History
The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the longest running television shows in the world. It was on the 24th of May, 1956, that Europe saw the first ever Eurovision Song Contest. After 56 runnings, the contest is one of the most typical European traditions and without doubt, Europe's favourite TV show!
In 2005, the Eurovision Song Contest celebrated its 50th anniversary by picking the best entry to date. READ MORE »
READ MORE THE STORY » | FACTS & FIGURES »
Check out also...
Where?
Shows • All participants • Malmö • Sweden • Arena • Tickets
When & how?
National selections • Calendar • How can I take part?
Who?
News • Organisers • Fans
Watch
Didn't see the 2011 Shows properly or want to see them again and again? Watch them again our WebTV!
By year
Lugano 1956
The Hague 1976
Oslo 1996
Frankfurt am Main 1957
London 1977
Dublin 1997
Paris 1978
Jerusalem 1979
Stockholm 2000
Copenhagen 2001
Luxembourg 1962
Tallinn 2002
Riga 2003
Istanbul 2004
Naples 1965
Kiev 2005
Athens 2006
Vienna 1967
Brussels 1987
Helsinki 2007
Belgrade 2008
Madrid 1969
Moscow 2009
Zagreb 1990
Baku 2012By country
Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Belarus
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
F.Y.R. Macedonia
Georgia
Hungary
Iceland
Lithuania
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro
Morocco
Poland
Portugal
Romania
San Marino
Serbia & Montenegro
Slovakia
SloveniaHost Cities on map
Check out where the previous Eurovision Song Contests have taken place and click for more details!
- Latest Host City is in Purple
- Cities in blue have hosted the Eurovision Song Contest
- Cities in yellow have hosted the Eurovision Song Contest twice
- Cities in red have hosted the Eurovision Song Contest more than two times
View Eurovision Song Contest Host Cities of all times in a larger map
Winners on map
Check out all the countries that have won the Eurovision Song Contest. Click on the place marks for more information on the winners.
- Latest winner has a TV icon
- Countries in blue have won the Eurovision Song Contest 1 time
- Countries in yellow have won the Eurovision Song Contest up to 3 times
- Countries in red have won the Eurovision Song Contest more than three times
View Eurovision Song Contest Winners of all times in a larger map
Winners after the contest?
-
We have ten more finalists!
Tonight in the second two hour show of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, broadcast live from...
Read more
1 day ago
364 comments -
We have our first ten finalists!
Tonight in the first two hour show of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, broadcasted LIVE from...
Read more
3 days ago
376 comments -
Second Semi-Final: Reactions from the ten winners
A short while ago, ten countries emerged victorious as qualifiers from the Second Semi-Final of...
Read more
25/May 2012 at 00:02
28 comments -
First Semi-Final: Reactions from the ten winners
Moments after the First Semi-Final had ended, Eurovision.tv went backstage to capture the emotions...
Read more
23/May 2012 at 00:06
102 comments -
Winners of the 2000s - What happened to them?
For the last in our series of articles about previous winners, we look at the 2000s where many new...
Read more
9/Nov 2011 at 21:56
43 comments -
Winners of the 1990s - What happened to them?
In the latest of our series of articles about past winners, we now take a look into what happened to...
Read more
29/Sep 2011 at 00:16
11 comments -
Winners of the 1980s - What happened to them?
You've seen the winners of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s where we went from black and white to colour,...
Read more
14/Sep 2011 at 14:34
9 comments -
Winners of the 1970s - What happened to them?
We've looked at the winners of the 50s and 60s to see what happened to them and now we take a peek...
Read more
18/Aug 2011 at 23:06
14 comments -
Winners of the 1960s - What happened to them?
In the second of a series of articles we take a look at the winners from the 1960s and what happened...
Read more
23/Jul 2011 at 20:45
14 comments -
Winners of the 1950s - What happened to them?
As the first in a series of articles, we will take a brief delve into the archives and look at the...
Read more
12/Jul 2011 at 23:13
2 comments
News
-
At the end of this month, the BBC will close the doors of its TV Centre for the last time, marking the end of more than 50 years of television production in the west London studios. Today, we look back at a time when no less than three of its studios were pressed into production to stage the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest. It turned out to be quite a memorable contest.
-
As we look forward to the staging of the 58th edition of Europe's Favourite TV Show in Sweden in May. Today, marks the date when Sweden first staged the Eurovision Song Contest, way back in 1975, which saw the introduction of the scoring system, with its douze points.
-
There are many benefits that come with being a winner in Europe's Favourite TV Show, apart from the honour of taking the title and having an international hit. It can also lead to making guest appearances in various national finals across Europe each year, and 2013 has been no exception.
-
"A really good song and a really good artist." says Björn Ulvaeus, the legendary song writer and a member of the pop icon ABBA, about Loreen and her song Euphoria.
-
In the latest of our journeys back in to the history of Europe's Favourite TV Show, we focus on Belgium. They have participated no fewer than 54 times, but their only victory came back in 1986 when Sandra Kim took the honours with J'Aime La Vie.
-
The Russian pop star and 2009 Eurovision Song Contest winner Dima Bilan has been nominated to represent Europe in the competition for MTV's Worldwide Act award. Will he win it? It's up to you!
-
This week sees the launch of an exciting and memorable music tour. ‘Best Of Eurovision’ Ireland’s Winners will see Eurovision Song Contest winners Johnny Logan, Linda Martin, Dana, Niamh Kavanagh, Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan perform their Eurovision hits together for the first time.
-
In the latest chapter of our look back in to the history books of Europe's Favourite TV Show, we today take a look back at the records and participation of Belarus.
-
The next country who's Eurovision Song Contest history we explore, is that of this year's host nation, Azerbaijan. Although they have only been participating since 2008, the Land of Fire have made quite an impression to date.
-
Today we take a look back at Austria's participation in Europe's Favourite TV Show. Although they have participated no fewer than 45 times, Austria have tasted victory only once to date, back in 1966 when Udo Jürgens won with Merci, Chérie
-
The next country we visit in our look back at the history of Europe's Favourite TV Show is Armenia. They are a relative newcomer to the competition, but have enjoyed top ten placings on all but one of their attempts to date.
-
Continuing our look at the history of each participating country in the Eurovision Song Contest, we today reflect on a nation which is no longer in active participation, that being Andorra.
-
Over the coming months, Eurovision.tv will be delving back in to the history of Europe's Favourite TV Show, taking a deep look at every country that has participated over the years. Today, we begin with a relative newcomer from the last decade, Albania.
-
A brand new book about the United Kingdom in the Europe's Favourite TV Show is published today, and it's probably the most thorough look at the contest from the UK perspective. It's called Songs For Europe - The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest Volume One: The 1950s and 1960s.
-
Russian superstar and the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest winner, Dima Bilan has once again made a change in his career and took a new angle to music at his last concert.
-
We have known for a while that the Junior Eurovision Song Contest has amazing fans but just some time ago we found out how dedicated some of them can be. And what amazing work they do.
-
This year's Barbara Dex Award has been won by the Albanian singer Rona Nishliu. Her blue and black dress, along with her unusual hairstyle made her a clear winner with 829 votes from the 2851 valid votes received.
-
Sweden winning the Eurovision Song Contest, is a headline that has being going around the world in the last few days, but it was also the headline going around on this date, the 29th of May, in 1999, when Charlotte Nilsson won the contest with Take Me To Your Heaven. Let's recall when Sweden won Europe's Favourite TV Show for the fourth time.
-
Today, the 24th of May marks the 56th birthday of the Eurovision Song Contest. It all started in 1956 when just seven countriies participated in the inaugural event.held in the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland.
-
We're almost done; we have finally reached the final stop of on our Countdown to Baku series. From Istanbul to Oslo, we have had quite a journey and now just before we leave for Azerbaijan, it's time to look at the reason we are all heading to Baku in the first place.
-
More details about the interval and opening acts of this year's Eurovision Song Contest have been revealed. The previous 5 winners of the contest will take the stage in Baku.
-
Today, the 9th of May is also known as Europe Day, marking the date of the Schuman Declaration in 1950 that would eventually lead to the formation of the European Union. Appropriately enough, no fewer than three Eurovision Song Contest finals have taken place on this date, which were the editions that took place in 1987, 1992 and 1998. The first of these in 1987 resulted in the only singer to date to win Europe's Favourite TV Show for the second time, namely Johnny Logan from Ireland.
-
We are so close to Baku now but we still have two more stops to make on our Countdown to Baku series before we arrive at the Crystal Hall. This week we say welcome to Oslo and the 2010 contest!
-
In the latest look in to the archives of Europe's Favourite TV Show, today we go back 18 years to the the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest that saw hosts Ireland make history by winning the event for the third consecutive year.
-
In the latest look in to the archives of Europe's Favourite TV Show, today we flash back 32 years to the day. The 1980 Eurovision Song Contest saw the one and only time that Morocco participated in the competition.
-
Our journey to Baku continues in earnest as we reach our next stop, Moscow in Russia, where the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest was held. It was a very special year for many reasons so why not come and take a look at our great video content and read some trivia.
-
Much like their appearances in the Winter Olympics, when it comes to Europe's favourite TV show, Norway likes to live at the extremes. Come and see how.
-
Continuing our look back at pivotal moments in the history of Europe's Favourite TV Show, today we celebrate the 39th anniversary of the first country to win outright two Eurovision Song Contests back to back, this being Luxembourg in 1972 and 1973.
-
Here we examine the case for the Spain - Salomé's Vivo Cantando - being made the outright winner of the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest.
-
Here we examine the case for the United Kingdom - Boom Bang-A-Bang sung by Lulu - being made the outright winner of the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest.
