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The
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
() was first held in 1956, originally conceived through a desire to unite European countries through cross-border television broadcasts
following World War II, and in doing so to test the capabilities of international broadcast technology. Following a series of exchange broadcasts in 1954, the
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...
(EBU) commissioned an international song competition, from an idea developed by
Sergio Pugliese and
Marcel Bezençon
Marcel Bezençon (; 1 May 1907 – 17 February 1981) was a Swiss journalist, media executive and the director of the European Broadcasting Union between 1954 and 1970. In 1955, he conceived the idea of the Eurovision Song Contest, based on the fa ...
and originally based on the Italian
Sanremo Music Festival
The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...
.
66 contests have been held since its first edition, and
over 1,600 songs representing
52 countries have been performed on the Eurovision stage Eurovision has seen many changes since its inauguration, such as the introduction of
relegation
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
in the 1990s, and subsequently semi-finals in the 2000s, as a response to growing numbers of interested participants. The
rules of the contest have also seen multiple changes over the years, with the
voting system
An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections ma ...
and
language criteria being modified on several occasions.
Eurovision has been identified as the longest-running annual international televised music competition in the world, as determined by ''
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'', and over 40 countries now regularly take part each year. Several other competitions have been inspired by Eurovision in the years since its formation, and the EBU has also created a number of complimentary contests which focus on other aspects of music and culture. The of the contest was the first to be cancelled, as no competitive event was able to take place due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Competition overview
Contest themes and slogans
An individual slogan has been associated with each edition of the contest since 2002, except in 2009.
This slogan is decided by the host broadcaster and is then used to develop the contest's visual identity and design.
This slogan is typically used by the producers in planning and formulating the show's visual identity, and is channelled into the contest's stage design, the opening and interval acts, and the "postcards": short videos interspersed between the entries which usually highlight the host country, and in many cases introduce the competing acts.
Origins
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) was formed in 1950, when British broadcaster
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
hosted a conference with 23 organisations at the Imperial Hotel in
Torquay
Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...
, England, with the aim of establishing cooperation on creative endeavours and setting a foundation for the exchange of television programmes across borders.
"Eurovision" as a term in telecommunications was first used by British journalist George Campey in the ''
London Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'' in 1951, when he referred to a BBC programme being relayed by Dutch television;
the EBU's
Eurovision transmission network was subsequently founded in 1954, at the time formed of a series of
microwave links across Europe.
In the years following the formation of the EBU a number of big events were transmitted via their infrastructure, including the
coronation of Elizabeth II
The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive ...
, which was broadcast in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, in addition to the United Kingdom.
In September 1953, an EBU meeting in London resulted in a series of international exchange programmes organised the following year, entitled the "European Television Season", and relayed live across Europe through the Eurovision network.
The first of these programmes was shown on 6 June 1954, showing coverage of the Narcissus Festival held in
Montreux
Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approximat ...
, France, followed by a tour of
Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—'
* german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ')
* pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—'
* pt, Cidade do Vati ...
. Further events were broadcast over the following days, including the
Palio di Siena
The Palio di Siena (; known locally simply as ''Il Palio''), from Latin pallium,
plural form: Palii, is a horse race that is held twice each year, on 2 July and 16 August, in Siena, Italy. Ten horses and riders, bareback and dressed in the ...
, an
athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
meet in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, a parade by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
passing Queen
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
, and live transmission of football matches from the
1954 FIFA World Cup
The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerla ...
in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, the first time the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
was accompanied by live television coverage.
Following this summer season of programmes, the EBU formed a "Programme Committee" to investigate new initiatives for cooperation between broadcasters each year, with
Marcel Bezençon
Marcel Bezençon (; 1 May 1907 – 17 February 1981) was a Swiss journalist, media executive and the director of the European Broadcasting Union between 1954 and 1970. In 1955, he conceived the idea of the Eurovision Song Contest, based on the fa ...
, Director-General of the
Swiss Broadcasting Corporation
The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (german: Schweizerische Radio- und Fernsehgesellschaft; french: Société suisse de radiodiffusion et télévision; it, Società svizzera di radiotelevisione; rm, Societad Svizra da Radio e Televisiun; SRG ...
(SRG SSR), serving as the committee's first President, and Rene McCall, deputy director of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, and Jean d'Arcy, Director of the French broadcaster