunshine. They also won the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Love Shine a Light, the bands earliest incarnation was as The Waves, a group that played in and around Cambridge, England, from 1975 to 1977 and featured guitarist Kimberley Rew and drummer Alex Cooper. This incarnation of the Waves never issued any recordings, and broke up when Rew left to join the Soft Boys, a more direct ancestor of Katrina and the Waves was the band Mamas Cookin, a pop cover band hailing from Feltwell, England. This band, founded in 1978, featured American Katrina Leskanich on vocals and keyboards, by late 1980, Alex Cooper had joined the band on drums, with Bob Jakins on bass. Mamas Cookin proceeded to gig steadily in England over the two years, specialising in covers of songs by American acts such as Heart, Foreigner, Linda Ronstadt. When The Soft Boys broke up in 1981, Rew contacted his old Wave-mate Cooper to see about renewing their musical partnership. Cooper convinced Rew to join Mamas Cookin, and the group was quickly renamed The Waves after the band Rew. The Waves were initially fronted by singer/songwriter/guitarist Rew, who brought a wealth of material to the band. Leskanich, meanwhile, originally sang lead vocals on the cover tunes in the bands repertoire. However, over the first year of the Waves existence, Rew began to write material for Leskanich to sing, the Waves made their initial recorded appearances on a 1982 single, both tracks were included on the 1982 Rew solo album called The Bible of Bop. The Waves then issued their debut EP Shock Horror later in 1982, around this time, bassist Jakins left the band. Jakins was not replaced, as de la Cruz took over on bass and the band was renamed Katrina, in early 1983, the fledgling band recorded—at their own expense—an LP of their original material designed to be sold at gigs. Rew wrote all the songs on this LP, while Leskanich sang eight of the ten tracks. The LP was shopped around to labels, but only Attic Records in Canada responded with an offer. Consequently, although they were based in England, Katrina and The Waves first album Walking On Sunshine was released only in Canada, the album garnered enough critical attention and radio play to merit a Canadian tour. In 1984, the released a follow-up album in Canada. Rew was still the primary songwriter, but de la Cruz was also responsible for a few songs, also in 1984, their song Going Down to Liverpool was covered by The Bangles, which added to their profile. For the first Capitol album, the band re-recorded, remixed, the Katrina and the Waves album was a substantial critical and commercial success, and the group had a worldwide hit with the song Walking on Sunshine
Katrina and the Waves
–
Clockwise from top left: Alex Cooper, Vince de la Cruz, Kimberley Rew, and Katrina Leskanich; 1985.
32.
Katrina Leskanich
–
Leskanich was born in Topeka, Kansas. She is of Irish, German and Czech ancestry and her father was a colonel in the United States Air Force, and Katrina and her five siblings moved frequently as children. The bands earliest incarnation was as The Waves, a group played in and around Cambridge, England, from 1975 to 1977 and featured guitarist Kimberley Rew. This incarnation of the Waves never issued any recordings, and broke up when Rew left to join the Soft Boys, a more direct ancestor of Katrina and the Waves was the band Mamas Cookin, a pop cover band hailing from Feltwell, England. This band, founded in 1978, featured American Katrina Leskanich on vocals and keyboards, by late 1980, Alex Cooper had joined the band on drums, with Bob Jakins on bass. Mamas Cookin proceeded to gig steadily in England over the two years, specialising in covers of songs by American acts such as Heart, Foreigner, Linda Ronstadt. When The Soft Boys broke up in 1981, Rew contacted his old Wave-mate Cooper to see about renewing their musical partnership. Cooper convinced Rew to join Mamas Cookin, and the group was quickly renamed The Waves after the band Rew. The Waves were initially fronted by singer/songwriter/guitarist Rew, who brought a wealth of material to the band. Leskanich, meanwhile, originally sang lead vocals on the cover tunes in the bands repertoire. However, over the first year of the Waves existence, Rew began to write material for Leskanich to sing, the Waves made their initial recorded appearances on a 1982 single, both tracks were included on the 1982 Rew solo album called The Bible of Bop. The Waves then issued their debut EP Shock Horror later in 1982, around this time, bassist Jakins left the band. He was not replaced, as de la Cruz took over on bass and the band was rechristened Katrina, in early 1983, the fledgling band recorded—at their own expense—an LP of their original material designed to be sold at gigs. Rew wrote all the songs on this LP, while Leskanich sang eight of the ten tracks. The LP was shopped around to labels, but only Attic Records in Canada responded with an offer. Consequently, although they were based in England, Katrina and The Waves first album Walking on Sunshine was released only in Canada, the album garnered enough critical attention and radio play to merit a Canadian tour. In 1984, the released a follow-up album in Canada. Rew was still the primary songwriter, but de la Cruz was also responsible for a few songs, also in 1984, their song Going Down to Liverpool was covered by the The Bangles, which added to their profile
Katrina Leskanich
–
Katrina Leskanich performing in 1986 at a concert
33.
Ireland
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Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, in 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland, the islands geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild, thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11% of the total, there are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is moderate and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, however, summers are cooler than those in Continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant, the earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland is dated at 10,500 BC. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century CE, the island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland, however, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, with the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s and this subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, an indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music. The culture of the island shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing. The name Ireland derives from Old Irish Eriu and this in turn derives from Proto-Celtic *Iveriu, which is also the source of Latin Hibernia. Iveriu derives from a root meaning fat, prosperous, during the last glacial period, and up until about 9000 years ago, most of Ireland was covered with ice, most of the time
Ireland
–
Satellite image of Ireland on 11 October 2010
Ireland
–
The
Gowran Ogham Stone,
Christianised c.6th Century. On display in
St. Mary's Collegiate Church Gowran.
Ireland
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The Uragh Stone Circle a
Neolithic stone circle in Gleninchaquin Park,
County Kerry
34.
River Liffey
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The River Liffey is a river in Ireland, which flows through the centre of Dublin. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle, the river supplies much of Dublins water and a range of recreational opportunities. The river was previously named An Ruirthech, meaning fast runner, the word Liphe referred originally to the name of the plain through which the river ran, but eventually came to refer to the river itself. It was also known as the Anna Liffey, possibly from an anglicisation of Abhainn na Life, James Joyce personified the river as Anna Livia Plurabelle in Finnegans Wake. See Annals of Inisfallen for the year 808, AI808.2 A defeat by the Laigin on Áed, son of Niall, the Liffey rises in the Liffey Head Bog between Kippure and Tonduff in the Wicklow Mountains, forming from many streamlets at Sally Gap. It crosses from County Wicklow into County Kildare at Poulaphouca and from County Kildare into County Dublin at Leixlip, the catchment area of the Liffey is 1,256 km2. The long term average flow rate of the river is 18.0 m3/s, the Liffey system is a substantial one, including dozens of smaller rivers and streams. Early tributaries include the Athdown Brook, Shankill River, Ballylow Brook, Brittas River and Woodend Brook, downstream of Poulaphouca are the Lemonstown Stream, Kilcullen Stream and Pinkeen Stream, followed by the Painestown River, Rye Water, and the Griffeen River. Within Dublin are the various Phoenix Park streams on the bank, interspersed with right bank tributaries such as the Glenaulin Stream. In earlier times, the River Tolka was also arguably a tributary of the Liffey, or at least shared its mouth, there are dams for three ESB hydroelectric power stations along the river, at Poulaphouca, Golden Falls and Leixlip. Major reservoir facilities also exist at Poulaphouca, the Liffey does not feature natural lakes, and has few islands. Significant falls at Poulaphouca and at Golden Falls were flooded by reservoir construction, there remain areas of rapids, notably as the river approaches Dublin city. Towns along the river include Ballymore Eustace, Athgarvan, Kilcullen, Newbridge, Caragh, Clane, Celbridge, Leixlip, the River Liffey in Dublin city has been used for many centuries for trade, from the Viking beginnings of the city up to recent times. It is connected to the River Shannon via the Grand Canal, around 60% of the Liffeys flow is abstracted for drinking water and to supply industry. Much of this makes its way back into the river after purification in wastewater treatment plants, a popular myth is that Liffey water is used to brew Guinness but this is not true as Guinness uses water piped from the Wicklow mountains. ESB hydroelectric power stations exist along the river, at Poulaphouca, Golden Falls and Leixlip, a well-known sight on the Liffey up to the 1990s, the Lady Patricia and Miranda Guinness cargo ships were used to export Guinness from the St. Jamess Gate Brewery. In recent years, the regular traffic on the river within the city is the Liffey Voyage water tour bus service. Downstream of the East-Link bridge, the river is mainly used for commercial and ferry traffic
River Liffey
–
Boardwalks of Liffey and
O'Connell Bridge, in Dublin
River Liffey
–
The
Ha'penny Bridge.
River Liffey
–
"Sarah's Bridge on the River Anna Liffey" (1831) Sarah's Bridge is today called
Island Bridge. The then-new
Wellington Monument is seen on the left of the picture.
River Liffey
–
The 2007 Liffey Swim passes the Dublin Boardwalk
35.
Dublin Docklands
–
Dublin Docklands is an area of the city of Dublin, Ireland, on both sides of the River Liffey, roughly from Talbot Memorial Bridge eastwards to the 3Arena. The Docklands has over recent years been regenerated as an extension of the business hub of Dublins International Financial Services Centre. By 2008 the area had over 600 enterprises with new companies moving in every month, values and development activity has since 2014 made a significant recovery. The urban regeneration has transformed the Docklands into a built environment. New infrastructure, such as the Samuel Beckett Bridge and the LUAS Docklands extension, has made the more accessible. New venues, including the Bord Gais Energy Theatre, the refurbished 3Arena, on 22 May 2014, it was announced that a fast-track planning process was approved by An Bord Pleanala. It is also the location of the Convention Centre Dublin, Point Village, A redevelopment beside The Point Depot, it includes a hotel, a shopping centre,13,000 m² of office space, a 3-story underground car park, a 12-screen cinema, and more. While the hotel and cinema opened, the centre and office space remain empty. A U2 Experience Museum was originally planned for the development, but was opened as a permanent exhibition in the Little Museum of Dublin on St. Stephens Green and renamed U2. This and the elements of the GCD are now known as Silicon Docks and host the European HQs of Google, Facebook, LinkedIn. Completed projects include Grand Canal Square, Marker Hotel, Alto Vetro, Google Docks, wheel of Dublin, From July 2010 to November 2011, the 10 million euro,350 tonne,60 metre tall,42 capsule Ferris wheel operated beside ‘O2 Dublin’. Before its arrival in Dublin, the wheel had been located beside Belfast’s City Hall from October 2007 to April 2010, following closure in Belfast, it was dismantled and transported to Dublin. It closed due to a lack of demand, and was again on the move. Point Village Market, The outdoor weekend market was developed by businessman Harry Crosbie and it featured a large open-air stage with performances from local musicians. The market stalls offered traditional farmers produce as well as goods, crafts, antiques. The Point Village Market was open from May to November 2010, Point Village on Ice, The 5000 square feet outdoor ice rink was open for a short time in the winter of 2010-2011. It opened again December 2014-January 2015, U2 Tower, Also known as Britain Quay Tower, it was intended to be the tallest building on the island of Ireland at an estimated 180m. It was meant to house a studio for U2
Dublin Docklands
–
Some of Dublin's newest landmarks,
Convention Centre Dublin and the
Samuel Beckett Bridge, located in the regenerated Dublin Docklands (28 June 2014)
Dublin Docklands
–
The rusting Grand Canal Docks sign at the opening to the
Grand Canal.
Dublin Docklands
–
A view of the 3Arena (formerly The O 2) in Dublin's regenerated Docklands, from across the Liffey at the opening to the
Grand Canal.
Dublin Docklands
–
A view of Grand Canal Square in Dublin's regenerated Docklands. The
Bord Gais Energy Theatre is in the centre, Accenture's Global Head Office is on the left and The Marker Hotel on the right.
36.
Eurovision Song Contest 1994
–
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
Eurovision Song Contest 1994
37.
European Broadcasting Union
–
The European Broadcasting Union is an alliance of public service media entities, established on 12 February 1950. As of 2015, the organisation comprises 73 active members in 56 countries, most EU states are part of this organisation and therefore EBU has been subject to supranational legislation and regulation. It also hosted debates between candidates for the European Commission presidency for the 2014 parliamentary elections but is unrelated to the institution itself and it is best known for producing the Eurovision Song Contest. EBU is a member of the International Music Council, Members of the EBU are radio and television companies, most of which are government-owned public service broadcasters or privately owned stations with public service missions. Active Members come from as far north as Iceland and as far south as Egypt, from Ireland in the west and Azerbaijan in the east, Associate Members are from countries and territories beyond Europe, such as Canada, Japan, Mexico, India, and Hong Kong. Associate Members from the United States include ABC, CBS, NBC, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Time Warner, and the only individual station, Chicago-based classical music station WFMT. Active Members are those paying EBU members meeting all technical criteria for full membership, syria is an example of a country within the EBA not complying with all technical criteria for full membership, and thus it is currently only granted Associated Membership. The EBUs highest profile production is the Eurovision Song Contest, organised by its Eurovision Network, the countries represented in the EBU also co-operate to create documentaries and childrens programming. Most EBU broadcasters have a deal to carry the Olympics. Another annually recurring event which is broadcast across Europe through the EBU is the Vienna New Years Concert, the theme music played before EBU broadcasts is Marc-Antoine Charpentiers Prelude to Te Deum. It is well known to Europeans as it is played before and after the Eurovision Song Contest, the EBU was a successor to the International Broadcasting Union that was founded in 1925 and had its administrative headquarters in Geneva and technical office in Brussels. It fostered programming exchanges between members and mediated disputes between members that were mostly concerned with frequency and interference issues. It was in effect taken over by Nazi Germany during the Second World War, france proposed that it would have four votes with the inclusion of its North African colonies. Great Britain felt it would have influence with just one vote. On 27 June 1946 the alternative International Broadcasting Organisation was founded with 26 members, the following day the IBU met in General Assembly and an attempt was made to dissolve it but failed, though 18 of its 28 members left to join the IBO. For a period of time in the late 1940s both the IBU and IBO vied for the role of organising frequencies but Britain decided to be in involved in neither, the BBC attempted but failed to find suitable working arrangements with them. However, for practical purposes the IBO rented the IBU technical centre in Brussels, in August 1949 a meeting took place in Stresa, Italy but it resulted in disagreement between delegates on how to resolve the problems. One proposal was for the European Broadcasting Area to be replaced by one that would exclude Eastern Europe, after Stresa, a consensus emerged among the Western Europeans to form a new organisation and the BBC proposed it be based in London
European Broadcasting Union
–
Countries with one or more members are in dark blue. Associated members in light blue.
38.
Yom HaShoah
–
In Israel, it is a national memorial day. It was inaugurated in 1953, anchored by a law signed by the Prime Minister of Israel David Ben-Gurion and it is held on the 27th of Nisan, unless the 27th would be adjacent to the Jewish Sabbath, in which case the date is shifted by a day. Some other countries have different commemorative days for the same event—see Holocaust Memorial Day, Yom HaShoah was inaugurated in 1953, anchored in a law signed by the Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion, and the President of Israel, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi. The date was moved to the 27th of Nisan, which is eight days before Yom Haatzmaut, ismar Schorsch, former Chancellor of Conservative Judaisms Jewish Theological Seminary of America held that Holocaust commemoration should take place on Tisha bAv. Most Jewish communities hold a ceremony on this day. Lighting memorial candles and reciting the Kaddish—the prayer for the departed—are common, the Masorti movement in Israel has created Megillat HaShoah, a scroll and liturgical reading for Yom HaShoah, a joint project of Jewish leaders in Israel, the United States and Canada. The booklet was subsequently converted into a scroll by sofer Marc Michaels for reading in the community. In 1984, Conservative Rabbi David Golinkin wrote an article in the journal Conservative Judaism suggesting a program of observance for the holiday, including fasting. Yom HaShoah opens in Israel at sundown in a ceremony held in Warsaw Ghetto Square at Yad Vashem. On Yom HaShoah, ceremonies and services are held at schools, military bases and by other public, on the eve of Yom HaShoah and the day itself, places of public entertainment are closed by law. Israeli television airs Holocaust documentaries and Holocaust-related talk shows, and low-key songs are played on the radio, flags on public buildings are flown at half mast. At 10,00 a. m. an air raid siren sounds throughout the country, almost everyone stops what they are doing, including motorists who stop their cars in the middle of the road, standing beside their vehicles in silence as the siren is sounded. Observance of the day is moved back to the Thursday before, if 27 Nisan falls on a Friday, or forward a day, the fixed Jewish calendar ensures 27 Nisan does not fall on Saturday. Jews in the Diaspora may observe this day within the synagogue, commemorations range from synagogue services to communal vigils and educational programs. Many Yom HaShoah programs feature a talk by a Holocaust survivor or a descendant, recitation of appropriate psalms, songs and readings. Many Jewish schools also hold Holocaust-related educational programs on, or around, in the last few decades all the prayerbooks of Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism have developed similar liturgies to be used on Yom HaShoah. The siddurim of these groups add passages that are meant to be added to standard weekday service and these liturgies generally include, Lighting of a candle Modern poems, including I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. Some Modern Orthodox prayerbooks suggest prayers or psalms to be said on Yom HaShoah, in 1988 the American Reform movement published Six Days of Destruction
Yom HaShoah
–
Flags at
half mast at sundown on Yom HaShoah
Yom HaShoah
–
Sirens blare at 10 am as motorists exit their cars and stand in silence in front of the Prime Minister's House in Jerusalem and throughout Israel on Yom HaShoah
Yom HaShoah
–
The March of the Living from Auschwitz to Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp
39.
Hip hop music
–
It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements, MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, break dancing, and graffiti writing. Other elements include sampling beats or bass lines from records, while often used to refer solely to rapping, hip hop more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. Hip hops early evolution occurred as sampling technology and drum machines became available and affordable. Turntablist techniques such as scratching and beatmatching developed along with the breaks and Jamaican toasting, rapping developed as a vocal style in which the artist speaks or chants along rhythmically with an instrumental or synthesized beat. The Sugarhill Gangs 1979 song Rappers Delight is widely regarded to be the first hip hop record to gain popularity in the mainstream. The 1980s marked the diversification of hip hop as the genre developed more complex styles, prior to the 1980s, hip hop music was largely confined within the United States. However, during the 1980s, it began to spread to scenes in dozens of countries. New school hip hop was the wave of hip hop music, originating in 1983–84 with the early records of Run-D. M. C. The Golden age hip hop period was a period between the mid-1980s and the early 1990s. Notable artists from this era include the Juice Crew, Public Enemy, & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions and KRS-One, EPMD, Slick Rick, Beastie Boys, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Ultramagnetic MCs, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest. Gangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop that often focuses on the violent lifestyles, in the West Coast hip hop style, G-funk dominated mainstream hip hop for several years during the 1990s. I. G. In the 1990s, hip hop began to diversify with other regional styles emerging, such as Southern rap, at the same time, hip hop continued to be assimilated into other genres of popular music, examples being Neo soul and nu metal. Hip hop became a pop music genre in the mid-1990s. The popularity of hip hop music continued through the 2000s, with hip hop influences also increasingly finding their way into mainstream pop, the United States also saw the success of regional styles such as crunk, a Southern genre that emphasized the beats and music more than the lyrics. Starting in 2005, sales of hip hop music in the United States began to severely wane, during the mid-2000s, alternative hip hop secured a place in the mainstream, due in part to the crossover success of artists such as OutKast and Kanye West. Creation of the hip hop is often credited to Keith Cowboy, rapper with Grandmaster Flash. However, Lovebug Starski, Keith Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when the music was known as disco rap. Cowboy later worked the hip hop cadence into a part of his stage performance, the first use of the term in print was in The Village Voice, by Steven Hager, later author of a 1984 history of hip hop
Hip hop music
–
1520 Sedgwick Avenue, the Bronx, a venue used by Kool Herc that is often considered the birthplace of hip hop in 1973
Hip hop music
–
DJ Kool Herc, recognized as one of the earliest hip hop artists
Hip hop music
–
Grandmaster Flash
Hip hop music
–
Afrika Bambaataa (left)
40.
Spice Girls
–
The Spice Girls are an English pop girl group formed in 1994. The group originally consisted of Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell and they were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single Wannabe in 1996, which hit number one in 37 countries and established them as a global phenomenon. Their debut album Spice sold more than 31 million copies worldwide and their follow-up album Spiceworld sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Among the highest profile acts in 1990s British popular culture, Time called them arguably the most recognisable face of Cool Britannia, the mid-1990s celebration of youth culture in the UK. The group became one of the most successful marketing engines ever, earning up to $75 million per year, under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, the Spice Girls embraced merchandising and became a regular feature of the British and global press. In 1996, Top of the Pops magazine gave each member of the group aliases, which were adopted by the group and media. According to Rolling Stone journalist and biographer David Sinclair, Scary, Baby, Ginger, Posh and Sporty were the most widely recognised group of individuals since John, Paul, George, with the girl power phenomenon, the Spice Girls were popular cultural icons of the 1990s. They are cited as part of the second wave 1990s British Invasion of the US, in 2016, Mel B, Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell reunited and launched a new website called Spice Girls - GEM. In February 1994, together with financier Chic Murphy, they placed an advertisement in the trade magazine The Stage asking for singers to audition for a pop band at Danceworks studios. A week after the audition, the women were asked to attend a recall at Nomis Studios in Shepherds Bush, performing Signed, Sealed, Delivered on their own. During the session, Adams, Brown, Chisholm, Halliwell and Stephenson were selected to the band, the group moved to a house in Maidenhead, Berkshire, and spent most of 1994 training. During the first two months, they worked on demos at South Hill Park Recording Studios in Bracknell with producer/studio owner Michael Sparkes and songwriter/arranger Tim Hawes. According to Stephenson, the material the group was given was very, very pop, one of the songs they recorded, Sugar and Spice. They also worked on various dance routines at the Trinity Studios in Knaphill, near Woking, a few months into the training period, Stephenson was fired from the group and replaced with Emma Bunton. It was also during this time that Halliwell came up with the band name Spice, the group felt insecure about the lack of a contract and was frustrated by the direction in which Heart Management was steering them. In October 1994, armed with a catalogue of demos and dance routines, due to the large interest in the group, the Herberts quickly set about creating a binding contract for them. Encouraged by the reaction they had received at the Nomis showcase, all five members delayed signing contracts on the advice from, among others. In March 1995, the group parted from Heart Management due to their frustration with the unwillingness to listen to their visions
Spice Girls
–
The Spice Girls performing during their penultimate reunion concert in
Toronto, Ontario, in February 2008. (L–R) Melanie Chisholm, Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Melanie Brown and Emma Bunton.
Spice Girls
–
The group performing "Wannabe" at the
Air Canada Centre in Toronto, during
The Return of the Spice Girls tour.
Spice Girls
–
The Spice Girls performing "Spice Up Your Life" as the opening number of their Return of the Spice Girls tour, at the Air Canada Centre, in Toronto.
Spice Girls
–
The Spice Girls as a four-piece performing "Holler" in
Cologne, Germany.
41.
Boy band
–
Being vocal groups, most boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on stage, making the term something of a misnomer. Many boy bands dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances, some such bands form on their own. They can evolve out of church choral or gospel music groups, due to this and their general commercial orientation towards a female audience of preteens, teenyboppers, or teens, the term may be used with negative connotations in music journalism. Boy bands are similar in concept to their counterparts, girl groups, the earliest forerunner of boy band music began in the late 19th century as a cappella barbershop quartets. They were usually a group of males and sang in four part harmonies, the popularity of barbershop quartets had been prominent into the earlier part of the 20th century. A revival of the vocal group took place in the late 1940s and 1950s with the use of doo-wop music. Doo-wop bands sang about topics such as love and other used in pop music. The earliest traces of boy bands were in the mid-1950s although the boy band was not used. African American vocal group The Ink Spots was one of the first of what would now be called boy bands, the term boy band was not established until the late 1980s as before that they were called male vocal groups or hep harmony singing groups. For instance, their music featured close harmonies from soul music and catchy pop hooks influenced as much as they were by Motown and acts like the Supremes. All members of the band sang, which is a convention of a boy band, as opposed to having a front man. Even so, the members conveniently fitted into the convention of having stereotypical personality types, the Beatles were a direct influence on the conception of the Monkees, as they used rock band instrumentation and played more rock oriented music. With music produced by Don Kirshner, The Monkees became eventually dissatisfied with Kirshners control over them and they became independent two years later, working on their own up to 1970, when the group first dissolved. Other antecedents exist throughout the history of pop music, the genre has been copied into languages and cultures other than the Anglo-American. The Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, appealing to young Latina audiences, was founded in 1977, Menudo had a convention unique among boy bands, when a member turned 16, became too tall, or their voice changed, they were replaced. The members of Menudo were generally aged 12–17, the Bay City Rollers were a Scottish pop band who were most popular in the mid-1970s. For a relatively brief but fervent period, they were worldwide teen idols, the group were one of the first bands like The Monkees before them to take the formula shown by The Beatles and apply it to a teen market. The group achieved the same amount of success but for a period of time
Boy band
–
The Osmonds
Boy band
–
Backstreet Boys are the best-selling boy band in history.
Boy band
–
Jonas Brothers are described as pop boy band
Boy band
–
One Direction rose to fame in 2011.
42.
Eurovision Song Contest 1991
–
The Eurovision Song Contest 1991 was the 36th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 4 May 1991 in Rome. Due to the Gulf War and mounting tensions in Yugoslavia, RAI decided to move the contest from Sanremo to Rome and this was the last event in which the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia participated. The 1992 contest saw the participation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and it was also the first time that Germany was represented in their reunited form since the East Germany joined West Germany by the German reunification. Carola was the winner of this Contest with the song Fångad av en stormvind and this was the third victory for Sweden, the last one being in 1984. There was a tie between Carola and Frances Amina, as both had received 146 points and this necessitated a count-back, a tie-breaking measure introduced after the infamous four-way tie in 1969s Contest. Both Sweden and France had received four lots of 12 points and this was the closest France has ever come to winning the ESC since 1977. Had todays tie-break rule been in place, France would have won in 1969 and 1991, the presenters were Gigliola Cinquetti and Toto Cutugno, Italian winners of the ESC to date, which opened the contest singing Insieme,1992 and Non ho letà. Cutugno had some difficulty with the pronunciation of the titles and names of the artists. Despite this, in Italy almost seven million people watched the show, in addition to tallying the vote numbers in English and French, Cinquetti and Cutugno gave each of the jury allotments in Italian as well. Nearly all of the commentary during the voting was given in Italian, at the time, Carlson had appeared numerous times on Italian TV and this was seen as one of her largest audiences. Each country had a jury who awarded 12,10,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 point for their top ten songs. During the final vote none of the top three contenders - Sweden, Israel and France - had received any points up until the last 12-point vote. This vote went to France and for the first time in years, there was a tie for first place. However, since the four-way tie of 1969, the rules had been altered to ensure a single outright winner, the first step in the procedure was to check the number of 12-point votes awarded to each country. Sweden and France were still tied, but when counting the number of 10-point votes, Sweden had more and was finally declared the winner. If the tie occurred under modern tie-breaking rules, France would have won because it had voted for by more countries than Sweden. Below is a summary of all 12 point in the final, The singers were asked to sing a known Italian song which would then be used as a short clip for the postcard
Eurovision Song Contest 1991
43.
Eurovision Song Contest 1977
–
The Eurovision Song Contest 1977 was the 22nd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, and was held in London, United Kingdom on 7 May 1977. The contest was won by Marie Myriam, representing France, with the song Loiseau et lenfant and this was Frances fifth victory, a record at the time. It was also Frances second victory on English soil, as well as its most recent victory to date, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Wembley Conference Centre, which opened in 1977, was the first purpose-built conference centre in the United Kingdom, the centre was chosen as host venue for the song contest, which was presented by Angela Rippon. The language rule was brought back in this contest, four years after it had dropped in 1973. However Germany and Belgium were allowed to sing in English, because they had chosen the songs they were going to perform before the rule was reintroduced. At one point before the contest Tunisia was going to participate, had Tunisia gone ahead they would have appeared fourth on stage. Yugoslavia also withdrew, and did not return until 1981, the Belgian act Dream Express had created some controversy in the press with reports that the three female members would wear transparent tops, this did not materialise for the actual event. The British conductor Ronnie Hazlehurst used an umbrella and wore a hat during the UK entry. Each performance had a conductor who maestro the orchestra, several artists returned to the 1977 Contest. Beatrix Neundlinger and Günter Grosslercher from the group Schmetterlinge both represented Austria in 1972 as part of the band The Milestones, irelands participant The Swarbriggs returned after their previous appearance back in 1975. Ilanit from Israel returned after previously representing the nation in 1973, michèle Torr, Luxembourgs 1966 entrant participated for Monaco. And finally Fernando Tordo and Paulo de Carvalho returned once more after they previously represented the nation as solo acts back in 1973 and 1974 respectively, ^ Contains some words in English. Each national broadcaster sent a commentator to the contest, in order to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language
Eurovision Song Contest 1977
44.
Marie Myriam
–
Marie Myriam is a French singer of Portuguese descent. Representing France, she won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1977 with Loiseau et lenfant with music by Jean Paul Cara, the single reached #42 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1977. In 1981, Myriam also represented France in the Yamaha Music Festival with the song Sentimentale, in recent years, she has read out the votes of the French Jury at the Eurovision Song Contest. Myriam made an appearance at the 50th anniversary concert in Copenhagen, Denmark, the same year, she wrote the introduction to the French edition of The Eurovision Song Contest – The Official History by John Kennedy OConnor. Myriam was married to music producer Michel Elmosnino from the late 1970s until his death at age 67 on 20 December 2013, the marriage produced two children, Laureen and Rick
Marie Myriam
–
Marie Myriam in March 2007 Photo: Julien Reynaud
45.
Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
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
Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Neiokõsõ at
Istanbul (
2004)
Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Sandra Oxenryd at
Athens (
2006)
Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Gerli Padar at
Helsinki (
2007)
46.
Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
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
Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Kenan Doğulu in
2007.
Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Turkey
Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Sertab in the opening of
the 2004 Contest.
Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Mor ve Ötesi in
2008.
47.
Conducted
–
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. A conductors directions will almost invariably be supplemented or reinforced by verbal instructions or suggestions to their musicians in rehearsal prior to a performance. The conductor typically stands on a podium with a large music stand for the full score. Conducting while playing a piano or synthesizer may also be done with musical theatre pit orchestras, communication is typically non-verbal during a performance. However, in rehearsals, frequent interruptions allow the conductor to give verbal directions as to how the music should be played or sung, Conductors act as guides to the orchestras or choirs they conduct. They choose the works to be performed and study their scores, to which they may make adjustments, work out their interpretation. They may also attend to matters, such as scheduling rehearsals, planning a concert season, hearing auditions and selecting members. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles such as big bands are usually led by conductors. The principal conductor of an orchestra or opera company is referred to as a music director or chief conductor, or by the German words Kapellmeister or Dirigent. Conductors of choirs or choruses are sometimes referred to as director, chorus master, or choirmaster. Conductors of concert bands, military bands, marching bands and other bands may hold the title of director, bandmaster. Respected senior conductors are sometimes referred to by the Italian word, an early form of conducting is cheironomy, the use of hand gestures to indicate melodic shape. This has been practiced at least as far back as the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, other devices to indicate the passing of time came into use. Rolled up sheets of paper, smaller sticks and unadorned hands are all shown in pictures from this period, the large staff was responsible for the death of Jean-Baptiste Lully, who injured his foot with one while conducting a Te Deum for the Kings recovery from illness. The wound became gangrenous and Lully refused amputation, whereupon the gangrene spread to his leg, in instrumental music throughout the 18th century, a member of the ensemble usually acted as the conductor. This was sometimes the concertmaster, who could use his bow as a baton and it was common to conduct from the harpsichord in pieces that had a basso continuo part. In opera performances, there were sometimes two conductors – the keyboard player was in charge of the singers, and the principal violinist or leader was in charge of the orchestra. By the early 19th century, it became the norm to have a dedicated conductor, the size of the usual orchestra expanded during this period, and the use of a baton became more common, as it was easier to see than bare hands or rolled-up paper
Conducted
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Steven Sametz conducting the Lehigh University Choir, sans baton
Conducted
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Andrew Lee Neer conducting with a baton in Detroit in 2011
Conducted
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Giuseppe Verdi conducting his opera
Aida in 1881
Conducted
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Herbert von Karajan conducting the
Vienna Philharmonic in 1941
48.
Maestro
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Maestro is an honorific title of respect. The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music and opera, the word maestro is most often used in addressing or referring to conductors. Less frequently, one might refer to respected composers, performers, impresarios, in the world of Italian opera, the title is also used to designate a number of positions within the orchestra and company that have specific duties during rehearsal and performance. These include, Maestro sostituto or maestro collaboratore, musicians who act as répétiteurs, Maestro concertatore, the keyboard continuo player, who prepares singers and leads rehearsals. The word is used in fine arts such as painting and sculpture, although master. Maestro is used in the sport of fencing, for a fencing instructor, the Maestro Myth, Great Conductors in Pursuit of Power. Kennedy, Michael, The Oxford Dictionary of Music,985 pages, ISBN 0-19-861459-4 Warrack, John, West, Ewan
Maestro
–
Herbert von Karajan conducting in 1941
49.
Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Cyprus has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 33 times since making its debut in 1981. Cyprus first entry was the group Island, who finished sixth, the countrys best result in the contest is three fifth-place finishes, in 1982 with Anna Vissi,1997 with Hara & Andreas Constantinou and 2004 with Lisa Andreas. Since 2006, Cyprus failed to qualify from the round for six out of eight years. On 14 July 2014, Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation officially confirmed their return to the contest in 2015, since its first entry, Cyprus has participated every year except 1988,2001 and 2014. In 2001, the country did not qualify for the contest due to insufficiently high average scores in previous contests, in 2014, the broadcaster decided to withdraw from the contest and cited public indifference and the economic crisis for not taking part. On 3 October 2013, the Cypriot broadcaster Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation withdrew from the 2014 contest, reasons that were cited are public opinion regarding the 2012–13 Cypriot financial crisis and budget restrictions as factors that influenced this decision. Cyprus is famous for always exchanging 12 points with Greece in the Semi Final and Final, the last time Cyprus gave Greece less than 12 points was in 2015. Cyprus and Turkey never voted for each other until 2004, a taboo attributed to the ongoing Cyprus dispute, since its first entry in 1981, Cyprus has had a mixture of good and bad results. The best result achieved so far is a place, reached by Anna Vissi in 1982, Hara and Andreas Constantinou in 1997. The lowest result was a last place in 1986, with the song Tora Zo sung by Elpida, in the 1980s and 1990s, Cyprus had managed to reach the top 10 a number of times, something which made the Contest become popular in the Cypriot public. Since the last best result of the country in 2004, Cyprus performance has dropped notably, from 2006 to 2009 and again in 2011 &2013, the country didnt manage to reach the final. At the same time when Cyprus performance in the contest dropped vertically, Greeces performance improved very fast by one win and this created a shift of interest, with the Cypriot public being more interested in the success of the Greek entry. In May 2014, the radio station London Greek Radio announced that Cyprus were planning a return to the contest after a one-year break. A few weeks later Eurovision website Wiwibloggs announced that Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation had confirmed their return, on 14 July 2014, CyBC officially confirmed their return to the contest in 2015. Cyprus hosted the Eurovision Song Project, which included 2 semi-finals,1 second chance round, if a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. In addition, back in 2004-2007, the top ten countries who were not members of the big four did not have to compete in the finals the following year. As of 2016, Cyprus voting history is as follows, Composer Award In addition, since 2009, British writer and TV presenter Nathan Morley has provided the CyBC Radio commentary. Cyprus in the Eurovision Young Musicians Cyprus in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest National Final Cyprus Points to and from Cyprus eurovisioncovers. co. uk Music. net. cy - Cyprus National Finals 2010
Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest
–
Alex Panayi at
Dublin (
1995)
Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest
Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Lisa Andreas at
Istanbul (
2004)
Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Evridiki at
Helsinki (
2007)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Estonia
Turkey
Cyprus – Stavros Lantsias
Turkey – Levent Çoker
Norway – Geir Langslet
Austria – N/A
Ireland – N/A
Slovenia – Mojmir Sepe
Switzerland – Pietro Damiani
Netherlands – Dick Bakker
Italy – Lucio Fabbri
Spain – Toni Xuclà
Germany – N/A
Poland – Krzesimir Dębski
Estonia – Tarmo Leinatamm
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Sinan Alimanović
Portugal – Thilo Krassman
Sweden – Curt-Eric Holmquist
Greece – Anacreon Papageorgiou
Malta – Ray Agius
Hungary – Péter Wolf
Russia – Rutger Gunnarsson
Denmark – Jan Glæsel
France – Régis Dupré
Croatia – N/A
United Kingdom – Don Airey
Iceland – Szymon Kuran
Belgium (non-participating country) - André Vermeulen (BRTN TV1),[19] Jean-Pierre Hautier (RTBF La Une);[20] Julien Put & Michel Follet (BRTN Radio 2), Alain Gerlache & Adrien Joveneau (RTBF La Première)
Finland - (non-participating country) - Aki Sirkesalo & Olli Ahvenlahti (YLE TV1)[22]
Macedonia(non-participating country) - Dragan B. Kostik (MTV 1)
Slovakia - (non-participating country) - Juraj Čurný (STV2)
Yugoslavia (non-participating country) - Nikola Nešković (RTS2)[32] [N 2]
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Ismeta Krvavac, Dijana Grković-Foretić, Segmedina Srna
