Eurovision is a pan-European television

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owned and operated by the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...

(EBU). It was officially founded in 1954 in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, Switzerland, and its first official transmission took place on 6 June 1954. However, prior to the network's formal establishment, the

coronation of Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...

on 2 June 1953 was one of the first events to be broadcast across Europe. Major television broadcasts are distributed live through the Eurovision network to EBU members. Members share breaking news footage through the daily Eurovision news exchange (EVN). They also exchange television programmes through the network. The EBU department that operated the Eurovision network became a separate joint-stock company under Swiss law ( or ) in 2019, with the EBU as its sole shareholder. In January 2023, Eurovision Services was sold to a German investment advisory company, DUBAG AG, based in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. The terms of the agreement were not published. The EBU has also owned and operated a

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

counterpart, Euroradio, since 1989.

Background

The name "Eurovision" was originally coined by British journalist George Campey when writing for the ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'', and was adopted by the EBU for its network. The first official Eurovision transmission took place on 6 June 1954. It broadcast the Narcissus Festival in

Montreux Montreux (, ; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, Swiss municipality and List of towns in Switzerland, town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Alps. It belongs to the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut (district), Riviera-Pays ...

, Switzerland, followed by an evening program from Rome, including a tour of the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

, an address from

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

and an

apostolic blessing The apostolic blessing or papal blessing is a blessing imparted by the pope, either directly or by delegation through others. Bishops are empowered to grant it three times a year and any priest can do so for the dying. The apostolic blessing is n ...

. A year before the official launch, the

Coronation of Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...

was one of the first Eurovision broadcasts. Eurovision was managed by the European Broadcasting Union's Eurovision Operations Department and offered permanent coverage of Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, North Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as ad-hoc coverage of the African continent and the Pacific Rim. Not confined only to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, the EBU currently encompasses 75 television broadcasting organizations located in 56 countries of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Furthermore, there are 61 associated broadcasting organizations in Europe, Africa, America, Asia, and Oceania.

Events

The EBU in co-operation with the respective host broadcaster, organises competitions and events in which its members can participate, if they wish to do so. These include:

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest () is an annual international song competition that was first held in

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

, Switzerland, on 24 May 1956. Seven countries participated – each submitting two songs, for a total of 14. This was the only contest in which more than one song per country was performed: since 1957 all contests have allowed one entry per country. The was won by the host nation, . In this competition, only countries that are members of the EBU can participate.

Let the Peoples Sing

Let the Peoples Sing is a biennial choir competition, the participants of which are chosen from radio recordings entered by EBU radio members. The final, encompassing three categories and around ten choirs, is offered as a live broadcast to all EBU members. The overall winner is awarded the ''Silver Rose Bowl''.

Jeux sans frontières

Jeux sans frontières (, or Games Without Borders) was a Europe-wide television game show. In its original conception, it was broadcast from 1965 to 1999 under the auspices of the EBU. The original series run ended in 1982 but was revived in 1988 with a different complexion of nations and was hosted by smaller broadcasters.

Eurovision Young Musicians

Eurovision Young Musicians is a competition for European musicians that are younger than 19 years old. It is organised by the EBU and is a member of EMCY. The first competition was held in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, United Kingdom on 11 May 1982. The televised competition is held every two years, with some countries holding national heats. Since its foundation in 1982, the Eurovision Young Musicians competition has become one of the most important music competitions on an international level.

Eurovision Young Dancers

The Eurovision Young Dancers was a biennial dance showcase broadcast on television throughout Europe. The first competition was held in

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...

, Italy, on 16 June 1985. It uses a format similar to the Eurovision Song Contest, every country that is a member of the EBU has had the opportunity to send a dance act to compete for the title of "Eurovision Young Dancer". The act can be either a solo act or a dance couple, and all contestants must be between the ages of 16 and 21 years and not professionally engaged.

Junior Eurovision Song Contest

Junior Eurovision Song Contest (), is an annual international song competition, that was first held in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark, on 15 November 2003. Sixteen countries participated in the inaugural edition – each submitting one song, for a total of 16 entries. The 2003 contest was won by

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Eurovision Dance Contest

The Eurovision Dance Contest (not to be confused with the '' Eurovision Young Dancers Competition'') was an international dancing competition that was held for the first time in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, United Kingdom on 1 September 2007. The competition was repeated in 2008 when it was held in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, United Kingdom, but has not been held since.

Eurovision Magic Circus Show

The Eurovision Magic Circus Show was an entertainment show organised by the EBU, which began in 2010 and ended in 2012. Children aged between 7–14, representing countries within the EBU, performed a variety of circus acts at the Geneva Christmas Circus (). The main show was also accompanied by the Magic Circus Show Orchestra.

Eurovision Choir

Eurovision Choir (formerly Eurovision Choir of the Year) is a new event launched by the EBU, and the latest event to be launched since the

Eurovision Magic Circus Show The ''Magic Circus Show'' was an entertainment show organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), which aired in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Children aged between seven and fourteen representing ...

. The event consists of non-professional choirs who are members of the EBU, with the inaugural contest taking place on 22 July 2017, hosted by the Latvian broadcaster

Latvijas Televīzija Latvijas Televīzija (''Latvian Television'', LTV) is the state-owned public service broadcasting, public service television broadcaster in Latvia. LTV operates two channels, LTV1 in Latvian language, Latvian and LTV7 (previously called LTV2) in ...

(LTV), coinciding with the closing ceremony of the European Choir Games 2017. The contest returned for a second edition in August 2019 staged in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden. Following its initial cancellation in June 2021 by Interkultur, in October 2022 it was announced by the EBU that the event would return in 2023, hosted by

for the second time in the contest's history.

European Sports Championships

The European Sports Championships is a multi-sport event involving some of the leading sports in Europe. The European Governing Bodies for athletics, swimming, cycling, rowing and triathlon, will co-ordinate their individual championships as part of the

first edition The bibliographical definition of an edition is all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants. First edition According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a book pr ...

in the summer of 2018, hosted by the cities of Berlin (already chosen as the host for the

2018 European Athletics Championships The 2018 European Athletics Championships were held in Berlin, Germany, from 6 to 12 August 2018. The championships were part of the first European Championships with other events happening in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Grea ...

) and

(already chosen as the host for the

2018 European Aquatics Championships The 2018 European Aquatics Championships took place in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Luss in the central belt of Scotland, from 3 to 12 August 2018. The championships were part of the first European Championships with other events happening in Scot ...

, and which will now also host the events of the other sports).

Eurovision Asia Song Contest

The Eurovision Asia Song Contest was a proposed Asia-Pacific counterpart of the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

. The inaugural contest was set to consist of only one show. However, in 2021, SBS Commissioning Editor Josh Martin confirmed that the contest would not take place despite earlier plans.

Other events

Routine transmissions of sport and culture events amount to over 15,000 transmission hours per year. High-profile Eurovision events include: *

The Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

* Eastertime

papal The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

blessing '' Urbi et Orbi'' * ''

Euroclassic Notturno ''Euroclassic Notturno'' is a six-hour radio sequence of classical music recordings assembled by BBC Radio from material supplied by members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and distributed, via the EBU's Euroradio network, to a number o ...

'' *

Palio Palio is the name given in Italy to an annual athletic contest, very often of a historical character, pitting the neighbourhoods of a town or the hamlets of a ''comune'' against each other. Typically, they are fought in costume and commemorate so ...

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

* Rose d'Or * ''

Musikantenstadl Musikantenstadl is a live television entertainment program broadcast in the German language throughout Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. It features Austrian, Swiss, and German popular folk music (Schlager, Volkstümliche Musik), international p ...

'' * ''

Stadlshow Stadlshow (also called by the shows original name, ''Musikantenstadl'') is a live broadcast entertainment show of German pop music, Schlager and Volkstümliche Musik. The program tours Austria, Germany, Switzerland and South Tyrol being produced ...

'' *

Vienna New Year's Concert The Vienna New Year's Concert () is an annual concert of classical music performed by the Vienna Philharmonic on the morning of New Year's Day in Vienna, Austria. The concert occurs at the Musikverein at 11:15. The orchestra performs the same co ...

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...

* Summer Night Concert Schönbrunn * '' Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest'' * ''

Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits ''Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits'' (also known as ''Eurovision's Greatest Hits'') was a live television concert programme organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and produced by the BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation (BB ...

'' *

Eurosonic Noorderslag ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) is an annual four-day music showcase festival and conference held in January in Groningen, the Netherlands. The first three days of the festival (Eurosonic) feature artists from all over Europe, the last day of the f ...

European Border Breakers Award The Music Moves Europe Award, also known as the MME Award, is an annual prize recognizing the success of ten emerging artists or groups who reached audiences outside their own countries with their first internationally released album in the pas ...

* Euroradio Folk Festival * * '' Eurovision Debate'' * '' Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light''

News

Member broadcasting organisations also provide each other with news

footage In filmmaking and video production, footage is raw, unedited material as originally filmed by a movie camera or recorded by a digital video camera, which typically must be film editing, edited to create a motion picture, digital video, video cli ...

(over 30,000 separate news items per year) within the framework of the daily Eurovision News Exchanges (EVN). Eurovision also sponsors the annual broadcast news industry conference, News Xchange. Despite the similarity in name this has no direct connection with Eurovision News Exchanges.

Eurovision Sports

Eurovision has offered free internet streaming of major sports events such as the

London 2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

on its website, under the name Eurovision Sports. Eurovision Sports is also offering all

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

coverage for

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and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, and is providing coverage of the 2021 FINA World Swimming Championships.Sutherland, James (14 December 2021)
"British Swimming Teams Up With Eurovision For SC Worlds Live Stream"
''

SwimSwam ''SwimSwam'' is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012. History The news organization was founded by Braden Keith, Garrett ...

''. Retrieved 14 December 2021.

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

(now owned by Warner Bros. Discovery) was first created in 1989 by the EBU as a method of exploiting the member stations' sports rights.

Digital streaming platform

The EBU launched on 5 February 2024 a digital streaming platform for the

business-to-consumer Direct-to-consumer (DTC or D2C) or business-to-consumer (B2C) is the business model of selling products directly to customers and thereby bypassing any third-party retailers, wholesalers, or middlemen. Direct-to-consumer sales are usually transa ...

market called ''Eurovision Sport''. The platform is accessible via the website ''eurovisionsport.com'' and as an app for android and iOS mobile and tablet devices, and, later in the year, via Connected TVs and selected free ad-supported streaming television channels.

Transmission ident

Eurovision television transmissions may be recognised by the Eurovision ident and the opening theme of

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'' ''H.146, Marche en rondeau''. This theme is st ...

's "

Te Deum The ( or , ; from its incipit, ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to a date before AD 500, but perhaps with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin ...

" which appears before and after the programme to indicate to viewers they are connected and watching via the Eurovision network. The most famous and well known times for this to occur is before and after the

, although most contributed items, such as international relays of sports events, including the Olympics, are not thus credited and the general public is therefore mostly unaware of Eurovision's involvement.

References

External links

*
Eurovision Active Member List

(in French)
Eurovision Sports Live Streaming
{{Portal bar, Radio, Television Television networks in Switzerland Radio networks 1954 establishments in Switzerland European Broadcasting Union