1.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
2.
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
3.
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
4.
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
5.
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest
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No other country has been represented as often. France and the United Kingdom come in a second, missing only two contests each. Before German reunification in 1990, it presented as West Germany. Germany has won two contests, in 1982 and 2010, Germany first won the contest in 1982, at the 27th attempt in Harrogate, when Nicole won with the song Ein bisschen Frieden. The second German victory came 28 years later at the 2010 contest in Oslo, Germany have finished second four times and third five times, for a total of eleven top three placements. Katja Ebstein, who finished third in 1970 and 1971, Germany also finished second with Lena Valaitis in 1981 and the group Wind in both 1985 and 1987. The other third places were achieved by Mary Roos in 1972, Mekado in 1994, with one win and four second places, Germany is one of the most successful countries of the 1980s. Germany has finished last on seven occasions, receiving nul points in 1964,1965 and 2015, Germany, along with the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Spain, is one of the Big Five countries that are automatically qualified to the final, regardless of the placing. This is due to being the largest financial contributors to the contest, since 1996, ARD consortium member Norddeutscher Rundfunk has been responsible for Germanys participation in the contest. The Eurovision Song Contest semi-final is broadcast on NDR Fernsehen, and the final is broadcast on Das Erste, although German contestants have had varied levels of success, public interest remains high and the contest is one of the most watched events each year. Between 2010 and 2012, private broadcaster ProSieben worked in partnership with NDR, Germany has often changed the selection process used in order to find the countrys entry for the contest, either a national final or internal selection has been held by the broadcaster at the time. ARD had selected an artist and song to represent them at the Eurovision Song Contest 1996, to be held in Oslo, due to the large number of countries wanting to compete at Eurovision, they determined that only 23 of the 30 countries could compete. Hosts Norway qualified automatically, the other 29 songs went into an audio only pre-qualification round, unfortunately for Germany its entry, Leon with Planet of Blue, failed to earn enough points to progress to the final, finishing 24th. ARD and the EBU were not happy with this, as Germany was the biggest financial contributor at the time and this is the only time that Germany has been absent from the contest. In the 2000s, Germany has been notable for their adoption of musical styles which are not typical of Eurovision, such as country and western, Germany tied for last at the 2008 contest for points, but was awarded 23rd of 25th place when the results were posted. In 2009, ARD held a selection for the first time since 1995 due to lack of interest. Alex Christensen and Oscar Loya were selected to represent Germany at the 2009 contest, however they only managed to receive 35 points, placing 20th of 25 competing countries. In 2010, ARD approached former entrant and songwriter Stefan Raab and it has been said that Raab was approached due to his good record at the contest, finishing 5th in 2000 as well as writing entries in 1998 and 2004, which finished 7th and 8th respectively
6.
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
7.
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
8.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
9.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
10.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
11.
Madrid
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Madrid is the capital city of the Kingdom of Spain and the largest municipality in both the Community of Madrid and Spain as a whole. The city has a population of almost 3.2 million with an area population of approximately 6.5 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union after London and Berlin, the municipality itself covers an area of 604.3 km2. Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid, this community is bordered by the communities of Castile and León. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political, economic, the current mayor is Manuela Carmena from Ahora Madrid. Madrid is home to two football clubs, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid. Madrid is the 17th most liveable city in the according to Monocle magazine. Madrid organises fairs such as FITUR, ARCO, SIMO TCI, while Madrid possesses modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighbourhoods and streets. Cibeles Palace and Fountain have become one of the monument symbols of the city, the first documented reference of the city originates in Andalusan times as the Arabic مجريط Majrīṭ, which was retained in Medieval Spanish as Magerit. A wider number of theories have been formulated on possible earlier origins, according to legend, Madrid was founded by Ocno Bianor and was named Metragirta or Mantua Carpetana. The most ancient recorded name of the city Magerit comes from the name of a built on the Manzanares River in the 9th century AD. Nevertheless, it is speculated that the origin of the current name of the city comes from the 2nd century BC. The Roman Empire established a settlement on the banks of the Manzanares river, the name of this first village was Matrice. In the 8th century, the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula saw the changed to Mayrit, from the Arabic term ميرا Mayra. The modern Madrid evolved from the Mozarabic Matrit, which is still in the Madrilenian gentilic, after the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba, Madrid was integrated in the Taifa of Toledo. With the surrender of Toledo to Alfonso VI of León and Castile, the city was conquered by Christians in 1085, Christians replaced Muslims in the occupation of the centre of the city, while Muslims and Jews settled in the suburbs. The city was thriving and was given the title of Villa, since 1188, Madrid won the right to be a city with representation in the courts of Castile. In 1202, King Alfonso VIII of Castile gave Madrid its first charter to regulate the municipal council, which was expanded in 1222 by Ferdinand III of Castile
For the most recent participation see
Jean Roderes (1962)
Waldo de los Ríos (1971)
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Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest
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