The Eurovision Song Contest (French:
Concours Eurovision de la chanson)[1]
is an annual song competition held among many of the active member
countries of the
European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
Each member country submits a song to be performed on
live television and radio and then casts votes for the other
countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition.
The Contest has been broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1956
and is one of the longest-running
television programmes in the world. It is also one of the most
watched non-sporting events in the world,[2]
with audience figures having been quoted in recent years as anything
between 100 million and 600 million internationally.[3][4]
Eurovision has also been broadcast outside Europe to such places as
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Egypt, India,
Japan, Jordan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea,
Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, Uruguay and Venezuela despite the
fact that they do not compete.[5][6][7]
Since 2000, the Contest has also been broadcast over the
Internet,[8]
with more than 74,000 people in almost 140 countries having watched the
2006 edition online.[9]
Artists whose international careers were directly launched into the
spotlight following their participation and victory at Eurovision
include
Domenico Modugno who won third place with song "Nel
blu dipinto di blu" in 1958,
ABBA, who
won the Contest for Sweden in 1974 with their song "Waterloo",
Céline Dion, who won the Contest for Switzerland in 1988 with the
song "Ne
partez pas sans moi",[10][11]
the Spaniard
Julio Iglesias who has sold over 300 million records worldwide and
Bucks Fizz who won in
1981 Eurovision Song Contest for the UK with "Making
Your Mind Up".
Origins
In the 1950s, as a
war-torn Europe rebuilt itself, the
European Broadcasting Union (EBU)—based in
Switzerland—set up an
ad-hoc committee to search for ways of bringing together the
countries of the EBU around a "light entertainment programme".[12]
At a committee meeting held in
Monaco
in January 1955, director general of Swiss television and committee
chairman
Marcel Bezençon conceived the idea of an international song contest
where countries would participate in one
television programme, to be transmitted simultaneously to all
countries of the union.[12][13]
The competition was based upon the existing
Sanremo Music Festival held in
Italy,[14]
and was seen as a technological experiment in
live television, as in those days it was a very ambitious project to
join many countries together in a wide-area international network.
Satellite television did not exist, and the so-called
Eurovision Network comprised a terrestrial
microwave network.[15]
The concept, then known as "Eurovision Grand Prix", was approved by the
EBU General Assembly in a meeting held in Rome on 19 October 1955 and it
was decided that the first Contest would take place in spring 1956 in
Lugano, Switzerland.[12]
The name "Eurovision" was first used in relation to the EBU's network by
British journalist George Campey in the London
Evening Standard in 1951.[13]
The first Contest was held in the town of
Lugano,
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
1956 Contest was won by the host nation, Switzerland.[16]
The programme was first known as the "Eurovision Grand Prix". This
"Grand Prix" name was adopted by
Denmark,
Norway
and the
Francophone countries, with the French designation being "Le
Grand-Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne".[17]
The "Grand Prix" has since been dropped and replaced with "Concours"
(contest) in
French, but not in
Danish or
Norwegian. The Eurovision Network is used to carry many news and
sports programmes internationally, among other specialised events
organised by the EBU.[18]
However, in the minds of the public, the name "Eurovision" is most
closely associated with the Song Contest.[15]
Format
The format of the Contest has changed over the years, though the
basic tenets have always been thus: participant countries submit songs,
which are performed live in a television programme transmitted across
the Eurovision Network by the EBU simultaneously to all countries.[19]
A "country" as a participant is represented by one television
broadcaster from that country: typically, but not always, that country's
national
public broadcasting organisation. The programme is hosted by one of
the participant countries, and the transmission is sent from the
auditorium in the host city. During this programme, after all the
songs have been performed, the countries then proceed to cast votes for
the other countries' songs: nations are not allowed to vote for their
own song.[20]
At the end of the programme, the winner is declared as the song with the
most points. The winner receives, simply, the prestige of having
won—although it is usual for a
trophy
to be awarded to the winning songwriters, and the winning country is
invited to host the event the following year.[16]
The programme is invariably opened by one or more
presenters, welcoming viewers to the show. Most host countries
choose to capitalise on the opportunity afforded them by hosting a
programme with such a wide-ranging international audience, and it is
common to see the presentation interspersed with video footage of scenes
from the host nation, as if advertising for
tourism.[citation
needed] Between the songs and the announcement of
the voting, an interval act is performed. These acts can be any form of
entertainment imaginable. Interval entertainment has included such acts
as
The Wombles (1974)[21]
and the first international presentation of
Riverdance (1994).[22]
As national broadcasters join and leave the EBU feed, the
EBU/Eurovision logo is displayed. The accompanying theme music (used on
other Eurovision broadcasts) is the prelude to
Marc-Antoine Charpentier's
Te Deum.[13]
The Eurovision Song Contest final is traditionally held on a spring
Saturday evening, at 19:00
UTC (20:00
BST/IST,
or 21:00
CEST). Usually one Saturday in May is chosen, although the Contest
has been held on a Thursday (in 1956)[23]
and as early as March.[24]
Participation since 1956:
Entered at least once
Never entered, although eligible to do so
Entry intended, but later withdrew
Cities that have hosted the Eurovision Song Contest.
Participation
Eligible participants include Active Members (as opposed to Associate
Members) of the EBU. Active members are those who are located in states
that fall within the
European Broadcasting Area, or are
member states of the Council of Europe.[25]
The European Broadcasting Area is defined by the
International Telecommunication Union:[26]
- The "European Broadcasting Area" is bounded on the west by
the western boundary of Region 1 (see below), on the east by the
meridian 40° East of
Greenwich and on the south by the parallel 30° North so as to
include the northern part of Saudi Arabia and that part of those
countries bordering the Mediterranean within these limits. In
addition, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and those parts of the
territories of Iraq, Jordan, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey and
Ukraine lying outside the above limits are included in the European
Broadcasting Area.
The western boundary of
Region 1 is defined by a line running from the
North Pole along
meridian 10° West of
Greenwich to its intersection with
parallel 72° North; thence by
great circle arc to the intersection of meridian 50° West and
parallel 40° North; thence by great circle arc to the intersection of
meridian 20° West and parallel 10° South; thence along meridian 20° West
to the
South Pole.[27]
Active members include broadcasting organisations whose transmissions
are made available to at least 98% of households in their own country
which are equipped to receive such transmissions.[25]
If an EBU Active Member wishes to participate, they must fulfil
conditions as laid down by the rules of the Contest (of which a separate
copy is drafted annually). As of 2013, this includes the necessity to
have broadcast the previous year's programme within their country, and
paid the EBU a participation fee in advance of the
deadline specified in the rules of the Contest for the year in which
they wish to participate.[citation
needed]
Eligibility to participate is not determined by
geographic inclusion within the continent of
Europe,
despite the "Euro" in "Eurovision" — nor does it have any relation to
the
European Union. Several countries geographically outside the
boundaries of Europe have competed:
Israel
and Cyprus
in
Western Asia (Cyprus is a member of the
Council of Europe and a
member state of the European Union), since
1973,
1981,
2006 respectively; and
Morocco,
in
North Africa, in the
1980 competition alone. In addition, several
transcontinental countries with only part of their territory in
Europe have competed:
Turkey,
since
1975;
Russia, since
1994;
Georgia, since
2007; and
Azerbaijan, which made its first appearance in the
2008 edition.[28]
Fifty-one countries have participated at least once.[29]
These are listed here alongside the year in which they made their début:
| Year |
Country making its debut entry |
|
1956 |
 Netherlands,
 France,
 Germanya,
 Italy,
 Luxembourg,.svg/22px-Flag_of_Belgium_(civil).svg.png) Belgium,
 Switzerland |
|
1957 |
 Austria,
 Denmark,
 United
Kingdom |
|
1958 |
 Sweden |
|
1959 |
 Monaco |
|
1960 |
 Norway |
|
1961 |
 Finland,
 Spain,
 Yugoslaviab |
|
1964 |
 Portugal |
|
1965 |
 Ireland |
|
1971 |
 Malta |
|
1973 |
 Israel |
|
1974 |
 Greece |
|
1975 |
 Turkey |
|
1980 |
 Morocco |
|
1981 |
 Cyprus |
|
1986 |
 Iceland |
|
1993 |
.svg/22px-Flag_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina_(1992-1998).svg.png) Bosnia
and Herzegovina,
 Croatia,
 Slovenia |
|
1994 |
 Estonia,
 Hungary,
 Lithuania,
 Poland,
 Romania,
 Russia,
 Slovakia |
|
1998 |
 Macedonia |
|
2000 |
 Latvia |
|
2003 |
 Ukraine |
|
2004 |
 Albania,
 Andorra,
 Belarus,
 Serbia
and Montenegro |
|
2005 |
 Bulgaria,
 Moldova |
|
2006 |
 Armenia |
|
2007 |
 Czech
Republic,
 Georgia,
 Montenegro,
 Serbia |
|
2008 |
 Azerbaijan,
 San
Marino |
- a) Before
German reunification in 1990 occasionally presented as
West Germany, representing the
Federal Republic of Germany.
East Germany (the German Democratic Republic) did not compete.
- b) The entries presented as being from "Yugoslavia"
represented the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, except for the 1992
entry, which represented the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This nation dissolved in
1991/1992 into five independent states:
Slovenia,
Croatia,
Macedonia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia reconstituted itself as
Serbia and Montenegro in 2003—entered the Contest in 2004—and
finally dissolved in 2006, making two separate states:
Serbia
and
Montenegro; both of which debuted in the Contest in 2007, the
winner that year being Serbia.
Hosting
Most of the expense of the Contest is covered by
commercial sponsors and contributions from the other participating
nations. The Contest is considered to be a unique opportunity for
promoting the host country as a tourist destination. In the summer of
2005, Ukraine abolished its normal visa requirement for visitors from
the EU to coincide with its hosting of the event.[30]
Globen, Stockholm, the site of Eurovision 2000.
Preparations for the event start a matter of weeks after the host
wins in the previous year, and confirms to the EBU that they intend
to—and have the capacity to—host the event.[citation
needed] A host city is chosen—usually the
capital—and a suitable concert venue. The two largest concert venues
were
Parken in
Copenhagen (which held approximately 38,000 people when
Denmark
hosted in 2001[16])
and the
Esprit Arena in
Düsseldorf (which held approximately 36,500 people when
Germany
hosted in 2011). The smallest town to have been hosts was
Millstreet in
County Cork,
Ireland, in 1993. The village had a population of 1,500[31]—although
the
Green Glens Arena venue could hold up to 8,000 people.[32]
The hotel and press facilities in the vicinity are always a
consideration when choosing a host city and venue.[33]
In Kiev
2005, hotel rooms were scarce as the Contest organisers asked the
Ukrainian government to put a block on bookings they did not control
themselves through official delegation allocations or tour packages:
this led to many people's hotel bookings being cancelled.[34]
Eurovision
logo and theme
The current generic logo was introduced for the
2004 Eurovision Song Contest in Turkey, to create a consistent
visual identity. The host country's flag appears in the heart of the
generic logo. Each year of the Contest, the host country creates a
sub-theme which is usually accompanied and expressed with a sub-logo and
slogan. The theme and slogan are announced by the
EBU and the host country's national broadcaster.
Eurovision Week
The term "Eurovision Week" is used to refer to the week during which
the Contest takes place.[35]
As it is a live show, the Eurovision Song Contest requires the
performers to have perfected their acts in
rehearsals in order for the big night to run smoothly. In addition
to rehearsals in their home countries, every participant is given the
opportunity to rehearse on the stage in the Eurovision auditorium. These
rehearsals are held during the course of several days before the
Saturday show, and consequently the delegations arrive in the host city
many days before the event. Journalists and fans are also present during
the preceding days, and so the events of Eurovision last a lot longer
than a few hours of television.[citation
needed] A number of officially accredited hotels
are selected for the delegations to stay in, and shuttle-bus services
are used to transport the performers and accompanying people to and from
the Contest venue.[36]
Each participating broadcaster nominates a Head of Delegation, whose
job it is to coordinate the movements of the delegate members, and who
acts as that country's representative to the EBU in the host city.[37]
Members of the delegations include performers, lyricists, composers,
official press officers and—in the years where songs were performed with
a live orchestra—a conductor. Also present if desired is a commentator:
each broadcaster may supply their own commentary for their TV and/or
radio feed, to be broadcast in each country. The commentators are given
dedicated commentary booths situated around the back of the arena behind
the audience.[citation
needed]
Rehearsals and press conferences
Traditionally, delegations would arrive on the Sunday before the
Contest, in order to be present for rehearsals starting on the Monday
morning.[citation
needed] However, with the introduction of the
semi-finals—and therefore the resulting increase in the number of
countries taking part since 2004, the first rehearsals have commenced on
the Sunday almost two weeks before the Grand Final. There are two
rehearsal periods for each country. The countries taking part in the
semi-finals have their first rehearsal over four days from the first
Sunday to Wednesday. The second is from Thursday to Sunday. The
countries which have already directly qualified for the Grand Final
rehearse on the Saturday and Sunday.[38]
Switzerland hosting a press conference at Eurovision
2006.
After each country has rehearsed, the delegation meets with the
show's artistic director in the video viewing room. Here, they watch the
footage of the rehearsal just performed, discussing camera angles,
lighting and choreography, in order to try to achieve maximum æsthetic
effect on television.[citation
needed] At this point the Head of Delegation may
make known any special requirements needed for the performance, and
request them from the host broadcaster. Following this meeting, the
delegation hold a
press conference where members of the accredited press may pose them
questions.[39]
The rehearsals and press conferences are held in parallel; so one
country holds its press conference, while the next one is in the
auditorium rehearsing. A printed summary of the questions and answers
which emerge from the press conferences is produced by the host press
office, and distributed to journalists'
pigeon-holes.[40]
Before each of the semi-finals three dress rehearsals are held. Two
rehearsals are held the day before (one in the afternoon and the other
in the evening), while the third is held on the afternoon of the live
event. Since tickets to the live shows are often scarce, tickets are
also sold in order that the public may attend these dress rehearsals.
The same applies for the final, with two rehearsals on the Friday and
the third on Saturday afternoon before the live transmission of the
grand final on Saturday evening.[39]
For both semi-finals and for the final, the second dress rehearsal is
also the Jury Final, this is where the jury from each country
casts their votes. This means that 50% of the result is already decided
before the live Contests have taken place.[38]
Parties and
Euroclub
On the Monday evening of Eurovision Week, a Mayor's Reception
is traditionally held, where the city administration hosts a celebration
that Eurovision has come to their city. This is usually held in a grand
municipally owned location in the city centre. All delegations are
invited, and the party is usually accompanied by live music,
complimentary food and drink and—in recent years—fireworks.[41]
After the semi-final and grand final there are after-show parties,
held either in a facility in the venue complex or in another suitable
location within the city.[42]
A Euroclub is held every night of the week; a
Eurovision-themed
nightclub, to which all accredited personnel are invited.[43]
During the week many delegations have traditionally hosted their own
parties in addition to the officially sponsored ones. However, in the
new 2000 millennium the trend has been for the national delegations to
centralise their activity and hold their celebrations in the Euroclub.[43]
Voting
The voting systems used in the Contest have changed throughout the
years. The modern system has been in place since 1975, and is a
positional voting system. Countries award a set of points from 1 to
8, then 10 and finally 12 to other songs in the competition — with the
favourite song being awarded 12 points.[44]
Historically, a country's set of votes was decided by an internal
jury, but in 1997 five countries (Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden
and the United Kingdom) experimented with
televoting, giving members of the public in those countries the
opportunity to vote en-masse for their favourite songs. The experiment
was a success,[45]
and from 1998 onwards all countries were encouraged to use televoting
wherever possible. Back-up juries are still utilised by each country, in
the event of a televoting failure. Nowadays members of the public may
also vote by
SMS, in addition to televoting.[46]
But the current method for ranking entries, first used in
2009, is a 50/50 combination of both
telephone vote and the votes of
juries made
up of music professionals.[47]
Since 1964 the voting has been presided over by the EBU
scrutineer, who is responsible for ensuring that all points are
allocated correctly and in turn. The following are the scrutineers and
Executive Supervisors of the Eurovision Song Contest appointed by the
EBU;
According to one study of
Eurovision voting patterns, certain countries tend to form
"clusters" or "cliques" by frequently voting in the same way.[48]
Yet another study concludes that as of 2006
voting blocs has, on at least two occasions, crucially affected the
outcome of the Contest.[49]
Presentation of
votes
Electronic scoreboard, as
Johnny Logan announces the Irish votes in 2004.
After the interval act is over, when all the points have been
calculated, the presenter(s) of the show call upon each voting country
in turn to invite them to announce the results of their vote. Prior to
1994 the announcements were made over
telephone lines; with the audio being piped into the auditorium for
the audience to hear, and over the television transmission. With the
advent of more reliable satellite networks, from 1994 onwards voting
spokespeople have appeared on camera from their respective countries to
read out the votes.[citation
needed] Often the opportunity is taken by each
country to show their spokesperson standing in front of a backdrop which
includes a famous place in that country. (For example, the French
spokesperson may be seen standing in front of the Eiffel Tower).
Currently, the votes from 1 to 7 are displayed automatically on
screen and the remaining points are read out in ascending order by the
spokesperson, culminating with the maximum 12 points. Countries must
announce the country names and points in either English or French and
the scores are repeated by the Contest's presenters in the other
language. The exclamation "douze points" when the host or spokesperson
states the top score in French is popularly associated with the Contest
.[50]
From 1957 to 1962, the participating countries were called in reverse
order of the presentation of their songs, and from 1963 to 2003, each
country was called in the same order in which their song had been
presented. Since 2004 the order of the countries' announcements of votes
has changed since the inception of the semi-final, and the countries
that did not make it to the final each year could also vote. In 2004,
the countries were called in alphabetical order (according to their
ISO codes).[51]
In 2005, the votes from the non-qualifying semi-finalists were announced
first, in their running order on the Thursday night; then the finalists
gave their votes in their own order of performance. Between 2006 and
2010, a separate draw was held to determine the order in which countries
would present their votes.[52]
In 2011, the voting order was determined by the results of a jury the
day before the final so as to create as much suspense as possible when
the votes were revealed.[53]
From 1971 to 1973, each country sent two jurors, who were actually
present at the Contest venue (though the juries in 1972 were locked away
in the Great Hall of
Edinburgh Castle) and announced their votes as the camera was
trained on them. In 1973 one of the Swiss jurors made a great show of
presenting his votes with flamboyant gestures. This system was retired
for the next year.[45]
In 1956 no public votes were presented: a closed jury simply
announced that Switzerland had won.[citation
needed] From 1957 to 1987, the points were
displayed on a physical
scoreboard to the side of the stage. As digital graphic technology
progressed, the physical scoreboards were superseded in 1988 by an
electronic representation which could be displayed on the TV screen
at the will of the programme's
director.[54]
In 2006 the EBU decided to conserve time during the broadcast—much of
which had been taken up with the announcement of every single
point—because there was an ever-increasing number of countries voting.
From then onwards, the points from 1–7 were flashed up onto the screen
automatically, and the announcers only read out the 8, 10 and, 12 points
individually.[52]
Ties for first
place
In
1969, when four of the sixteen countries taking part,
France,
Spain,
the
Netherlands and the
United Kingdom, all tied for first place each with eighteen points,
there was no pre-determined set of rules to decide the outright winner,
therefore the four countries concerned were all declared the winners.
This caused much discontent among most of the other participating
countries, and mass-walkouts were threatened.
Finland,
Norway,
Sweden
and
Portugal did not participate in the 1970 Contest as a protest
against the results of the previous year. This prompted the EBU to
introduce a tie-break rule.[55][56]
Today, in the event of a tie for first place at the end of the
evening, a count is made of the total number of countries who awarded
points to each of the tied countries; and the one who received points
from the most countries is declared the winner. If the numbers are still
tied, it is counted how many sets of maximum marks (12 points) each
country received. If there is still a tie, the numbers of 10-point
scores awarded are compared—and then the numbers of 8-points, all the
way down the list. In the extremely unlikely event of there then
still being a tie for first place, the song performed earliest in
the running order is declared the winner, unless the host country
performed first in the running order. The same tie-break rule now
applies to ties for all places.[20]
As of 2013, the only time since 1969 when two or more countries have
tied for first place on total points alone was in 1991, when France and
Sweden both totalled 146 points. In
1991, the Eurovision rules of the day did not include counting the
numbers of countries awarding any points to these countries' songs, but
began with tallying up the numbers of 12 points awarded. Both France and
Sweden had received four sets of 12 points. However, because Sweden had
received more sets of 10-point scores, they were declared the winners.
Had the current rule been in play, France would have won instead.[45]
Rules
There are a number of rules which must be observed by the
participating nations. The rules are numerous and unabridged, and a
separate draft is produced each year, which explicitly specifies the
dates by which certain things must be done; for example the deadline by
which all the participating broadcasters must submit the final recorded
version of their song to the EBU. Many rules pertain to such matters as
sponsorship agreements and rights of broadcasters to re-transmit the
show within a certain time. The most notable rules which actually affect
the format and presentation of the Contest have changed somewhat over
the years, and are highlighted here.
Hosting
In 1958 it was decided that from then on, the winning country
(France, at the time) would host the Contest the next year.[16]
The winner of the 1957 Contest was the Netherlands, and Dutch television
accepted the responsibility of hosting in 1958. In all but five of the
years since this rule has been in place, the winning country has hosted
the show the following year. The exceptions are:
-
1960—hosted by the
BBC in
London
when the Netherlands declined due to expense. The UK was chosen to
host because it had come second in 1959.[45]
-
1963—hosted by the BBC in London when France declined due to
expense. Although the UK had only come fourth in 1962, Monaco and
Luxembourg (who came second and third) had also declined.[45]
-
1972—hosted by the BBC in
Edinburgh when Monaco was unable to provide a suitable venue:
Monegasque television invited the BBC to take over due to its
previous experience.[45]
-
1974—hosted by the BBC in
Brighton when Luxembourg declined due to expense. The BBC was
becoming known as the host by default, if the winning country
declined.[21]
-
1980—hosted by the
NOS in
The Hague when Israel declined due to expense, having staged the
1979 event in Jerusalem, and the fact that the date chosen for
the Contest (19 April) was
Israel's Remembrance Day that year. The Dutch offered to host
the Contest after several other broadcasters (including the BBC)
were unwilling to do so.[45]
The reluctance of those national broadcasters to stage the contest
were due to already having hosted the event during the past couple of
years, in addition to the expense involved. Since 1981, all Contests
have been held in the country which won the previous year.
Live music
All vocals must be sung live: no voices are permitted on backing
tracks.[20]
In 1999, the Croatian song featured sounds on their backing track which
sounded suspiciously like human voices. The Croatian delegation stated
that there were no human voices, but only digitally synthesised sounds
which replicated vocals. The EBU nevertheless decided that they had
broken the spirit of the rules, and docked them 33% of their points
total that year as used for calculating their five-year points average
for future qualification.[57]
From 1956 until 1998, it was necessary for the host country to
provide a live
orchestra for the use of the participants. Prior to 1973, all music
was required to be played by the host orchestra. From 1973 onwards,
pre-recorded backing tracks were permitted—although the host country was
still obliged to provide a live orchestra in order to give participants
a choice. If a backing track was used, then all the instruments heard on
the track were required to be present on the stage. In 1997 this
requirement was dropped.[45]
In 1999 the rules were amended to abolish the requirement by the host
broadcaster to provide a live orchestra, leaving it as an optional
contribution.[50]
The host that year, Israel's IBA, decided not to use an orchestra in
order to save on expenses, and 1999 became the first year in which all
of the songs were played as pre-recorded backing tracks (in conjunction
with live vocals). The orchestra has not since made an appearance at the
Contest; the last time being in 1998 when the BBC hosted the show in
Birmingham.[citation
needed]
Language
The rule requiring countries to sing in their own national language
has been changed several times over the years. From 1956 until 1965,
there was no rule restricting the languages in which the songs could be
sung. In 1966 a rule was imposed stating that the songs must be
performed in one of the official languages of the country participating,
after Sweden presented its 1965 entry in English.[16]
The language restriction continued until 1973, when it was lifted and
performers were again allowed to sing in any language they wished.[58]
Several winners in the mid-1970s took advantage of the newly found
allowance, with performers from non-English-speaking countries singing
in English, including
ABBA in
1974.
In 1977, the EBU decided to revert to the national language
restriction. Special dispensation was given to
Germany
and
Belgium as their national selections had already taken place - both
countries' entries were in English.[59]
In 1999 the rule was changed to allow the choice of language once
more.[57]
With this allowance, Belgium entered the 2003 Contest with "Sanomi",
a song sung in a
constructed language.[60]
In 2006 the Dutch entry, "Amambanda",
was sung partly in English and partly in an artificial language.[60]
In 2008 the Belgian entry, "O
Julissi", was sung in an artificial language.[60]
In 2011 the Norwegian entry, "Haba
Haba", which was sung in English and
Swahili, was the first song to be sung in an African language.[61]
The submitted songs must always have vocals; purely instrumental
music is not allowed.
Broadcasting
Each participating broadcaster is required to broadcast the show in
its entirety: including all songs, recap, voting and reprise, skipping
only the interval act for advertising breaks if they wish.[20]
From 1999 onwards, broadcasters who wished to do so were given the
opportunity to take more advertising breaks as short, non-essential
hiatuses were introduced into the programme.[50]
Three major Contest preemptions took place since 1999. The Dutch state
broadcaster pulled their broadcast of the 2000 final to provide
emergency news coverage of a major incident, the
Enschede fireworks disaster. Spain's RTVE delayed their broadcast of
the second semi-final in the 2009 Contest, due to the
Madrid Open tennis tournament. The Albanian state broadcaster
deferred their broadcast of the first semi-final in the 2012 Contest to
provide emergency news coverage of
a major bus accident. These were technically violations of the rule,
but were done out of necessity.
Political recognition issues
In 1978, during the performance of the Israeli entry, the Jordanian
broadcaster
JRTV suspended the broadcast and showed pictures of flowers. When it
became apparent during the later stages of the voting sequence that
Israel was going to win the Contest, JRTV abruptly ended the
transmission.[45]
Afterwards, the Jordanian
news media refused to acknowledge the fact that Israel had won and
announced that the winner was Belgium (which had actually come in 2nd
place).[62]
In 1981 JRTV did not broadcast the voting because the name of Israel
appeared on the scoreboard.
In 2005,
Lebanon
intended to participate in the Contest. However, Lebanese law does not
allow recognition of Israel, and consequently Lebanese television did
not intend to transmit the Israeli entry. The EBU informed them that
such an act would breach the rules of the Contest, and Lebanon was
subsequently forced to withdraw from the competition. Their late
withdrawal incurred a fine, since they had already confirmed their
participation and the deadline had passed.[63]
However, the Eurovision Song Contest albums were still being sold in
Lebanese music stores until 2009, with the word Israel erased from the
back cover. As of 2010, the albums were banned completely from sale.[citation
needed]
Other
- In the first Contest in 1956, there was a recommended time limit
of 3½ minutes per song.[64]
In 1957, despite protests, the Italian song was 5:09 minutes in
duration. This led to a stricter time limit of 3 minutes precisely.[65]
Since the three-minute time limit was adopted in 1960, some artists
have had songs longer than three minutes which must be edited for
time constraints, though some songs exceed that length by a few
seconds. Many of the entries also have longer versions (including
different languages) for commercial release, and since the 1990s,
some are released in additional remixed versions.
- There is no restriction imposed by the EBU on the nationality of
the performers or songwriters. Individual broadcasters are, however,
permitted to impose their own restrictions at their discretion.[37]
- From 1957 to 1970 (in 1956 there was no restriction at all),
only soloists and duos were allowed on stage. From 1963, a chorus of
up to three people was permitted. Since 1971, a maximum of six
performers have been permitted on the stage.[37]
- The performance and/or lyrics of a song "must not bring the
Contest into disrepute".[20]
- From 1990 onwards, all people on stage must be at least 16 years
of age.[20]
- The music and text must be published or performed on or after
the 1st September of the year before the Contest is held. Many
countries also have the additional rule that the song shall never
have been
performed before the concerning national Eurovision Contest.
Covers, reworked or sampled versions of older songs are not allowed.[66]
Expansion of
the Contest
Regular participants in 1992.
Yugoslavia is coloured in red: 1991 was the last year in
which that nation participated under one name.
Regular participants in 1994. Changes from 1992 include the
addition of Central and Eastern European countries, and the
separation of ex-Yugoslavian states.
The number of countries participating each year has steadily grown
over time, from seven participants in 1956 to over 20 in the late 1980s.
In 1993, twenty-five countries participated in the competition,
including, for the first time that year, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and
Slovenia, entering independently due to the
dissolution of Yugoslavia.[67]
Because the Contest is a live television programme, a reasonable time
limit must be imposed on the duration of the show. In recent years the
nominal limit has been three hours, with the broadcast occasionally
overrunning.[50]
Pre-selections and relegation
Since 1993, and following the cessation of the Eastern European OIRT
network and the merger with the EBU, there have been more countries
wishing to enter the Contest than there is time to reasonably include
all their entries in a single TV show. Several relegation or
qualification systems have, therefore, been tried in order to limit the
number of countries participating in the Contest at one time. To that
end, the 1993 Contest introduced two new features: firstly, a
pre-selection competition was held in
Ljubljana in which seven
new countries fought for three places in the international
competition. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Romania,
Slovenia and Slovakia took part in
Kvalifikacija za Millstreet; and the three former Yugoslav
republics, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia, qualified for a
place in the international final.[68]
Also to be introduced that year was relegation. The lowest-placed
countries in the 1993 score table were forced to skip the next year, in
order to allow the countries which failed the 1993 pre-selection into
the 1994 Contest. The 1994 Contest included—for the first time—Estonia,
Romania, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland and Russia.[69]
Relegation continued through 1994 and 1995;[70]
but in 1996 a different pre-selection system was used, in which nearly
all the countries participated. Audio tapes of all the songs were sent
to juries in each of the countries some weeks before the television
show. These juries selected the songs which would then proceed to be
included in the international broadcast.[71]
Norway, as the host country in 1996 (having won the previous year),
automatically qualified and was therefore excluded from the necessity of
going through the pre-selection.[citation
needed]
One country which failed to qualify in the 1996 pre-selection was
Germany. As one of the largest financial contributors to the EBU, their
non-participation in the Contest brought about a funding issue, which
the EBU would have to consider.[71]
Big Four/Big Five
Since 2000, the
United Kingdom,
Germany,
France and
Spain have automatically qualified for the final, regardless of
their positions on the scoreboard in previous Contests, due to their
status of being the four biggest financial contributors to the EBU.[50]
As a result, these countries became known as the "Big Four".[72]
Germany became the first "Big Four" country to win the Contest since the
rule was made in 2000, when
Lena Meyer-Landrut won the
2010 Contest. On 31 December 2010, it was announced that
Italy would automatically qualify into the final, thus joining the
other four qualifiers to become the "Big Five".[73]
This rule has caused controversy;
Turkey withdrew from the
2013 Contest with the status of the "Big Five" being one of the
reasons cited.[74]
Qualification
From 1997 to 2003, countries qualified for each Contest based on the
average of their points totals for their entries over the previous five
years.[75][76]
However, there was much discontent voiced over this system because a
country could be punished by not being allowed to enter merely because
of poor previous results, which did not take into account how good a
fresh attempt might be. This led the EBU to create what was hoped would
be a more permanent solution to the problem, which was to have two shows
every year: a qualification round, and the grand final. In these two
shows there would be enough broadcast time to include all the countries
which wished to participate, every year. The qualification round became
known as the Eurovision Semi-Final. In 2008, due to the number of
nations entering, it changed very slightly as two separate semi-finals
were created. A nation proceeding from the first semi-final would go
straight into the final, as would those progressing from the second
semi-final.[77]
Semi-finals
A qualification round, known as the semi-final, was introduced for
the
2004 Contest.[78]
This semi-final was held on the Wednesday during Eurovision Week, and
was a programme similar in format to the grand final, whose time slot
remained 19:00 UTC on the Saturday. The highest-placed songs from the
semi-final would qualify for the grand final, while the lower-placed
songs were out of the competition for that year. From 2005 to 2007, the
semi-final programme was held on the Thursday of Eurovision Week.[79]
The ten most highly placed non-Big Four countries in the grand
final were guaranteed a place in the following year's grand final,
without the need to participate in next year's semi. If, for example,
Germany came in the top ten, the eleventh-placed non-Big-Four country
would automatically qualify for the next year's grand final.[37]
The remaining countries—which had not automatically qualified for the
grand final—had to enter the semi.[37]
At the 50th annual meeting of the EBU reference group in September
2007, it was decided that from the
2008 Contest onwards two semi-finals would be held.[80]
From 2008 onwards, the scoreboard position of any previous years has not
been relevant, and—save for the automatic qualifiers—all participating
countries have had to participate in the semi-finals, regardless of
their previous year's scoreboard position. The only countries which
automatically qualify for the grand final are the host country, and the
Big Five: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, who
continue to enjoy their protected status.[20]
In each of the semi-finals the voting is conducted among those
countries which participate in that semi-final in question. With regards
to the automatic grand final qualifiers, which do not participate in the
semi-finals, a draw is conducted to determine in which semi-final each
of them will be allowed to vote. In contrast, every participating
country in a particular year may vote in the Saturday grand final —
whether their song qualified from the semi or not.[81]
After the votes have been cast in each semi-final, the countries
which received the most votes—and will therefore proceed to the grand
final on Saturday—are announced by name by the presenters. Full voting
results are withheld until after the grand final, whereupon they are
published on the EBU's website.[20]
Winners
Winning the Eurovision Song Contest provides a unique opportunity for
the winning artist(s) to capitalise on the surrounding publicity to
further his, her or their career(s).
Artists
There have been a number of Eurovision artists and groups whose
careers were directly launched into the spotlight following their win.
One such group 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.[10]
Another winner who subsequently achieved international fame and success
was
French Canadian singer,
Céline Dion, who won the Contest for Switzerland in 1988 with the
song "Ne
partez pas sans moi", which subsequently helped launch her
international career.[11]
Other artists who have achieved varying degrees of success after
winning the Contest include
France Gall ("Poupée
de cire, poupée de son",
Luxembourg 1965),
Dana ("All
Kinds of Everything",
Ireland 1970),
Vicky Leandros ("Après
toi",
Luxembourg 1972),
Brotherhood of Man ("Save
Your Kisses for Me",
United Kingdom 1976),
Marie Myriam ("L'oiseau
et l'enfant",
France 1977),
Johnny Logan (who won twice for Ireland; with "What's
Another Year" in
1980, and "Hold
Me Now" in
1987),
Bucks Fizz ("Making
Your Mind Up",
United Kingdom 1981),
Nicole ("Ein
bißchen Frieden",
Germany 1982),
Herreys
("Diggi-Loo
Diggi-Ley",
Sweden 1984) and
Sandra Kim ("J'aime
la vie",
Belgium 1986).
Many other winners were well-known artists who won the Contest
mid-career, after they had already established themselves as successful.
An example is
Katrina and the Waves, representing the United Kingdom, who were the
winners of the Contest with the song "Love Shine a Light".[82]
Likewise
Sandie Shaw, who won in 1967 with Puppet on a String, was already a
star in the UK.
Some artists, however, have vanished into relative obscurity, making
little or no impact on the international music scene after their win.
Countries
Ireland holds the record for the highest number of wins, having won
the Contest seven times—including three times in a row in 1992, 1993,
and 1994.
France,
Luxembourg, the
United Kingdom and
Sweden are joint second with five wins. Next comes the
Netherlands, with four victories.[83]
The early years of the Contest saw many wins for "traditional"
Eurovision countries: France, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. However,
the success of these countries has declined in recent decades; the
Netherlands last won in 1975; France, in 1977; and Luxembourg, in 1983.
Luxembourg last entered the Contest in 1993.[84]
The first years of the 21st century produced numerous first-time
winners, from both "new" and long-serving countries who had previous
entered numerous times but without victories. Every year from 2001 to
2008 inclusive, a country won for its first time. Estonia was the first
post-Soviet country to win the competition in 2001. The 2006 winner was
Finland, which finally won after having entered the Contest for 45
years.
Ukraine, on the other hand, did not have to wait so long, winning
with only their second entry in 2004.
Serbia won the very first year it entered as an independent state,
in 2007.[85]
Another relatively quick winner was
Azerbaijan, who won in 2011 in only their fourth year in the
competition.
The country that has participated the longest without any win is
Portugal, which made its debut in 1964 and has never finished in the
top five.
In 2009,
Norway won the Contest with 387 points, the highest total in the
history of the competition, becoming the first competitor to score 300
or more points, including 16 maximum scores. This feat was emulated in
2012, when Sweden won with 372 points, but with a new record of 18
maximum scores.
Criticism
and controversy
The Contest has been the subject of criticism regarding both its
musical content and the perception that it is more about politics than
it is about music.[86][87]
Musical style and presentation
Because the musical songs are playing to such a diverse supranational
audience with contrasting musical tastes, and that countries want to be
able to appeal to as many people as possible to gain votes, the majority
of the songs have historically been
middle-of-the-road pop.[citation
needed] Deviations from this formula have rarely
achieved success, leading to the Contest gaining a reputation for its
music being "bubblegum
pop".[88]
This well-established pattern, however, was notably broken in 2006 with
Finnish hard rock band
Lordi's
victory. As Eurovision is a visual show, many performances attempt to
attract the attention of the voters through means other than the music,
notably elaborate lighting sequences and
pyrotechnics; sometimes leading to bizarre on-stage theatrics and
costumes, including the use of revealing dress.[89]
Political and geographical voting
The Contest has long been accused by some of political bias, where
the perception is that judges—and now televoters—allocate points based
on their nation's relationship to the other countries, rather than the
musical merits of the songs.[90]
According to one study of Eurovision voting patterns, certain countries
tend to form "clusters" or "cliques" by frequently voting in the same
way.[48]
Another study concludes that as of 2006,
voting blocs have, on at least two occasions, crucially affected the
outcome of the Contest.[49]
On the other hand, however, others argue that certain countries allocate
disproportionately high points to others because of similar musical
tastes, cultures and because they speak similar languages,[91][92]
and are therefore more likely to appreciate each other's music.
Another influential factor is the high proportion of
expatriates, ethnic minorities and diaspora living in certain
countries, often due to recent political upheaval.[citation
needed] Although judges and televoters cannot vote
for their own country's entry, expatriates and diaspora can vote for
their country of origin from their country of residence.
Since the number of points to be distributed allotted to each country
remains equal, and independent of their population, voters in countries
with larger populations have less power as individuals to influence the
result of the Contest than those voting from countries with smaller
populations.
In a move to help reduce the effects of voting blocs since the advent
of televoting in the Eurovision Song Contest, national juries were
re-introduced alongside televoting in the final in 2009, each of both
contributing 50% of the vote.[93]
This hybrid system was expanded in 2010 to also be implemented in the
semi-finals.[94]
However, since 1994 no country has won two years in a row, and
semi-finals have also been won by different countries, until 2012 when
Sweden won the second semi-final in 2011 and 2012. Although many of them
used to give their 12 points to the same country each year, it has been
noticed that factors such as the sets of other high votes received (7, 8
or 10 points) and the number of countries giving points to a specific
entry, also highly affect the final positions.
Spin-offs
A number of spin-offs and imitators of the Eurovision Song Contest
have been produced over the years, some national and other
international.
Similar competition that still exist include:
-
Sopot International Song Festival (1961—1980, 1984-1998,
2005–09, 2012 – Present), held in
Sopot,
Poland,
annually.
- Östersjöfestivalen also called Baltic Song Contest
(1967–Present), held annually in
Karlshamn,
Sweden.
-
Caribbean Song Festival (1984—Present), held annually
between members of the
Caribbean Broadcasting Union.
-
Junior Eurovision Song Contest (2003–Present), for European
artists under the age of 16.
-
Bundesvision Song Contest (2005–Present), held annually
between the 16 states of
Germany since 2005.
-
Our Sound (2012–Present), Asia-Pacific version[95]
Similar competitions that no longer exist include:
-
Castlebar Song Contest (1966—1986, 1988), held annually in
Castlebar,
County Mayo,
Ireland.
-
Yamaha Music Festival, also called
World Popular Song Festival (1970-1987, 1989), held in
Tokyo,
Japan
annually.
-
OTI Festival (1972-1998, 2000), competed and hosted by the
Hispanic countries of Europe,
South and
North America. Countries could only sing in
Spanish and
Portuguese.
-
Intervision Song Contest (1977-1980), held by the
Eastern Bloc countries of Europe.
-
MGP Nordic (2002, 2006-2009), for artists under the age of
16 in
Scandinavia and
Finland.
- World Oriental Music Festival (2005), includes
participants from Europe and Asia.
In autumn 2005, the EBU organised a special programme to celebrate
the 50th anniversary of the Contest. The show, entitled
Congratulations (after
Cliff Richard's
entry for the United Kingdom in 1968) was held in Copenhagen, and
featured many artists from the last 50 years of the Contest. A telephone
vote was held to determine the most popular Eurovision song of all-time,
which was won by ABBA's "Waterloo"
(winner, Sweden 1974).[96]
See also