Eurovision Song Contest

Running since 1956, the Eurovision Song Contest (in French: Concours Eurovision de la Chanson) is an annual televised song contest with participants from numerous countries whose national television broadcasters are members of the European Broadcasting Union. The contest is broadcast on television and also radio throughout Europe. More recently, the contest has also been televised in other parts of the world and broadcast on the internet.

Rules

Number of songs

At the first contest in 1956, each country was allowed to submit two three-minute (or less) songs, performed by inhabitants of the respective country. From 1957, entries were limited to one song per country. The number of participating countries has grown throughout the Contest's history, and since 1993 the rules have been changed several times to both limit the number of finalists and to allow for the new independent republics that arose from the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.

Related Topics:
1956 - 1957 - 1993 - Soviet Union - Yugoslavia

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Performers

Current rules state that countries are only allowed to have six performers on stage and that performers must be aged 16 or more, on the 31st of December in the year of the contest. It is worth noting that under the current rules there is no restriction on the nationality of the performers, allowing the Canadian Céline Dion to represent Switzerland, amongst many others. If an EBU country does not broadcast the Song Contest they are automatically disqualified for the next year.

Related Topics:
31st of December - Céline Dion - Switzerland

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Among the famous performers to have graced the Eurovision stage are Sandie Shaw, Cliff Richard, Nana Mouskouri, The Shadows, Vicky Leandros, Olivia Newton John, t.A.T.u., Mocedades, Baccara and Céline Dion. ABBA rose to fame after winning the contest for Sweden in 1974.

Related Topics:
Sandie Shaw - Cliff Richard - Nana Mouskouri - The Shadows - Vicky Leandros - Olivia Newton John - T.A.T.u. - Mocedades - Baccara - Céline Dion - ABBA - 1974

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For the 2002 edition, the Spanish TVE created a reality show Operación Triunfo that showed the selection and training of unknown singers. At the end, one of them would be elected by the public to represent the country in the contest. The format was initially an enormous success in Spain, ran for two more years there and was swiftly exported to other countries. One example was the Irish You're A Star, a Pop Idol clone run by RTÉ from 2002 to 2005, which carried the ultimate prize of representing Ireland at Eurovision. Ironically, however, the original Spanish show was quietly dropped for the 2005 contest, with the country reverting to a conventional national pre-selection competition.

Related Topics:
2002 - TVE - Reality show - Operación Triunfo - You're A Star - Pop Idol - RTÉ - 2005

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Languages

Following the dominance of English language songs, particularly Sweden's 1974 victory (with ABBA's "Waterloo"), a rule was passed in 1977 that the song had to be sung in one of the official languages of the performing country.

Related Topics:
Sweden - ABBA

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The final contest to not use the so-called "Freedom of language rule" was Birmingham in 1998. The rule was changed in 1999, and Sweden won again with another English song ("Take Me To Your Heaven" by Charlotte Nilsson).

Related Topics:
Birmingham - Charlotte Nilsson

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Many small countries sing in English to reach broader audiences, though this is sometimes looked upon as unpatriotic. In these cases the lyrics have commonly been written in the mother tongue originally in order to win the national competition and then translated. Denmark is one nation where the national final rules requires song writers to use the national language. For 2005, Macedonia held a vote to decide whether the winning song should be in English or Macedonian.

Related Topics:
Denmark - Macedonia

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Even the majority of larger states including Germany have often opted to sing in English. The remaining exception to this is France, which resolutely sings in its native tongue (or tongues, having used Breton and Caribbean patois on occasions), and defends the dual-language policy of the presentation whereby scores and points are announced in both English and French. The French song in 2001 was sung with a closing verse in English and this was the first and to date only use of English in a French entry.

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Spain and Portugal also remain faithful to singing in their native tongues, although both have used English in part in recent songs, such as Spain's "Europe's Living A Celebration".

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