A little bit of Eurovision history
Eurovision origins
In the mid-fifties the members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) turned on the heat of creating a “light entertainment programme” which could promote the cultural union of Europe.
In January 1955 director general of Swiss television and committee chairman Marcel Bezen?on proposed the idea of setting up the internationl song contest which could determine the best song in Europe. The competition was based upon the existing San-Remo Music Festival held in Italy.
The concept, then known as "Eurovision Grand Prix", was approved by the EBU General Assembly at a meeting held in Rome on 19 October 1955 and it was decided that the first contest would take place on 24 May 1956 in Lugano, Switzerland. Seven countries took paticipation in this contest and each of them performed 2 songs. It was the first and the last time when a country presented more than one song. Lys Assia, represented the hosting country with the song “Refrain”, got the fisrt place of the contest.
Eventually the number of countries, willing to participate in the contest, was constantly increasing. The simultaneous performance of all the participants became impossible.In this respect the decision of pushing aside from the next constest year those countries that showed the worth results was made. In 2004 the contest was divided into semi-final and final so that all willing countries could take participation in the contest.
The Eurovision Network is used to carry many news and sports programmes internationally, among other specialised events organised by the EBU. However, the Song Contest became the most watched TV-programme, and in the minds of the public the name "Eurovision" is most closely associated with the Song Contest.
Who are the winners?
The most notable winning Eurovision artist whose career was directly launched into the spotlight following their win was ABBA, who won the Contest for Sweden in 1974 with their song "Waterloo". ABBA went on to become one of the most successful bands of all time.
Another notable winner who subsequently achieved international fame and success was Celine Dion, who won the Contest for Switzerland in 1988 with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi", which subsequently helped launch her international career.
Ireland won seven times, the United Kingdom France and Luxemburg got the first place five times therefore they became the most successful member countries. Sandra Kim, the representative from Belgium, became the youngest winner of Eurovision. In 1986 she won the contest in the age of 13. Due to the modern contest rules the participant should be not younger that 16 years old.
The youngest Eurovision winner of XXI centure is 18-years old Lena Meyer-Landrut from Germany, and the eldest one is 38-years old Sertab Erener from Turkey.
Interesting fact about Eurovision!
The music theme sounding before and after the Eurovision Song Contest broadcasting (and other Eurovision broadcasting) is the prelude to Te Deum by Marc-Antoine Charpentier.
