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Norddeutscher Rundfunk
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Norddeutscher Rundfunk is a public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR transmits for the German states of Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, NDR is a member of the ARD consortium. There are also regional studios, having both radio and television facilities, in the state capitals Hanover, Kiel and Schwerin. The facility in Hanover is now called the Landesfunkhaus Niedersachsen, in addition NDR maintains facilities at ARDs national studios in Berlin. NDR is in part funded by the sale of on-air commercial advertising time, however. As of 2015 the monthly fee due from each household for radio and these fees are collected not directly by NDR but by a joint agency of ARD, ZDF, and Deutschlandradio. NDR1 Niedersachsen – Local station for Lower Saxony, run from Hanover with some regional opt-outs, NDR1 Welle Nord – Local station for Schleswig-Holstein, run from Kiel with some regional opt-outs. NDR1 Radio MV – Local station for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, run from Schwerin with some regional opt-outs, NDR2 – Popular music station for middle-aged listeners. This is a public service station. NDR Kultur – Arts and culture station, NDR Info – News and information station. Nordwestradio – Cultural station for northwest Lower Saxony and Bremen, produced jointly with Radio Bremen, NDR Blue – Music away from the charts. It was renamend in 2016 to its current name, principal conductors have included Günter Wand and John Eliot Gardiner. NDR Radiophilharmonie – the NDR Radio Philharmonic, created in 1950 as the Hanover Radio Orchestra of the NWDR, principal conductors have included Willy Steiner and Bernhard Klee. The orchestra plays light classical or concert hall music, NDR Chor or Chor des Norddeutschen Rundfunks – created in 1946 by the NWDR and continued under its current name by NDR since 1955. The choir specializes in Alte Musik, but a broad repertory also includes contemporary music, NDR Bigband, created by the NWDR and continued by NDR in 1955 as the NDR Studioband. Wittmoor Measurement and Reception Station For 1924–1955 in detail, see Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, in 1924 broadcasting began in Hamburg, when Norddeutsche Rundfunk AG was created. In 1934 it was incorporated into the Großdeutscher Rundfunk, the national broadcaster controlled by Joseph Goebbelss Propagandaministerium, in 1930, NORAG commissioned the Welte-Funkorgel – a large theatre organ custom-built by the firm of M. In the British Zone of occupied Germany, the authorities quickly established Radio Hamburg to provide information to the population of the area
2.
ARD (broadcaster)
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ARD is a joint organisation of Germanys regional public-service broadcasters. It was founded in 1950 in West Germany to represent the interests of the new, decentralised. The ARD is the worlds largest public broadcaster, with a budget of €6.9 billion and 22,655 employees, the budget comes primarily from the licence fees every household, every company and even every public institution like city governments are required to pay. For an ordinary household the fee is currently €17.50 per month, households living on welfare do not have to pay the fee. The fees are not collected directly by the ARD, but by the Beitragsservice, an organization of the ARD member broadcasters, the second public TV broadcaster ZDF. ARD maintains and operates a television network, called Das Erste to differentiate it from ZDF, a. k. a. das Zweite. ARDs programmes are aired over its own terrestrial broadcast network, as well as via cable, satellite, ARD also produces two free-to-air digital channels and participates in the production of cable/satellite channels Phoenix, KI. KA, 3sat and arte. ARDs programming is produced by its members, which operate 54 regional and local radio stations and seven regional TV networks. Deutsche Welle, Germanys international broadcaster, is also a member of ARD, ARD is not owned by anybody, particularly not by Germany. ARD-members like BR are not owned by their Land, either, with the Rundfunkfreiheit, they have an independent position. The winning Allies of World War II determined that German radio after World War II would not broadcast the same propaganda as the pre-war Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft. A federal structure, the renunciation of state influence and the avoidance of economic dependence were to be the key of the radio, the new entity was financed by an obligatory fee which every German household with at least one radio receiver paid. Each station received the money collected in its state, larger ARD members subsidised smaller ones up to a certain extent. In 1947, American military governor Lucius D. Clay declared diversity of opinion as the main aim of post-war media policy. Individuals aligned with the post-war Allied forces in their sectors of Germany had a local influence on local regional broadcasters. NDR cites the influence of Hugh Greene on the years of their organisation. ARD members are free of government influence and rely for only a small part of their income on advertising. They are financed mainly from licence fees from radio and TV owners, the mandated aim of the ARD corporations is not only to inform and to entertain, but also to encourage the integration of various parts of society and allow minorities a say in programming
3.
Hessischer Rundfunk
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Hessischer Rundfunk is the public broadcaster for the German state of Hesse. The main offices of hr are in Frankfurt am Main, hr is a member of the ARD. The main radio and television studios for hr are located at Bertramstraße 8, there are additional radio and television studios in Kassel and Wiesbaden, and additional radio studios in Darmstadt, Fulda and Gießen. Hr also has offices in Berlin, Eltville, Erbach, Limburg an der Lahn, in 2000, hr opened studios on the 53rd floor of the Main Tower in the city centre of Frankfurt. Hr is also responsible for the ARD Studios in Madrid and Prague, licensing fees are currently €17.50 per month. Since 2013, this amount has to be paid by every household and these fees are not collected directly by the hr but by the Beitragsservice that is a common organisation of ARD, its members, ZDF and Deutschlandradio. Like other regional public broadcasting networks in Germany, hr has its own Channel Three programming, from 1964 until 1983 it was called Hessisches Fernsehprogramm and from 1983 until 1997 it was called Hessen Drei. In 1997 it was renamed to hessen fernsehen, and most recently, since December 2013 the channel is also available in HDTV. Until 2004 hr1 had been hrs main information channel, hr2-kultur is hrs cultural and classical-music radio channel. Hr3 is a popular music programme. Relaunched in the early 80s as a service targeted principally at young people, hr4 is aimed at an older listenership. It broadcasts regional news and German popular music and evergreens, as well as music, folk. At weekends, it broadcasts special in-depth-reports on a range of topics, YOU FM is hrs music programme for young people. It has also become famous outside of Hessen and Germany for its Saturday night techno music transmissions and its 112 musicians perform the whole spectrum of symphonic music from the Baroque era to the present day, initiating various new forms of presentation as well as undertaking experimental projects. Although the orchestra is based in Frankfurt, working principally in the German State of Hesse, it is a frequent guest at important international festivals, since the season 2014/2015 Andrés Orozco-Estrada is the orchestras music director. Previous important music directors include Dean Dixon, Eliahu Inbal, Dimitri Kitayenko, Hugh Wolff, hr-Bigband – The Frankfurt Radio Big Band started life 1946 as the dance orchestra of Radio Frankfurt. Since the 1970s it has become a big band with the focus on concerts. The Frankfurt Radio Big Band plays approximately 50 concerts every year, performing in every possible jazz-style as well as crossing over into classic, pop, after three years as the bands artist in residence, Jim McNeely assumed the position of music director in 2011
4.
Bayerischer Rundfunk
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Bayerischer Rundfunk is a public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is an organization of the ARD consortium of public broadcasters in Germany. Its functions are determined by a foundation which lays down the principles under which the broadcaster operates. Just as important for the work of Bavarian Broadcasting is the cooperation of the ARD consortium, the broadcasting service is further backed by the relevant European legal bases as well as the media service convention, which contain regulations for the on-line offerings of Bavarian Broadcasting. Every household in Germany is lawfully bound to pay 17,50 Euro per month as so called Rundfunkbeitrag to finance the public broadcast system. In 2012 BR derived 85. 3% of its income from viewer and listener licence fees,12. 6% from other such as product licensing and investments. 48. 5% of this income was spent on production costs,25. 1% on staffing. BR produces several series that are known throughout Bavaria. Advertising is also not permitted on ARDs Das Erste or on ZDF on Sundays, national holidays, or on any day after 8, on weekdays, only 20 minutes of advertising is permitted, split between breaks between programs. Program sponsoring is not considered to be advertising, and is not subject to these restrictions, BR operates a main broadcasting facility in downtown Munich as well as studios in Munichs northern Freimann quarter and the nearby municipality of Unterföhring. There are also regional TV and radio studios in Nuremberg, Würzburg and Regensburg, BR provides programs to various TV and radio networks, some done in collaboration with other broadcasters, and others completely independently. BR Fernsehen – Regional TV channel for Bavaria, phoenix – collaborative network programming between the ARD and ZDF. KiKA – Childrens network from the ARD and ZDF. arte – Franco-German cultural network 3sat – Cultural network from the ARD, ZDF, ORF, music directors have included Eugen Jochum, Rafael Kubelík, Sir Colin Davis and Lorin Maazel. Mariss Jansons has been serving in this post since 2003, münchner Rundfunkorchester, founded in the 1920s, reorganized in 1952. The orchestra is known for its Sunday concerts, and youth/childrens concerts, as of August 2005, the orchestra is threatened with dissolution in 2006. Marcello Viotti gave up his post as director, but continued to conduct the orchestra. He died on 16 February 2005 as a result of a stroke suffered during a performance of Manon, chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, founded in 1946 as Rundfunkchor München. The choir has premiered works by Rafael Kubelík and Hans Pfitzner, an ever increasing number of podcasts produced by BR are available
5.
Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk
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Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk is the public broadcaster for the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Established in January 1991, it has its headquarters in Leipzig and regional studios in Dresden, Erfurt, MDR broadcasts its own television channel to the three states it serves and also contributes programming to the first German TV channel, and broadcasts a number of radio channels. The main television studio is in Leipzig, and the radio studio is in Halle. There are also radio and TV studios in each of the three state capitals for the territory that MDR represents, Dresden, Erfurt, and Magdeburg. In 2012 87% of MDRs total annual income of €684,529,979 was derived from the fees payable by all households at the rate of €17,50. These fees are not collected directly by MDR but by the Beitragsservice owned jointly by ARD, the television network ZDF. MDR produces programming independently and in collaboration with other broadcasters, for transmission by a number of television, formerly DT64 cultural youth channel of East German broadcasting organisation. MDR KLASSIK - classical music The MDR operates two musical organizations and a ballet corps, the MDR Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1915 as Orchester des Konzertvereins. It became the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig in 1924, principal conductors have included Herbert Kegel, Wolf-Dieter Hauschild, Daniel Nazareth and Fabio Luisi. Since September 2007, Jun Märkl is the principal conductor. The MDR Radio Choir was founded in 1946 as the Rundfunkchor Leipzig, the MDR managed MDR TV Ballet, the only TV ballet company in Europe. It was founded in 1962 as DFF-Fernsehballet, reorganized in 1992, MDR sold the Ballet in 2012. Its now known as Deutsches Fernsehballett, MDR does not own its own transmission towers. They are owned and operated by Deutsche Telekom, several podcasts produced by MDR are available through the iTunes Music Store and via RSS. They are essentially repeats of regular programmes, including, Figaro, MDR Info, Programming Highlights, Riverboat, Sputnik. From 1991 to 2011 the Managing Director was Udo Reiter, followed by Karola Wille, MDR produces several programs for the ARD, including crime drama episodes for the series Tatort and Polizeiruf 110. MDR also produces the successful hospital series In aller Freundschaft and the animal series Abenteuer Zoo, Deutschlands wilde Tiere and Europas wilder Osten
6.
Eurovision Song Contest 1956
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was the debut edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland on Thursday 24 May. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union, the music competition was inspired by the Italian Sanremo Music Festival. Lohengrin Filipello hosted the first contest which lasted approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes, seven countries participated, with each of them performing two songs. Two jury members from all participating countries cast their votes in secret, from that meeting, the concept of the Eurovision Song Contest was born. A decision was reached to hold the first ever contest in the Swiss resort of Lugano the following year, the chosen venue for the contest was the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, a city in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy. The event was inspired by the Italian music festival, as well as that the contest was hosted in Italian. The programme lasted approximately one hour and 40 minutes, although it was mainly a radio programme, there were cameras in the studio for the benefit of the few Europeans who possessed a television. The interval act, whistling by the Joyeux Rossignols, had to be extended due to a delay in the voting procedure and it had been strongly recommended that each participating country have a preliminary national song contest. Two jury members from all participating countries travelled to Lugano to cast their vote on the songs in secret, the voting system at this Contest allowed juries to vote for any competing song, including those of their own country. Additionally, the Swiss jury was allowed by the EBU to vote also on behalf of the Luxembourg delegation, some even think that the Swiss entry won because of this rule. It is one of two contests to not have survived completely, along with the 1964 contest. Seven countries participated in the first ever contest, each were represented with two songs, two more countries, Austria, and Denmark were also expected to take part in the contest, but they missed the submission deadline and therefore could not take part. Each performance had a maestro who conducted the orchestra, the conductors listed conducted both performances for the indicated countries. Simon Barclays book The Complete and Independent Guide to the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 includes a table with what appears to be the rankings, under the chart he writes that the votes awarded have never been disclosed. According to writer Jan Feddersen, Im Wartesaal zum großen Glück was probably voted No.2 behind Lys Assia, the participating national broadcasters sent commentators to the contest, in order to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language. Details of the commentators and the station that they represented are shown in the table below. Official website Listen to the whole 1956 contest
7.
Eurovision Song Contest 1982
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1982 was the 27th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held on 24 April 1982 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, the German entrant, Nicole, was winner with the song Ein bißchen Frieden. Germany received 1.61 times as many points as runner-up Israel, which was a record under the current scoring system until 2009 and this was the first time that Germany won the contest. They have competed in the every year since the contests inception. The opening of the contest showed a map of Europe, with the translation Where is Harrogate, popping up on-screen from the languages of the various countries. The question was always in the language in which the countrys song was performed. The Irish entry was sung in English, but the translation of the question in the map was in Irish, then the map zoomed into Harrogates location in Yorkshire, followed by an introduction video spotlighting the town. Greece was due to participate in the contest with the song Sarantapente Kopelies performed by Themis Adamantidis, although drawn to perform in second place, ERT withdrew the entry a few weeks before the contest. Antenne 2 became the new broadcaster for Eurovision after public outcry, the tradition of previous years winners handing over the prize to current winners was not followed by Bucks Fizz, winners in 1981. Irish band Chips lost out in their national finals, which would, had they been successful, have led to the situation of two bands in the same Eurovision with the same name. Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England, historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters and RHS Harlow Carr gardens. Nearby is the Yorkshire Dales national park and the Nidderdale AONB, Harrogate grew out of two smaller settlements, High Harrogate and Low Harrogate, in the 17th century. The town became known as The English Spa in the Georgian Era, in the 17th and 18th centuries its chalybeate waters were a popular health treatment, and the influx of wealthy but sickly visitors contributed significantly to the wealth of the town. The Harrogate International Centre was chosen as the host venue for the contest, the grand convention and exhibition centre opened short time prior to the contest, and was the first big event held in the main 2000-seat auditorium. There were 18 competitors in this years final, No year since has had this few competitors in the final of the competition. Each country had a jury who awarded 12,10,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 point for their top ten songs, Germany had the advantage of performing last. After coming second in 1980 and second in Dublin the year previously, Ralph Siegel, the winner, Nicole, beat the nearest competition by 61 points and over 13 million West Germans watched her victory on television. Germany was the leader for nearly the entire voting process
8.
Eurovision Song Contest 2010
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The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the 55th annual Eurovision Song Contest, broadcast from the Telenor Arena in Bærum, Greater Oslo, Norway. Norway gained the rights to host the contest after achieving a record breaking victory in Moscow the previous year and it was the third time Norway had hosted the contest, having previously done so in 1986 and 1996. The 2010 winner was Germany with Lena singing Satellite, written by American Julie Frost and it was Germanys first win in twenty-eight years, its second since the Contests inception, and its first win as a unified country. It was also the first time a Big Four country won the contest since the introduction in 2000. The semi-finals took place on 25 and 27 May 2010 while the final was scheduled for 29 May 2010, the European Broadcasting Union announced that the voting system used in the semi-finals would change from previous years to balance jury voting with televoting. A return of accompaniment by orchestra was also proposed, but did not happen, thirty-nine countries took part in the contest, with Georgia returning after a one-year hiatus, and Andorra, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Montenegro withdrawing. Lithuania originally announced its withdrawal from the competition, but was later among the 39 participants confirmed by the EBU and this represents a larger budget than that allotted in the 2007 Contest in Helsinki, but is not as much as the budget in Moscow for 2009. The revised estimated cost for the now stands at 211 million kroner. At a press conference in Oslo on 27 May 2009, it was announced that the show was to be held in the Oslo metropolitan area, NRK argued that Oslo was the only city with the required capacity, venues, and infrastructure to hold the show. On 3 July 2009, it was decided that the venue would be the newly constructed Telenor Arena, the Oslo Spektrum was ruled out to host the contest due to its smaller size and capacity as was Valhall in Oslo and the Hamar Vikingskipet. The theme art, a series of intersecting circles, was selected to represent gathering people, in addition to the base colour of white, the logo was created in black, gold, and pink. A preview of the design was released on 6 May 2010, featuring no LED screens. The basic synopsis of the postcards is a group of little golden balls forms the shape of each country. Then, they move and form a screen where we can see a video of a little crowd from in a city of the country about to perform supporting and cheering their act. After that, a few seconds of the performer of the country getting ready in the stage are shown, and then, NRK announced the hosts of the contest on 10 March 2010. Those chosen were Erik Solbakken, Haddy Jatou Njie, and Nadia Hasnaoui, Solbakken and Njie opened the three shows, introduced the artists, and reported from the green room during the voting, with Hasnaoui presenting the voting section and scoreboard announcements. This was the time that more than two hosts were presenting the shows, after the 1999 Contest. This replaces the semi-final format used in the 2008 and 2009 contests in which the countries with the top nine highest points from the results in each semi-final qualified for the final
9.
Eurovision Song Contest 1964
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1964 was the ninth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, after the victory in the 1963 edition. Italy won the contest for the first time scoring 49 points with the song Non ho letà, the host venue for the contest was Tivolis Koncertsal in Denmarks capital city Copenhagen, which lies within Denmarks famous amusement park and pleasure garden Tivoli Gardens. Each country had 10 jury members who distributed three points among their one, two, or three favourite songs, the points were totaled and the first, second, and third placed songs were awarded 5,3, and 1 votes in order. If only one song got every point within the jury it would get all 9 points, if only two songs were chosen, the songs would get 6 and 3 points in order. A political protest occurred after the Swiss entry, a man trespassed onto the stage holding a banner that read Boycott Franco & Salazar, whilst this was going on, television viewers were shown a shot of the scoreboard, once the man was removed the contest went on. Her performance was given a repeat on British television the following afternoon. As with the 1956 contest, no recording of the actual contest performance is known to survive. Reports say that this is there was a fire at the studios of DR. No other broadcaster recorded the show other than for the Winners reprise. It has been speculated that the BBC once held a copy of the show, as an empty tape canister marked Eurovision 1964 was found during a storage cleanup, but the tape was missing, presumably wiped. The audio of the show however is still intact. Sweden did not participate because of a boycott by singers, portugal made its début in the contest, however they became the first country to score nul points on their début. Germany, Switzerland, and Yugoslavia also scored nul points for the first time, the Netherlands became the first country to send a singer of non-European ancestry, Anneke Grönloh was of Indonesian descent. The Spanish group Los TNT was the first group of three or more participants of the history of the ESC, one artist returned to the contest this year, Switzerlands Anita Traversi that represented the country in 1960. Each national broadcaster sent a commentator to the contest, in order to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language. Details of the commentators and the station for which they represented are also included in the table below
10.
Eurovision Song Contest 1965
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1965 was the tenth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Naples, Italy, following the Italian victory at the previous 1964 edition. Luxembourg won, for the time in the history of the contest, with the song Poupée de cire, poupée de son, performed by France Gall. Belgium, Finland, Germany, and Spain each scored points for the second time. The 1965 contest marked the debut of Ireland, a country which went on to dominate the competition. This was also the first contest with over 16 countries participating with a total of 18 entries, the Swedish entry was also sung in English. For the first time since Dutch victory Een Beetje in 1959, the contest took place in Naples, the capital of region Campania in southern Italy and the third-largest city in Italy, after Rome and Milan. This is Italys first hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest, the host venue was the then new Sala di Concerto della RAI, founded few years prior to the contest, in the late fifties and early sixties. It is located in Viale Marconi in the district of Fuorigrotta, the structure has three TV studios for a total of 1227 m² and capacity of 370 persons, used for the filming of programs and fiction and an auditorium. The Neapolitan song archives are housed in it. Each country had 10 jury members who distributed three points among their one, two, or three favourite songs, the points were totalled and the first, second, and third placed songs were awarded 5,3, and 1 votes in order. If only one song got every point within the jury it would get all 9 points, if only two songs were chosen, the songs would get 6 and 3 points in order. 18 countries took part, with the Eurovision Song Contest reaching its highest ever number, sweden returned after a one-year absence, and Ireland debuted in the competition. Luxembourg won for the time with the highly controversial Poupée De Cire. Belgium, Finland, Germany, and Spain all scored points for the second time. The competition was also broadcast via the Intervision network, to the Eastern European nations for the very first time, ingvar Wixell, the Swedish participant performed his song in English instead of the original Swedish title Annorstädes vals. The native languages were used for all of the other participants and this led to a rule being introduced for the next 1966 edition, that meant all participants had to perform their songs using one of their national languages. Each performance had a conductor who led the orchestra, each country had 10 jury members who distributed three points among their one, two, or three favourite songs
11.
Eurovision Song Contest 1974
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1974 was the 19th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in the resort of Brighton on the south coast of the United Kingdom. The BBC agreed to stage the event after Luxembourg, having won in both 1972 and 1973, declined on the grounds of expense to host the contest for a consecutive year. The winner of the Contest was Sweden with the song Waterloo which was performed by the band ABBA, ABBA are among the few Eurovision winners to achieve international superstar status. Katie Boyle returned to host her fourth Eurovision Song Contest, Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove on the south coast of Great Britain. The venue which hosted the 1974 Contest was the Brighton Dome, a venue that contains the Concert Hall, the Corn Exchange. A two-night preview programme, Auftakt für Brighton, was coordinated by the German national broadcaster ARD broadcast at the end of March and was hosted by the journalist Karin Tietze-Ludwig and it was the first preview-type programme to be broadcast in many European countries simultaneously. The programme was notable in being the European television debut for the winners, ABBA. The United Kingdom was represented in the contest by the Australian pop singer Olivia Newton-John, France had been drawn to sing at No. Since President Pompidous funeral was held the day of the contest, dani was seen by viewers in the audience at the point the French song should have been performed. For the same reason, the French singer Anne-Marie David, who had won the first place for Luxembourg in 1973, in her absence, the Director General of the BBC and President of the EBU, Sir Charles Curran, presented the Grand Prix. Malta had selected Enzo Guzman with the song Paċi Fid Dinja to represent them, malta would return to the competition in 1975. The song was not played on most Italian state TV and radio stations for over a month, portugals entry E depois do adeus was used as the first of the two signals to launch the Carnation Revolution against the Estado Novo regime. The second song to be broadcast, marking the start of military operations of the coup, was Grândola, Vila Morena by Zeca Afonso. Seventeen nations took part in this years contest, greece made their début, while France withdrew during the week of the contest after the sudden death of French President Georges Pompidou. Each performance had a conductor who maestro the orchestra, had France taken part in the contest, its entry would have been conducted by Jean-Claude Petit. Three artists returned to the contest this year, gigliola Cinquetti winner of the 1964 Contest participated again for Italy. Romuald Figuier who also participated in the 1964 Contest for Monaco, norways Bendik Singers also returned after last participating in Eurovision Song Contest 1973
12.
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
13.
Eurovision Song Contest 2005
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The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th annual Eurovision Song Contest. The contest took place at the Palace of Sports in Kiev, Ukraine, the contest consisted of two shows, the semi-final and final, which took place on 19 and 21 May 2005, respectively. The shows were hosted by Maria Efrosinina and Pavlo Shylko, thirty-nine countries participated, including the débuts of Bulgaria and Moldova and the return of Hungary, which was last represented in 1998. The winner for 2005 was Greece with the song My Number One performed by Helena Paparizou, written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou and it scored 230 points, beating Malta into second place by a margin of 38 points. This was the first victory for Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest, romania, Israel and Latvia rounded out the top five. The Big Four countries ended up as the Last Four, all placing in the four position of the scoreboard in the final. The official logo of the contest remained the same from the 2004 contest with the flag in the heart being changed. Following Istanbuls Under The Same Sky, the slogan for the 2005 show was Awakening, the postcards for the 2005 show illustrated Ukraine’s culture and heritage along with a more modern and industrial side to the country. The hosts of the Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev were television presenter Maria Masha Efrosinina, previous winner Ruslana returned to the stage in Kiev to perform in the interval act and to interview the contestants backstage in the green room. The famous Ukrainian boxers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko opened the televoting, while a special trophy was presented to the winner by Ukraines president, Viktor Yushchenko. An official CD and DVD was released and a new introduction was an official pin set, the EBU also commissioned a book The Eurovision Song Contest – The Official History by British/American author John Kennedy OConnor to celebrate the contests fiftieth anniversary. The book was presented on screen during the break between songs 12 and 13, the book was published in English, German, French, Dutch, Swedish, Danish and Finnish. During the semi final, there were a few volume falls in the sound, most notably during the Norwegian song and these were not fixed for the DVD release. 2005 was no exception for scandals regarding the representatives from the countries participating, germanys entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest rejected calls to quit after her producer admitted manipulating the countrys pop charts with mass purchases of her single. Gracia Baur defended her producer David Brandes, also behind Swiss entry Vanilla Ninja, bulgarias debut was overshadowed by a scandal. The song Lorraine by Kaffe was accused of plagiarism, the song sounded too similar to another one released by Ruslan Mainov in 2001. There were also problems in Malta with the electricity supply during the contest, there was a controversy regarding the Turkish entry, TRT got a false jury which led to the victory of the song Gülseren, which the 2003 winner Sertab Erener said was not the best choice. There were similar controversies in Macedonia which led to a victory for Martin Vučić
14.
Eurovision Song Contest 2015
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The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th anniversary edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest musical event. The contest took place in Vienna, Austria, following Austrian Conchita Wursts victory in the 2014 and this was the second time that Austria hosted the contest, the 1967 being the first. The 2015 contest consisted of two semi-finals, which place on 19 and 21 May, and a final, held on 23 May 2015. The shows were presented by Mirjam Weichselbraun, Alice Tumler and Arabella Kiesbauer while Conchita Wurst was hosting the green room, forty countries participated in the contest, with Australia making a guest appearance, and Cyprus, the Czech Republic, and Serbia returning. Ukraine, however, announced their withdrawal due to financial and political reasons around the Ukrainian crisis, once all the votes had been announced, based on 50% jury and 50% televoting, Sweden won the contest for the sixth time, with Måns Zelmerlöws song Heroes. Sweden became the first country to win the contest twice in the current format, and this was the second win in four years. Italy won the voting with Russia in second place. Sweden won the voting, with Latvia in second place. This is the first time since the juries were reintroduced alongside the televoting in 2009 that the winner didnt place first in the televoting, for the first time, the top four of the contest all scored 200 points or better. Russias entry A Million Voices became the first non-winning Eurovision song to score over 300 points, Austria and Germany became the first countries 2003 to score no points in the final. Austria is also the first host country to score nul points, the 2015 contest also saw the best ever result for Montenegro since its independence, and the Czech Republic. Also the top two countries of this contest were the same as the top two countries in the 2012, being Sweden and Russia, over 197 million viewers worldwide watched the contest, beating the 2014 viewing figures by 2 million. The Wiener Stadthalle hosts the annual Erste Bank Open tennis tournament, after Austrias victory in the 2014 Contest, their delegation revealed the possibility of hosting the contest either in the capital city, Vienna, or in Salzburg. Vienna, considered the front-runner, had two venues in the phase, Wiener Stadthalle and the trade centre, Messe Wien. Also in the race were Stadthalle Graz and Schwarzl Freizeit Zentrum, with a maximum capacity of 30,000, the Wörthersee Stadium in Klagenfurt also joined the race, however, it would require the construction of a roof for the contest to be hosted there. Innsbruck also joined the race with Olympiahalle, which hosted ice hockey, a fifth city, Linz, joined the race with Brucknerhaus, although the venue is not big enough for the contest. Being geographically close to Linz, Wels showed desire to host the event as well, oberwart, with the Exhibition hall, and Vorarlberg, with the Vorarlberger Landestheater, were the latest cities to declare an interest. On 29 May 2014, Austrian host public broadcaster ORF and the EBU released some requirements, ORF requested interested parties to respond by 13 June 2014
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Eurovision Song Contest 2016
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The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the 61st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden, following Swedens victory at the 2015 in Vienna with the song Heroes and this was the third time the contest had taken place in Stockholm, after 1975 and 2000, the latter also being held at the Globe. The contest consisted of two semi-finals on 10 and 12 May and the final on 14 May 2016, with all three live shows hosted by Zelmerlöw and Petra Mede, the winner of the contest was Ukraine with the song 1944, performed by Jamala. This was Ukraines second win and its first since 2004 and it was also the first song with lyrics in Crimean Tatar to win or enter the contest. Forty-two countries participated in the contest, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia and Ukraine returned after absences from recent contests, while Australia also returned after debuting as a special guest in 2015. Twenty-six countries competed in the final, which was the first to be broadcast on television in the United States. In the final, Australia finished second, improving on its debut in 2015, while Bulgaria finished fourth, its best result since its debut, Justin Timberlake performed during the interval act of the final. A record-breaking 204 million viewers watched the contest, beating the 2015 viewing figures by over 5 million. The contest took place in the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, following Swedens victory at the 2015 contest in Vienna with the song Heroes, performed by Måns Zelmerlöw. The Ericsson Globe has a capacity of approximately 16,000 attendees, host broadcaster Sveriges Television announced on 24 May, the day after winning the 2015 contest, that the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm was their first choice venue. However, other cities and arenas were invited to apply, a press centre with a specific size had to be made available at the venue. A specific number of hotels and hotel rooms had to be available in the vicinity of the venue. The host city had to be near a major airport, an announcement regarding the venue was expected from SVT by midsummer, with the Ericsson Globe announced as the venue on 8 July. These were subject to change depending on SVT, but were confirmed when Stockholm was announced as the host city. Discussions were held in 2014 between the EBU and the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union regarding the inclusion of a guest performance from the ABU TV Song Festival at the contest. The EBU confirmed on 16 July 2015 that they are looking into the possibility of the proposal, however, the EBU published the public rules of the contest on 28 October, which stated that the start time would remain at 21,00 CEST. The core team for the contest was announced by SVT and the EBU on 26 October, johan Bernhagen and Martin Österdahl were Executive Producers, while Tobias Åberg was Head of Production. The three live shows were directed by Sven Stojanović and the contest was produced by Christer Björkman, the EBU announced on 18 February 2016 that a new voting system would be implemented at the contest for the first time since 1975
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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
17.
Eurovision Song Contest 1996
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1996 was the 41st Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 18 May 1996 in Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, Norway. The presenters were Ingvild Bryn and Morten Harket, Harket, lead singer of a-ha, opened the show with a performance of his single Heavens Not for Saints. Twenty-three countries participated in the contest, with Eimear Quinn of Ireland crowned the winner after the voting, with the song. The song was written by Brendan Graham, who composed the 1994 winner Rock n Roll Kids. It was also a seventh win for Ireland and the most recent win of Ireland. Germany, Israel, Denmark, Hungary, Russia, Macedonia, Macedonia eventually went on to make their debut in 1998. The 1996 contest remains the only Eurovision without a German entry and this year, they reverted to the pre-qualifying round that had been used for the 1993, but this time with just one country exempt from the process - the host Norway. The audio-only pre-qualification round, which was never televised, was used by the EBU in order to shortlist the number of participating nations that would compete in the televised final. With exception to the hosts Norway, audio entries from twenty-nine countries were played to national juries, Germany, Israel, Denmark, Hungary, Russia, Macedonia, and Romania all failed to qualify. As a result, Macedonias submission was never classified as an entry by the EBU. As a leading contributor to the contest, Germany were particularly aggrieved that their entry. It was the year in the history of the ESC in which Germany did not participate in the final. But of course the only good luck wish that was rewarded in the end was that of Irish Taoiseach John Bruton. Secondly, the section was conducted using blue screen virtual reality technology provided by Silicon Graphics. The host Ingvild Bryn introduced the viewers to the room, upon which a 3D scoreboard, views of the green room. The only physical aspects were Ingvild herself and two podiums, for the first time in the Eurovision history, during the voting a spokesperson came to stage down next to Ingvild, the Norwegian one, Ragnhild Sælthun Fjørtoft. Despite a submitted entry from Macedonia, it was never classified as a debut entry. Shaded countries were eliminated from the competition Each country had a jury that awarded 12,10,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 point for their top ten songs
18.
France in the Eurovision Song Contest
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France has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 59 times since its debut at the very first contest in 1956. France is one of seven countries to be present at the first contest. France first won the contest in 1958 with Dors, mon amour performed by André Claveau, frances fifth victory came in 1977, when Marie Myriam won with the song Loiseau et lenfant. France have also finished four times, with Paule Desjardins in 1957, Catherine Ferry in 1976, Joëlle Ursull in 1990 and Amina in 1991. France finished last for the first time in 2014, when Twin Twin received only two points. France have failed to reach the top 10 in 12 of the last 14 contests, the exceptions being Patricia Kaas, who was eighth in 2009, and Amir, several French broadcasters have been used to present Eurovision in the country, formerly RTF, ORTF and TF1. The first semi-final in 2004 was not broadcast, from 2015, France 2 resumed the responsibility of organising an entry and broadcasting the final and from 2016, both semi-finals will be broadcast by France 4. The change is an attempt to better ratings and results in forthcoming contests. Radio coverage has been provided, although not every year, by France Inter from 1971 to 1998 and since 2001, in 1982, RTL Radio transmitted the contest due to the countrys absence that year. France has often changed the process used in order to find the countrys entry for the contest. France is one of the most successful countries in the Eurovision, winning the contest five times, coming second four times, France was ranked first in number of victories without interruptions from 1960 to 1993. Moreover, Amina was close to victory with the song Le Dernier qui a parlé. in 1991, therefore, the countback rule applied, but both countries had an equal number of twelve points, but the victory went to Sweden, when France had fewer 10-point scores. Today, with the new rules, France would have won the competition, one year before, France was also close to winning with Joëlle Ursull performing Serge Gainsbourgs song White and Black Blues. The song finished in second place with Irelands entry. However, in recent years, the French results have been somewhat disappointing, since 1998, when the televoting was invented, France has almost always been in the bottom-10 countries in the final, coming 18th, 19th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th. France finished in last place, for the first time in their Eurovision history, yet, France have had some good results during the 21st century. In 2001, Canadian singer Natasha St-Pier came 4th for France with her song Je nai que mon âme, being the favourite to win the contest by fans and odds. This good result was carried into the 2002 contest, when Sandrine François came 5th with Il faut du temps, with these ambitions, the French superstar Patricia Kaas represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia
19.
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
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The United Kingdom has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 59 times and is one of the most successful countries to compete in the contest. They first participated in the second contest in 1957, the UK has entered every year since 1959, and has won the contest a total of five times. Along with Sweden, the UK is one of two countries with Eurovision victories in four different decades. The British public broadcaster, the BBC, broadcasts the event each year and organises the selection process for the entry. For most years, the public had been able to vote for the winner, using in the past postcard voting, where the viewers sent postcards with their vote to the BBC, but more recently televoting. In 2009 and 2010, a new national selection format was held to find the singer who would go on to sing the internally selected song at the contest. From 2011 to 2015, for the first time in UKs Eurovision history and this resulted in the national selection process being suspended, however, this returned in 2016. The United Kingdom has finished last in three contests, in 2016, the UK failed to reach the top 10 for the seventh consecutive time, with the duo Joe and Jake finishing 24th. It was alleged that the United Kingdom were expected to take part in the first contest in 1956, and this was later revealed by the EBU in January 2017 to be a mythical fact created by fans of the contest. Patricia Bredin was the first performer to represent the UK at Eurovision, at their second attempt in the contest in 1959, the UK achieved the first of their record fifteen runner-up positions, when Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson sang Sing, Little Birdie. In 1968, another performer was selected to represent the UK with the song Congratulations. In London, Cliff Richard gave the UK their sixth second-place finish, Congratulations remains one of only two non-winning UK Eurovision songs to top the UK charts. The UKs pulling of second was provided by the Scottish singer Lulu in 1969 with the song Boom Bang-a-Bang, another established performer, she had reached the US #1 spot with To Sir with Love in 1967. Having finished second on three occasions in the 1970s, with Mary Hopkin in 1970, The New Seekers in 1972. The UK achieved their victory in 1976 with Brotherhood of Man and Save Your Kisses for Me, who won with 164 points. In 1977, the UK finished second for the time represented by Lynsey de Paul. The UKs fourth victory came in 1981, with Bucks Fizz, the group was created especially for the UK selection contest A Song for Europe. At Eurovision in Dublin, they defeated Germanys Lena Valaitis by four points, the group went on to continued success, with 13 UK top 40 hits over the next five years
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German reunification
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The end of the unification process is officially referred to as German unity, celebrated on 3 October. Following German reunification, Berlin was once designated as the capital of united Germany. The East German regime started to falter in May 1989, when the removal of Hungarys border fence with Austria opened a hole in the Iron Curtain and it caused an exodus of thousands of East Germans fleeing to West Germany and Austria via Hungary. The united Germany is the continuation of the Federal Republic. For political and diplomatic reasons, West German politicians carefully avoided the term reunification during the run-up to what Germans frequently refer to as die Wende, after 1990, the term die Wende became more common. The term generally refers to the events led up to the actual reunification, in its usual context. When referring to the events surrounding unification, however, it carries the connotation of the time. However, anti-communist activists from Eastern Germany rejected the term Wende as it was introduced by SEDs Secretary General Egon Krenz, the capital city of Berlin was divided into four occupied sectors of control, under the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and France. Germans lived under such imposed divisions throughout the ensuing Cold War, into the 1980s, the Soviet Union experienced a period of economic and political stagnation, and they correspondingly decreased intervention in Eastern Bloc politics. In 1987, US President Ronald Reagan gave a speech at Brandenburg Gate challenging Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down this wall that had separated Berlin. The wall had stood as an icon for the political and economic division between East and West, a division that Churchill had referred to as the Iron Curtain. In early 1989, under a new era of Soviet policies of glasnost, perestroika and taken to more progressive levels by Gorbachev. Further inspired by images of brave defiance, a wave of revolutions swept throughout the Eastern Bloc that year. In May 1989, Hungary removed their border fence and thousands of East Germans escaped to the West, however, events rapidly came to a head in early 1990. First, in March, the Party of Democratic Socialism—the former Socialist Unity Party of Germany—was heavily defeated in East Germanys first free elections. A grand coalition was formed under Lothar de Maizière, leader of the East German wing of Kohls Christian Democratic Union, on a platform of speedy reunification, second, East Germanys economy and infrastructure underwent a swift and near-total collapse. While East Germany had long been reckoned as having the most robust economy in the Soviet bloc, the East German mark had been practically worthless outside East Germany for some time before the events of 1989–90 further magnified the problem. Discussions immediately began for a merger of the German economies
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West Germany
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West Germany is the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation on 23 May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990. During this Cold War era, NATO-aligned West Germany and Warsaw Pact-aligned East Germany were divided by the Inner German border, after 1961 West Berlin was physically separated from East Berlin as well as from East Germany by the Berlin Wall. This situation ended when East Germany was dissolved and its five states joined the ten states of the Federal Republic of Germany along with the reunified city-state of Berlin. With the reunification of West and East Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany, enlarged now to sixteen states and this period is referred to as the Bonn Republic by historians, alluding to the interwar Weimar Republic and the post-reunification Berlin Republic. The Federal Republic of Germany was established from eleven states formed in the three Allied Zones of occupation held by the United States, the United Kingdom and France, US and British forces remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Its population grew from roughly 51 million in 1950 to more than 63 million in 1990, the city of Bonn was its de facto capital city. The fourth Allied occupation zone was held by the Soviet Union, as a result, West Germany had a territory about half the size of the interbellum democratic Weimar Republic. At the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided among the Western and Eastern blocs, Germany was de facto divided into two countries and two special territories, the Saarland and divided Berlin. The Federal Republic of Germany claimed a mandate for all of Germany. It took the line that the GDR was an illegally constituted puppet state, though the GDR did hold regular elections, these were not free and fair. For all practical purposes the GDR was a Soviet puppet state, from the West German perspective the GDR was therefore illegitimate. Three southwestern states of West Germany merged to form Baden-Württemberg in 1952, in addition to the resulting ten states, West Berlin was considered an unofficial de facto 11th state. It recognised the GDR as a de facto government within a single German nation that in turn was represented de jure by the West German state alone. From 1973 onward, East Germany recognised the existence of two German countries de jure, and the West as both de facto and de jure foreign country, the Federal Republic and the GDR agreed that neither of them could speak in the name of the other. The first chancellor Konrad Adenauer, who remained in office until 1963, had worked for an alignment with NATO rather than neutrality. He not only secured a membership in NATO but was also a proponent of agreements that developed into the present-day European Union, when the G6 was established in 1975, there was no question whether the Federal Republic of Germany would be a member as well. With the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989, symbolised by the opening of the Berlin Wall, East Germany voted to dissolve itself and accede to the Federal Republic in 1990. Its five post-war states were reconstituted along with the reunited Berlin and they formally joined the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990, raising the number of states from 10 to 16, ending the division of Germany
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Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
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East Germany
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East Germany, formally the German Democratic Republic, was an Eastern Bloc state during the Cold War period. The Soviet zone surrounded West Berlin, but did not include it, as a result, the German Democratic Republic was established in the Soviet Zone, while the Federal Republic was established in the three western zones. East Germany, which lies culturally in Central Germany, was a state of the Soviet Union. Soviet occupation authorities began transferring administrative responsibility to German communist leaders in 1948, Soviet forces, however, remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Until 1989, the GDR was governed by the Socialist Unity Party, though other parties participated in its alliance organisation. The economy was centrally planned, and increasingly state-owned, prices of basic goods and services were set by central government planners, rather than rising and falling through supply and demand. Although the GDR had to pay war reparations to the USSR. Nonetheless it did not match the growth of West Germany. Emigration to the West was a significant problem—as many of the emigrants were well-educated young people, the government fortified its western borders and, in 1961, built the Berlin Wall. Many people attempting to flee were killed by guards or booby traps. In 1989, numerous social and political forces in the GDR and abroad led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the following year open elections were held, and international negotiations led to the signing of the Final Settlement treaty on the status and borders of Germany. The GDR was dissolved and Germany was unified on 3 October 1990, internally, the GDR also bordered the Soviet sector of Allied-occupied Berlin known as East Berlin which was also administered as the states de facto capital. It also bordered the three sectors occupied by the United States, United Kingdom and France known collectively as West Berlin. The three sectors occupied by the Western nations were sealed off from the rest of the GDR by the Berlin Wall from its construction in 1961 until it was brought down in 1989, the official name was Deutsche Demokratische Republik, usually abbreviated to DDR. West Germans, the media and statesmen purposely avoided the official name and its abbreviation, instead using terms like Ostzone, Sowjetische Besatzungszone. The centre of power in East Berlin was referred to as Pankow. Over time, however, the abbreviation DDR was also used colloquially by West Germans. However, this use was not always consistent, for example, before World War II, Ostdeutschland was used to describe all the territories east of the Elbe, as reflected in the works of sociologist Max Weber and political theorist Carl Schmitt
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Harrogate
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Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its attractions include its spa waters. Nearby is the Yorkshire Dales national park and the Nidderdale AONB, Harrogate grew out of two smaller settlements, High Harrogate and Low Harrogate, in the 17th century. Since 2013, polls have consistently voted the town as the happiest place to live in Britain, Harrogate spa water contains iron, sulphur and common salt. The town became known as The English Spa in the Georgian era, in the 17th and 18th centuries its chalybeate waters were a popular health treatment, and the influx of wealthy but sickly visitors contributed significantly to the wealth of the town. Harrogate railway station and Harrogate bus station in the town centre provide transport connections, Leeds Bradford International Airport is 10 miles south-west of Harrogate. The main roads through the town are the A61, connecting Harrogate to Leeds and Ripon, Harrogate is also connected to Wetherby and the A1, by the A661. The town motto is Arx celebris fontibus, which means a citadel famous for its springs, the name Harrogate is first attested in the 1330s as Harwegate, Harougat and Harrowgate. The origin of the name is uncertain and it may derive from Old Norse hǫrgr a heap of stones, cairn + gata street, in which case the name presumably meant road to the cairn. Another possibility is that the means the way to Harlow. The form Harlowgate is known from 1518, and apparently in the rolls of Edward II. In medieval times Harrogate was a place on the borders of the township of Bilton with Harrogate in the ancient Parish of Knaresborough, and the parish of Pannal, also known as Beckwith with Rossett. The part within the township of Bilton developed into the community of High Harrogate, both communities were within the Royal Forest of Knaresborough. In 1372 King Edward III granted the Royal Forest to his son John, Duke of Lancaster, Harrogates development is owed to the discovery of its chalybeate and sulphur rich spring water from the 16th century. The medicinal properties of the waters were publicised by Edmund Deane and his book, Spadacrene Anglica, or the English Spa Fountain was published in 1626. In the 17th and 18th centuries further chalybeate springs were discovered in High Harrogate, the two communities attracted many visitors. A number of inns were opened for visitors in High Harrogate in the 17th century In Low Harrogate the Crown was open by the mid 18th century, in accordance with an Enclosure Act of 1770, promoted by the Duchy of Lancaster, the Royal Forest of Knaresborough was enclosed. The Enclosure Award of 1778 clarified ownership of land in the Harrogate area, under the Award 200 acres of land, which included the springs known at that time, were reserved as a public common, the Stray, which has remained public open space
25.
Nicole (German singer)
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Nicole represented West Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 1982 where she won with the song, Ein bißchen Frieden, with music by Ralph Siegel and lyrics by Bernd Meinunger and Paul Greedus. When she reprised the song after the end of the contest voting, she performed parts of the song in English, French, and Dutch along with the original German. In 1983, she made the place at the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo with the Ralph Siegel/Robert Jung song So viele Lieder sind in mir. Nicole married Winfried Selbert in 1984 and has two daughters and a granddaughter, Nicole was also the winner of the German Schlagerparade in 1991 with the song Ein leises Lied. The full English version of the song A Little Peace went on to be the 500th number one single in the UK Singles Chart, full versions in French, Dutch, Spanish, Danish, Slovene, Russian, Polish, and Hungarian have also been recorded. In October 2010, she released her album,30 Jahre mit Leib und Seele, in the BBC4 Programme Eurovision at 60 she described her emotions when she realised that Israel had awarded her the full 12 points for her song. She went on to say how much it meant to her, with our history, official Website Ein bißchen Frieden lyric with English translation Nicole Hohloch at the Internet Movie Database
26.
Ein bisschen Frieden
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Ein bißchen Frieden is a song in German, written by prolific German Eurovision-writing duo Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger for the Eurovision Song Contest 1982, held in Harrogate, England. Ein bißchen Frieden was the eighteenth and final song performed during the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest, at the close of voting, it had received 161 points, placing first in a field of 18. The gentle ballad describes a wish for peace, with the lyrics sung in first person. After winning the contest, Nicole performed the reprise in four different languages, German, English and she decided on the spur of the moment to do this, to the bewilderment of her backing group. She later released recordings in five additional languages across Europe, Danish, Italian, Russian, and a German-English-Dutch combination and a German-English-Italian combination. It topped the charts in countries, selling more than three million copies, and the English version was the last Eurovision winner to top the charts in the United Kingdom. Although Nicole was not at the concert, it was re-enacted by dancers equipped with white guitars, Ein bißchen Frieden finished as the seventh most popular song in the history of the contest. The song was succeeded as Contest winner in 1983 by Si la vie est cadeau by Corinne Hermès representing Luxembourg and it was succeeded as German representative at the 1983 Contest by Hoffmann & Hoffmann with Rücksicht. In 1996, the Swedish techno/folk/bluegrass band Rednex, known for their hit Cotton-Eye Joe around that time, did a cover of Ein bißchen Frieden, monica Forsberg wrote lyrics in Swedish as En liten fågel, and the song became popular among dansband groups. It was recorded in Swedish by Stefan Borsch on his 1982 album En liten fågel as well as releasing it as a single the same year and it was also recorded by Ingmar Nordströms on 1982 album Saxparty 9. Eurovision Song Contest 1982 Irish Eurovision website Official Eurovision Song Contest site, history by year Detailed info & lyrics, Diggiloo Thrush
27.
Oslo
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Oslo is the capital and the most populous city in Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality, founded in the year 1040, and established as a kaupstad or trading place in 1048 by Harald Hardrada, the city was elevated to a bishopric in 1070 and a capital under Haakon V of Norway around 1300. Personal unions with Denmark from 1397 to 1523 and again from 1536 to 1814, after being destroyed by a fire in 1624, the city was moved closer to Akershus Fortress during the reign of Christian IV of Denmark and renamed Christiania in his honour. It was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838, following a spelling reform, it was known as Kristiania from 1877 to 1925, at which time its original Norwegian name was restored. Oslo is the economic and governmental centre of Norway, the city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping. It is an important centre for industries and maritime trade in Europe. The city is home to companies within the maritime sector, some of which are among the worlds largest shipping companies, shipbrokers. Oslo is a city of the Council of Europe and the European Commission intercultural cities programme. Oslo is considered a city and ranked Beta World City in studies carried out by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group. It was ranked one in terms of quality of life among European large cities in the European Cities of the Future 2012 report by fDi magazine. A survey conducted by ECA International in 2011 placed Oslo as the second most expensive city in the world for living expenses after Tokyo. In 2013 Oslo tied with the Australian city of Melbourne as the fourth most expensive city in the world, as of January 1,2016, the municipality of Oslo has a population of 658,390, while the population of the citys urban area was 942,084. The metropolitan area had an population of 1.71 million. The population was during the early 2000 increasing at record rates and this growth stems for the most part from international immigration and related high birth rates, but also from intra-national migration. The immigrant population in the city is growing faster than the Norwegian population. As of January 1,2016, the municipality of Oslo has a population of 658,390, the urban area extends beyond the boundaries of the municipality into the surrounding county of Akershus, the total population of this agglomeration is 942,084. To the north and east, wide forested hills rise above the city giving the location the shape of a giant amphitheatre. The urban municipality of Oslo and county of Oslo are two parts of the entity, making Oslo the only city in Norway where two administrative levels are integrated
28.
Lena Meyer-Landrut
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Lena Johanna Therese Meyer-Landrut, known professionally as Lena, is a German singer-songwriter. She represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo, Meyer-Landrut represented Germany for the second consecutive time in the Eurovision Song Contest at Düsseldorf in 2011 with the song Taken by a Stranger. Lena Meyer-Landrut was born in Hanover, Germany and she grew up as an only child, and started taking dancing lessons at the age of five, initially doing ballet and later practising various modern styles, including hip-hop and jazz dance. Meyer-Landrut grew fond of singing and appeared as an extra in a number of German television series, in June 2010 she graduated from IGS Roderbruch Hannover, a comprehensive school, receiving her Abitur diploma. Meyer-Landrut decided to part in the talent show Unser Star für Oslo. The show was organised by public broadcaster ARD and private television station ProSieben, as well as entertainer, among 4,500 entrants, Meyer-Landrut was picked as one of the 20 contestants for the show. Asked about her motivation to apply, she stated, I like to test myself, I wanted to see how I am perceived, and I wanted to hear what people with knowledge have to say about it. I personally cant judge myself at all, after her first appearance, performing My Same by British singer Adele, Meyer-Landrut received much praise from the shows jury panel and was instantly considered the favourite. The following week, Adeles My Same entered the German singles chart at position number 61, Meyer-Landrut reached the final of Unser Star für Oslo, mainly performing lesser known songs of international artists such as The Bird and the Bee, Kate Nash, Paolo Nutini and Lisa Mitchell. Out of her eight cover performances, five of the songs subsequently charted in Germany, with all. In the final on 12 March 2010, Meyer-Landrut sang three songs written for the contest, Bee, Satellite and Love Me. Through televoting, the audience chose Satellite, written by American Julie Frost and Dane John Gordon, in a second round of voting, Meyer-Landrut was chosen as Germanys entry for the 55th Eurovision Song Contest, beating the last remaining contestant, Jennifer Braun. The music video for Satellite was shot during the night of the final, throughout the show, Meyer-Landrut was seen as the clear favourite. One day after winning Unser Star für Oslo, all three of her songs from the finals topped the German iTunes Store sales chart, making her the first singer to achieve that. Satellite sold over 100,000 downloads in its first week, Satellite was certified gold after the first week and platinum after the fourth week of its release. The song has remained at one for five consecutive weeks in Germany. While competing at Unser Star für Oslo, Meyer-Landrut continued to attend school, the last show was held one month before the start of her final exams. Following her exams, she released her album, My Cassette Player
29.
Satellite (Lena Meyer-Landrut song)
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Satellite is a song written by American Julie Frost, and Dane John Gordon. It is best known as Germanys winning entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, Meyer-Landruts version of the song was chosen via televoting during the national Eurovision pre-selection show Unser Star für Oslo on 12 March 2010. It was made available for download the following day, becoming Germanys fastest selling digital release ever. It debuted at one in the German singles chart and has since been certified double platinum. On 29 May 2010, it won the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, following its Eurovision victory, Satellite went on to be a commercial success across Europe, topping the single charts in six countries and receiving a number of Gold and Platinum certifications. A version by Jennifer Braun, the runner-up of Unser Star für Oslo, was released as a single. Satellite is a pop song written by American songwriter Julie Frost, Frost told HitQuarters that the song is about unconditional love. Gordon has said it is a song, pretty easy and sweet with cheerful lyrics. Frost, the songs lyricist, explained, It deals with all the hidden things a girl does. A man can make her feel everything at once, joyful but also tormented, the song was one of approximately 300 titles for the talent show Unser Star für Oslo, a newly created national television programme to select the German entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. Satellite was eventually chosen as one of four songs to be performed in the final of Unser Star für Oslo on 12 March 2010, a ballad version was sung by contestant Jennifer Braun. Through televoting, the audience chose Satellite to be Meyer-Landruts designated song in case she won the show, in a second round of voting, Meyer-Landrut with Satellite was picked as Germanys entry for the 55th Eurovision Song Contest. The recording of Satellite was produced by John Gordon, André Brix Buchmann, Ingo Politz and it was remastered by Sascha Busy Bühren. On 13 March 2010, all six songs performed in the final of Unser Star für Oslo were made available for download on iTunes Germany. The maxi single of Meyer-Landruts Satellite, which includes her other two songs from the final, Bee and Love Me, was released three days later on 16 March 2010. All songs were released on the specially created record label USFO, Satellite sold over 100,000 downloads in its first week, becoming Germanys fastest selling digital release ever. It debuted at one in the German singles chart, and was eligible to be certified gold after the first week. The song has remained at one for five consecutive weeks in Germany
30.
Katja Ebstein
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Katja Ebstein is a German singer. She achieved success with such as Theater or Es war einmal ein Jäger. She was married to Christian Bruhn, who many of her songs. She represented West Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest three times,1970,1971, and 1980 and her best performance was in 1980 when she gained second place with the entry Theater. As noted by John Kennedy OConnor in his book The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History, Ebstein is the most successful performer to have part in the contest. She is the singer to appear in the top three on three separate occasions. In Petersburg ist Pferdemarkt Liebe So wat wie ick et bin… kann nur aus Berlin sein Glashaus Katja live He du da… Kopf hoch Mein Name ist Katja Traumzeit, – Katja Ebstein singt und spricht Bertolt Brecht Berlin… trotz und alledem
31.
Eurovision Song Contest 1970
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1970 was the 15th Eurovision Song Contest, held on 21 March 1970 at the RAI Congrescentrum in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Amsterdam contest is regarded as one of the most significant in Eurovision history for a number of reasons, Ireland won with eighteen-year-old Dana and a song called All Kinds of Everything. The UK came second for the time, six votes behind Ireland. Luxembourg received zero votes for the only time, due to there being four winners in the previous contest, a question was raised as to which nation would host the 1970 Eurovision. With the UK having hosted the 1968 Contest and Spain the 1969 Contest, only France, a toss of a coin resulted in the host country being decided as the Netherlands. The Congrescentrum, venue of the 1970 contest, is a semi-permanent exhibit at the Ferdinand Bolstraat to Amsterdam and this building was replaced in 1961 by the current RAI building on Europes Square. The current congress and event center on Europe Square, was designed by Alexander Bodon, the Dutch producers were forced to pad out the show as only 12 nations decided to make the trip to Amsterdam. The result was a format which has endured almost to the present day, an extended opening sequence set the scene, while every entry was introduced by a short video postcard featuring each of the participating artists, ostensibly in their own nation. However, the postcards for Switzerland, Luxembourg and Monaco were all filmed on location in Paris, interestingly, the long introduction film was followed by what probably is one of the shortest ever introductions by any presenter. Willy Dobbe only welcomed the viewers in English, French and Dutch, on screen captions introduced each entry, with the song titles listed all in lower case and the names of the artist and composers/authors all in capitals. The set design was devised by Roland de Groot, a design was composed of a number of curved horizontal bars. To avoid an incident like in 1969, a tie rule was created and it stated that, if two or more songs gained the same number of votes and were tied for first place, each song would have to be performed again. After which each national jury would have a show of hands of which they thought was the best, if the countries tied again, then they would share first place. Austria, Finland, Norway, Portugal and Sweden boycotted this contest as they were not pleased with the result of 1969, Portugal did however host a National final, being won by Sérgio Borges. Of the participating singers, a number were already established performers, notably, the United Kingdom sent Welsh singer and Apple recording artist Mary Hopkin, while David Alexandre Winter represented Luxembourg. The contest is notable for the appearance of the then unknown Julio Iglesias. In the run-up to the Contest, the United Kingdom were favourites to win, so sure of victory, the UK delegation had organised a winners party to be thrown after the contest. In the end, the two countries in the running were the UK and Ireland, albeit the latter holding the lead throughout the voting
32.
Eurovision Song Contest 1971
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1971 was the sixteenth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Dublin, Ireland on 3 April 1971, monacos win was their first and only victory. The song was performed by a French singer, living in France, sung in French, conducted by a French native, the contest was held at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, the capital and most populous city of Ireland. This was the first time that the contest was held in Ireland, for the first time, each participating broadcaster was required to televise all the songs in previews prior to the live final. Reports suggested that Castel had not even had time to buy a suitable dress for the show. The BBC were worried about the audience reaction to the UK song due to the hostilities raging in Northern Ireland. They specifically selected a singer from Northern Ireland, Clodagh Rodgers, however, Rodgers still received death threats from the IRA for representing the UK. Groups of up to six people were allowed to perform for the first time and this was only RTÉs second outside broadcast in colour. The contest was broadcast in Iceland, the USA and Hong Kong several days later, while this meant that no country could score fewer than 34 points, it had one major problem, some jury members tended to award only one or two points. Whether this was done to increase their respective countries chances of winning is not known for sure, however, the system remained in place for the 1972 and 1973 contests. Malta made their début in this years contest, while Austria, Finland, Norway, Portugal and this brought the total number of countries to eighteen. Each performance had a conductor who directed the orchestra, two artists returned to the competition this year, Katja Ebstein represented Germany for the second consecutive year, while Jacques Raymond had previously represented Belgium in 1963. Below is a summary of all perfect 10 scores that were given during the voting, the table below shows the order in which votes were cast during the 1971 contest, along with the spokespeople who were responsible for announcing the votes for their respective country. Each national broadcaster sent a commentator to the contest, in order to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language. Details of the commentators and the station for which they represented are also included in the table below. The Eurovision Song Contest, The Official History, John Kennedy OConnor, Carlton Books Ltd, ISBN 1-84442-994-6 Official website
33.
Eurovision Song Contest 1980
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1980 was the 25th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 19 April 1980 in The Hague. The presenter was Marlous Fluitsma, although each song was introduced by a presenter from the participating nation, in some cases, this was the same person providing the commentary. The contest was won by Johnny Logan, representing Ireland with a song called Whats Another Year, after Spain, the 2nd-place winner of 1979, and reportedly the UK, refused to host, the Netherlands finally agreed to host the show in a small-scale production. As with the recent 1977 and 1978 contests, there were no pre-filmed postcards between the songs, with a guest presenter from each nation introducing the entries, NOS spent just US$725,000 on the project. Morocco joined the Eurovision family for the first time, monaco withdrew, and would not return again. Australian-born Johnny Logan representing Ireland was the winner of this Eurovision with the song and this was Irelands second time winning the competition, having won in 1970 with All Kinds of Everything, which was also held on Dutch soil. They would finish in place again the following year, finally winning it in 1982. Germany would go on to second again in 1985 and 1987. United Kingdom returned to form by coming third, the Hague is the seat of government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the capital city of the province of South Holland. It is also the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, located in the west of the Netherlands, The Hague is in the centre of the Haaglanden conurbation and lies at the southwest corner of the larger Randstad conurbation. The scoring system implemented in 1975 remained the same, each country had a jury who awarded 12,10,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 point for their top ten songs. However this year for the first time, countries were required to cast their votes in ascending order,1,2,3 etc and this change made for the added excitement of waiting for each country to award their highest 12 points at the end of each voting round. For each nations performance, the orchestra was conducted by the following, Notes a. ^ Although the song was completely in Norwegian, the Netherlands gained a strong lead early on, getting the maximum douze points from three of the first four voting countries. This was not to last, however, as Germany and eventually Ireland overtook them, below is a summary of all 12 points in the final, Each song was introduced by a presenter from the national country. Thelma Mansfield introduced the song in Irish, whereas the song was performed in English
34.
Eurovision Song Contest 1981
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1981 was the 26th event of its kind, and was held on 4 April 1981 at the Simmonscourt Pavilion of the Royal Dublin Society in Dublin. The presenter was Doireann Ní Bhriain, the United Kingdoms Bucks Fizz were the winners of this contest with the song Making Your Mind Up, beating second place Germany by four points. Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland, Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Irelands east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey. 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, the contest took place under heavy guard at the 15,000 seat Simmonscourt Pavilion of the RDS, which was normally used for agricultural and horse shows. Over 250 armed soldiers and police were on hand to protect against any likely political demonstrations, having won the year before, Ireland hosted the 1981 contest - the second time they had done so. As in 1971, the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest was produced by the countrys broadcaster RTÉ, the presenter on this occasion was Doireann Ni Bhriain, who was well known in Ireland at the time as a TV presenter and for the current affairs radio show Women Today. She was chosen for her fluency in Irish and English as well as having studied French, the director was Ian McGarry, while Noel Kelehan was the chief conductor for the show. It cost RTÉ over £300,000 to stage, although this included £110,000 from the EBU, from this, the Irish Government expected to make around £2,000,000 from tourism as a result of staging the show. The RDS would go on to host the next Irish Eurovision production in 1988 and this year marked the début of Cyprus in the contest, who finished sixth. Returning to the contest was Israel, who did not compete the previous year, yugoslavia also returned to the competition after a five-year absence. Italy withdrew for the first time from the contest, due to lack of interest, of the performers, many previous contestants returned to the contest this year. Notably, Jean-Claude Pascal for Luxembourg, who had won the contest 20 years earlier, repeated entrants Peter, Sue and Marc returned for the fourth time, after 1971,1976 and 1979. Performing again for Switzerland, they remain the only act to sing in four different languages, other returnees were Marty Brem who had taken part the year before for Austria, Tommy Seebach for Denmark, and Björn Skifs for Sweden. Bucks Fizz member, Cheryl Baker had performed in 1978 with the band Co-Co for the UK, while Sheeba member Maxi had performed as a solo artist in 1973 for Ireland. Andy Hill – the producer of the single - said that had they known, the interval act was traditional Irish band Planxty, who performed the lengthy piece Timedance, which depicted Irish music through the ages. The dancers were from Dublin City Ballet with choreography by Iain Montague and this is seen as a precursor to Riverdance, which became famous after its performance in 1994. The song, which was written by Bill Whelan, went on to be released as a Planxty single, the voting proved to be memorable for its closeness
35.
Eurovision Song Contest 1985
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1985 was the 30th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held on 4 May 1985 in Gothenburg, Sweden, the presenter was entertainer Lill Lindfors, whose jokey dress rip after the interval act was said to have not amused the wife of EBU scrutineer Frank Naef. Were the winners with the song La det swinge, win for Norway was the countrys first. What do you think we are, after an energetic reprise, the two women embraced to a standing ovation from the audience. During the voting, it was not immediately evident that Norway would win the Contest, Germany took a commanding lead in the first half, with Norway fifth place behind Germany, Sweden, Italy and the United Kingdom around the end of the first half of voting. Finally, with five juries left, Germany, Sweden and Norway were tightly wrapped around the positions with 87,86. At that point, Sweden briefly took the lead away from Germany, Sweden was the fourth-to-last jury, conceding their brief lead by awarding Germany eight points and Norway the maximum twelve. With only three left to vote, Norway kept the lead, in one of the shortest winning stretches during voting in the contests history. The Netherlands and Yugoslavia did not participate in this Contest, due to the national Remembrance of the Dead in the Netherlands, despite this Yugoslavia did choose its song, Pokora, a duet sung by Zorica Kondža and Josip Genda. 1985 was also the year when no less than thirteen previous Eurovision artists made a comeback and this also applied to the winners, Bobbysocks. Who had attended once before as soloists, Hanne Krogh performed for Norway in 1971, while Elisabeth Andreassen for Sweden in 1982 in a duet, Chips, Kikki herself also returned this year for host country Sweden, and was thus competing against Elisabeth Andreassen and Bobbysocks. Lys Assia, the winner of the first ever Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, was the guest of honour of this edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. She was introduced by the presenter Lill Lindfors, the camera zoomed close to Lys, who rose to greet the audience, while the orchestra played the song Refrain, her winning song. Host conductor in bold 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 itself was exciting, the German favourites looked to be cruising to an early victory, however both Sweden and Norway did their best to keep up and by the time the UK jury delivered their votes, Germany had seen its lead smashed. Lill Lindfors had a malfunction as she proceeded to the stage for the voting procedure. As she walked on stage, the skirt of her dress came away, leaving her in just her underwear and the top half of her dress. After a few seconds of pretending to be shocked, Lindfors unfastened the flaps of her dress across her shoulders, to reveal a white gown
36.
Eurovision Song Contest 1987
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1987 was the 32nd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 9 May 1987 in Brussels, Belgium after Sandra Kims win the previous year. Johnny Logan was the winner for Ireland with the song Hold Me Now and that made him the first performer to win the contest twice, as he had won also in 1980. The 1987 Eurovision was the biggest contest at that time, with 22 countries taking part, only Malta, Monaco and Morocco failed to compete out of all the countries which had entered the contest in the past. Due to the number of countries, and the time it took for the contest to be held and this became problematic over the next few years as new and returning nations indicated an interest in participating, but could not be accommodated. Controversy erupted in Israel after their song was selected, Shir Habatlanim by the Lazy Bums, the comedic performance was criticised by the countrys culture minister, who threatened to resign should the duo proceed to Brussels. They went on to perform for Israel, placing eighth, however the culture ministers threat was left unfulfilled, host conductor in bold Notes 1. ^ Contains some phrases in English
37.
Mary Roos
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Mary Roos is a German singer and actress. At the age of nine, she recorded her first song Ja die Dicken sind ja so gemütlich as Die kleine Rosemarie and it was no major commercial success. In 1958, she appeared in the film Die Straße. Over the following years she would release records and she also appeared in many singing competitions. Her first chart success came in 1965, when the single Geh nicht den Weg peaked at #36, in 1969, she took part in the Grand Prix RTL International with the song Die Legende der Liebe. The same year, she reached the charts again – Das hat die Welt noch nicht erlebt peaked at #19. Her first major was achieved in 1970 with the song Arizona Man and it peaked at #9 in the single charts and remains her only top ten hit to date. The same year, she took part in the German national final for the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time. She was chosen to take part in the last minute – Edina Pop had to withdraw from the competition as she fell ill and she finished joint second among the six participants, nevertheless, the song was never recorded. In the early 1970s, Roos got her own TV show on German television, in 1972, she entered the German national final for the Eurovision Song Contest the second time. With her song Nur die Liebe läßt uns leben she finished second after the first round of voting only one point behind Cindy & Bert but got the overall victory after the second round of voting. In a later interview, she stated that she did not expect to win at all, however, at the Eurovision Song Contest 1972 in Edinburgh, she finished third. The song was a hit in Germany peaking at #17 in the single charts, throughout the 1970s she kept releasing singles and albums and was a frequent guest in music shows, although she did not have any more major hits. In 1975, she took part in the German national final again and her fourth participation in the national final took place in 1982, where she competed among others against her then husband Werner Böhm. She performed the duet Lady with David Hanselmann and finished out of the twelve participants, however. In 1982, she covered F. R. Davids song Words, at the contest, the song only received 34 points and finished 13th among the 19 contestants. Mary Roos was blamed for a bad vocal performance which she says was caused by a crisis after her separation from her husband Werner Böhm. Aufrecht gehn would also be her last appearance in the charts until 1999
38.
Eurovision Song Contest 1972
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1972 was the 17th annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, although Monaco had won the previous years contest, the principality was unable to meet the demands of hosting the event. Séverine made the trip to the Scottish capital Edinburgh to pass on the Grand Prix to Vicky Leandros, however, she looked thoroughly uninterested in the Monegasque entry when seen by viewers checking her watch before the song was performed. This marked the time that the contest was held in the United Kingdom. However, this is the first time that the UK hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in a venue outside England, the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest was hosted by Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. Usher Hall, the venue for the 1972 contest, is a hall, situated on Lothian Road, in the west end of Edinburgh. It has hosted concerts and events since its construction in 1914 and can hold approximately 2,900 people in its recently restored auditorium, the Hall is flanked by The Royal Lyceum Theatre on the right and The Traverse Theatre on the left. Historic Scotland has registered the Hall with Category A listed building status, the stage design included a screen to introduce and accompany the on stage competing performances, and to show an interval act and voting sequence that were done at Edinburgh Castle. The interval act was performed at the outside vast Esplanade of the Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle, the jurors were stationed in the safety of the castle, and watched the competing performances at Usher Hall on TV. Each country had two members, one aged between 16 and 25 and one aged between 26 and 55. They each awarded 1 to 5 points for each song, other than the song of their own country and they cast their votes immediately after each song was performed and the votes were then collected and counted. The eventual winner, Luxembourg, remained in a scoring position throughout the voting. 1972 was the first year that had no ties in the voting, every year prior to 1972, at least two countries had received the same score. All countries who participated in the 1971 contest were present this year, with no withdrawals, returns, the Irish entry was in Irish, so far the countrys only entry in that language. Each performance had a conductor who maestro the orchestra, four artists returned to the competition this year. Below is a summary of all perfect 10 scores that were given during the voting, each national broadcaster sent a commentator to the contest, in order to provide coverage of the event in their own native language. Apart from the countries, the contest was transmitted in live for the first time in the continent of Asia, in the countries Japan, Taiwan, Thailand. Brazil and Greece also provided live broadcasting, iceland and Israel broadcast it a few days later
39.
Eurovision Song Contest 1994
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1994 was the 39th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 30 April 1994 in the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. As of 2017, it was the last time the contest was held in April, the presenters were Cynthia Ní Mhurchú and Gerry Ryan. The pair hosted the evening in French, English and Irish, once again Ireland won the contest for the third time in a row, when Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan were the winners with a song written by Brendan Graham, Rock N Roll Kids. This was a sixth victory for Ireland, giving it the outright record number of victories at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was also the first time — and to date the only time — that the contest had been won by the country in three consecutive years. The contest opened with a film of stars floating in water, fireworks and caricatures dancing around, drinking coffee. The cameras then went live to the venue itself, where dressed in white and wearing caricatured heads of well-known Irish figures. The presenters entered the stage spectacularly from a bridge which descended from the roof of the theatre and this year’s video postcards had a literary theme, showing contestants reading, fishing and doing other activities around Ireland. The floor was painted with a dark blue paint to give a watery effect. Because Italy and Luxembourg withdrew voluntarily, the bottom 5 of the 1993 Contest were relegated and this meant that Belgium, Denmark, Israel, Slovenia and Turkey did not participate this year opening spaces for the new countries. This contest also saw Luxembourg withdraw from Eurovision indefinitely, Poland took part for the first time and caused a scandal when Edyta Górniak broke the rules by singing her song in English during the dress rehearsal. Only six countries demanded that Poland should be disqualified, though the rules required 13 countries to complain before Poland could be removed from the competition. The proposed removal did not occur and Poland went on to come 2nd in the contest, for the first time in Eurovision history, voting was done via satellite instead of by telephone, and as a result, viewers could see the spokespersons onscreen. When the voting started, Hungary took the lead from the first six juries and was ahead of all the other countries. However, Ireland powered their way through the board ending up the winners with a 60-point lead over second-placed Poland. The interval act was the first ever performance of the Irish dancing spectacular Riverdance, featuring Michael Flatley, ^ Contains some words in English. Each country had a jury who awarded 12,10,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 point for their top ten songs. With advances in technology, this was the first contest in which the spokesperson for each national jury appeared on-screen, live from their own countries
40.
Eurovision Song Contest 1999
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1999 was the 44th Eurovision Song Contest, held on 29 May 1999 in Jerusalem, Israel after Dana International won the contest the previous year in the United Kingdom. The venue for the contest was the International Convention Center, the place that hosted the 1979 contest. Israels two previous winners, Izhar Cohen, who won in 1978 with A-Ba-Ni-Bi and Milk and Honeys Gali Atari who won it the year with Hallelujah attended as spectators. The winner of the Contest was Charlotte Nilsson, representing Sweden with Take Me to Your Heaven and this was Swedens fourth win in the Contest and the second in the 1990s. In the run-up to the Contest, many speculated that it would not be held in Israel, long-standing rules in place for decades were abolished during this Contest, rules that each country had to sing in one of their national languages was abolished for the first time since 1977. Furthermore, live music became optional for the first time in the Contests history, IBA took advantage of this and decided to drop the orchestra from the Contest as a way to conserve money for the show. This meant that for the first time all entries used backing track during their performances and this caused controversy for Eurovision traditionalists, with three-time winner Johnny Logan criticising the move, describing the event now as karaoke. Latvia had attempted to participate in the Contest for the first time and this gave Hungary a chance to enter the Contest, however, Magyar Televízió decided not to take part. This allowed Portugal to compete as the 23rd country, austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark and Iceland returned to the Contest after being relegated from competing in 1998. Lithuania also returned to the Contest for the first time in five years, the Lithuanian delegation had had budget problems to contend with, and so the EBU allowed the Lithuanians to arrive in Israel a day later than everyone else. The first delegation on the hand to walk the Holy Land were Estonia. After being relegated from the 1998 Contest, Russias Channel One had decided not to broadcast that years contest, however, as only countries which had broadcast the previous years contest were allowed to enter the next years contest, Russia was forced to miss another year. They were joined by Finland, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia and Switzerland, the favourites to win the Contest came from Icelands Selma with All Out of Luck, and Cypruss Marlain with Tha Ne Erotas, after an internet poll by fans. But, while Iceland finished second to Sweden, Cyprus failed to inspire televotes, a number of controversies occurred before the Contest. Both artists would eventually represent their countries in Eurovision, in 2006 and 2002 respectively, croatias entry attracted objections from the Norwegian delegation, due to synthesised male vocals being used on the backing track of Doris Dragovićs entry. The interval act was provided by Dana International, who performed a cover of the Stevie Wonder song Free, Dana International also appeared at the end of the show, handing the winning trophy to Nilsson. After pretending that the trophy was too heavy to lift, she fell to the stage, below is a summary of all 12 point in the final
41.
Voting in 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
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Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Italy has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 42 times since making its debut at the first contest in 1956. It was one of seven countries that competed at the very first contest. Italy competed at the contest frequently until 1997, after a fourteen-year absence, the country competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. Italy has won the contest twice, in 1958, Domenico Modugno finished third with the song Nel blu, dipinto di blu. Renamed Volare, the became a huge international hit, reaching the US number one spot. Emilio Pericoli also finished third in 1963, before Italy won for the first time in 1964 with Gigliola Cinquetti, Cinquetti returned to the contest in 1974 and finished second with the song Si, losing to ABBA. Italy then finished third in 1975 with Wess and Dori Ghezzi, the countrys best result of the 1980s was Umberto Tozzi and Raf finishing third in 1987. Italys second victory in the contest came in 1990 with Toto Cutugno, other good 1990s results were Mia Martini in 1992 and Jalisse in 1997, who both finished fourth. After 1997, Italy withdrew from the competition, the EBU announced that they would work harder to bring Italy back to the contest in 2010, along with former participants Monaco and Austria, but again Italy did not participate in the contest. Italys return to the contest proved to be successful, with Raphael Gualazzi finishing second, Italy has finished in the top ten in four of the last six contests. In 2015, Il Volo won the televoting receiving votes from all countries, since the introduction of the 50/50 voting system in 2009, this was the first time that the winner of the viewers vote did not win the contest. Italy has withdrawn from the Eurovision Song Contest a number of times, the first withdrawal was in 1981, when RAI stated that interest had diminished in the country. This absence continued through the year, before Italy returned in 1983. Italy again withdrew in 1986 when RAI decided not to enter the contest, from 1994 to 1996 Italy withdrew again, with RAI citing a lack of interest in participating. Italy returned in 1997, before withdrawing again without explanation, none of the Eurovision winning songs were particularly successful in the Italian charts. Despite the Eurovision contests taking place more than a month before the vote, Italian censors refused to allow the contest. The song thus remained censored on most Italian state TV and radio stations for over a month, at the contest in Brighton, Cinquetti finished second, losing to ABBA. Sì went on to be a UK top ten hit, peaking at number eight and it also reached the German top 20
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Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Spain has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 56 times since making its debut in 1961, where they finished ninth. Spain has competed in the contest continuously since the debut in 1961. The only country with a run of uninterrupted Eurovision appearances is the United Kingdom. The 1969 contest in Madrid is the only time Spain has hosted the event, since lots were drawn after 1969s four way tie and the 1970 contest was hosted by the Netherlands. Spain has also finished second in the contest four times, with Karina in 1971, Mocedades in 1973, Betty Missiego in 1979 and Anabel Conde in 1995, and third in 1984 with Bravo. The country finished last with Nul points in 1962,1965 and 1983, Spain has had less success in recent years, failing to reach the top 10 in 10 of the last 12 contests. The exceptions being 10th-place finishes for Pastora Soler in 2012 and Ruth Lorenzo in 2014, Spain has regularly 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. Between 1977 and 1999, Spains entries were selected internally by TVE, before that, internal selections and national contests, like Pasaporte a Dublín in 1971, were alternated. From 2000, Spain has used various formats with different results. In 2000 and 2001, TVE organised a final called Eurocanción. The result in the Eurovision final was not good and for 2006, in 2007, Spains entry was decided through the Misión Eurovisión 2007 show, with a disappointing result once again. From 2008 to 2010, the Internet was the key element of the used by TVE to select the Spanish entry. In 2008, the social networking website MySpace was involved in the national final Salvemos Eurovisión, a website was created to make it possible for anyone to upload a song and proceed to a televised final if chosen by online voters or an expert jury. The result improved a little, but not much, nevertheless the interest of the Spanish audience was revived again, for 2009, MySpace was still involved in the selection process Eurovisión 2009, El retorno, although some changes were introduced in the format. The result was the worst in the 2000s, 24th place, in 2010, a similar format, Eurovisión, Destino Oslo, selected the Spanish entry, with the best result since 2004. In 2011, Internet voting was scrapped from the new selection method Destino Eurovisión, after a further disappointing result, for 2012, TVE decided to approach an established act, Pastora Soler, and organise a national final to select her song. A top ten result was achieved for the first time since 2004, in 2014, TVE decided to return to a multi-artist national final procedure, called Mira quién va a Eurovisión, five artists were invited to participate by TVE. A top ten result was achieved for the time in three years
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Eurovision Song Contest
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The competition was based upon the existing Sanremo Music Festival held in Italy since 1951. The contest has been broadcast every year for sixty years, since its inauguration in 1956 and it is also one of the most watched non-sporting events in the world, with audience figures having been quoted in recent years as anything between 100 million and 600 million internationally. Eurovision has also been broadcast outside Europe to several countries that do not compete, such as the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and China. An exception was made in 2015, when Australia was allowed to compete as a guest entrant as part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the event. In November 2015, the EBU announced that Australia was invited back as a participant in the 2016 contest after their success in 2015, following their success again in 2016, Australia will compete again in 2017. Since 2000, the contest has also been broadcast over the Internet via the Eurovision website, winning the Eurovision Song Contest provides a short-term boost to the winning artists career, but rarely results in long-term success. Notable exceptions are ABBA, Bucks Fizz and Céline Dion, all of whom launched successful careers after their wins. Ireland holds the record for the highest number of wins, having won the contest seven times—including four times in five years in 1992,1993,1994 and 1996. Under the current voting system, the highest scoring winner is Jamala of Ukraine who won the 2016 contest in Stockholm, under the previous system, in place from 1975 to 2015, the highest scoring winner is Alexander Rybak of Norway with 387 points in 2009. Satellite television did not exist, and the Eurovision Network comprised a terrestrial microwave network, the name Eurovision was first used in relation to the EBUs network by British journalist George Campey in the London Evening Standard in 1951. The first contest was held in the town of Lugano, Switzerland, seven countries participated—each submitting two songs, for a total of 14. This was the only contest in more than one song per country was performed, since 1957. The 1956 contest was won by the host nation, Switzerland, the programme was first known as the Eurovision Grand Prix. This Grand Prix name was adopted by Denmark, Norway and the Francophone countries, the Grand Prix has since been dropped and replaced with Concours in French, but not in Danish or Norwegian. The Eurovision network is used to carry news and sports programmes internationally. However, in the minds of the public, the name Eurovision is most closely associated with the Song Contest, a country as a participant is represented by one television broadcaster from that country, typically, but not always, that countrys national public broadcasting organisation. The programme is hosted by one of the participant countries, during this programme, after all the songs have been performed, the countries then proceed to cast votes for the other countries songs, nations are not allowed to vote for their own song. At the end of the programme, the song with the most points is declared as the winner, the programme is invariably opened by one or more presenters, welcoming viewers to the show
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European Broadcasting Union
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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
For the most recent participation see
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Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest
