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Eurovision Song Contest

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Musical genres, styles,
eras and events

   The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held between
   active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), in
   which participating countries each submit a song to be performed on
   live television; then proceed to cast votes for the other countries'
   songs, in order to find the most popular song in the competition. Each
   country participates via one of their national EBU-member television
   stations, whose task it is to select a singer and a song to go forward
   to represent the country in the international 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, with audience figures having been quoted in recent years as
   anything between 100 million and 600 million internationally. It has
   been broadcast around the globe — beyond Europe — to such countries as
   Australia, Canada, Egypt, Jordan, Hong Kong, India, Korea, New Zealand
   and the USA; even though these countries do not participate. Since the
   year 2000, the Contest has also been broadcast over the Internet; with
   more than 74,000 people in almost 140 countries having watched the 2006
   edition online.

   The Contest is historically known for being mainly a bastion of
   formulaic, orchestrated pop music. However it has featured a vast,
   diverse array of songs, including such musical genres as Arab, Balkan,
   Dance, Folk, Greek, Latin, Metal, Nordic, Pop-rap, Rock, and Turkish.

   Over the years, the Song Contest has grown from a mere televisual
   experiment into an international institution of mammoth proportions.
   Most countries in Europe have taken part at least once during the
   Contest's history, and the word "Eurovision" is a household name which
   is recognised across an entire continent.

Origins

   In the 1950s, when a war-torn Europe was still rebuilding itself, the
   European Broadcasting Union (EBU) — based in Switzerland — came up with
   the idea of an international song contest whereby countries would
   participate in one television programme, to be transmitted
   simultaneously to all countries of the union. This was conceived during
   a meeting in Monaco in 1955 by Marcel Bezençon, a Frenchman working for
   the EBU. The competition was based upon the existing Sanremo Music
   Festival held in Italy, and was also seen as a technological experiment
   in live television: 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. 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.

   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.

   The programme was first known as the "Eurovision Grand Prix". This
   "Grand Prix" name was adopted by the Francophone countries as well as
   Denmark and Norway, where the Contest became known as "Le Grand-Prix
   Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne". The "Grand Prix" has since been
   dropped and replaced with "Concours" (contest), though Denmark and
   Norway still retain the name "Grand Prix". 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 has by far the highest profile of these programmes, and has
   long since become synonymous with the name "Eurovision".

Format

   Trophy awarded to the winning songwriter in 1995.
   Enlarge
   Trophy awarded to the winning songwriter in 1995.

   The format of the Contest has changed over the years; however 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. A
   "country" as a participant is represented by one television broadcaster
   from that country. 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. 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.

   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. Between the songs and the
   announcement of the voting an interval act is performed, which can be
   any form of entertainment imaginable. Interval entertainment has
   included such acts as The Wombles ( 1974) and the first presentation of
   Riverdance ( 1994).

   The theme music played before and after the broadcasts of the
   Eurovision Song Contest (and other Eurovision broadcasts) is the
   prelude to Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Te Deum.

   The Eurovision Song Contest final is traditionally held on a Spring
   Saturday evening, at 19:00 UTC (20:00 BST, or 21:00 CEST). Usually one
   Saturday in May is chosen, although the Contest has been held as early
   as March. Since 2004, due to the increasing number of eligible
   countries which have wished to participate, a qualifying round — known
   as the Semi Final — has been held on the Wednesday or Thursday before
   the final.

Participation

   Eligible participants include Active Members (as opposed to Associate
   Members) of the European Broadcasting Union. Active members are those
   whose states fall within the European Broadcasting Area, or otherwise
   those who are members of the Council of Europe.

   The European Broadcasting Area is defined by the International
   Telecommunication Union:

          The "European Broadcasting Area" is bounded on the west by the
          western boundary of Region 1, on the east by the meridian 40°
          East of Greenwich and on the south by the parallel 30° North so
          as to include the western part of the USSR, the northern part of
          Saudi Arabia and that part of those countries bordering the
          Mediterranean within these limits. In addition, Iraq, Jordan and
          that part of the territory of Turkey lying outside the above
          limits are included in the European Broadcasting Area.

   The western boundary of "Region 1" is a line drawn west of Iceland down
   the centre of the Atlantic Ocean.

   Active members include broadcasting organisations whose transmissions
   are made available to (virtually) all of the population of the country
   in which they are based.

   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 2006, 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.

   It should be noted that eligibility to participate is not determined by
   geographic inclusion within the continent of Europe, despite the "Euro"
   in "Eurovision" – nor has it anything to do with the European Union.
   This explains the inclusion of Israel in the Contest, despite its not
   being a part of geographical or political Europe. In 1980, Morocco — a
   North African country — participated in the Contest.

   Forty-five countries have participated at least once. These are listed
   here alongside the year in which they made their debut:
   Map showing Song Contest participation since 1956: most countries in
   Europe have participated at least once. Click the map for a colour key.
   Enlarge
   Map showing Song Contest participation since 1956: most countries in
   Europe have participated at least once. Click the map for a colour key.
     * 1956 – Belgium, France, Germany †, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands,
       Switzerland
     * 1957 – Austria, Denmark, United Kingdom
     * 1958 – Sweden
     * 1959 – Monaco
     * 1960 – Norway
     * 1961 – Finland, Spain, Yugoslavia ‡
     * 1964 – Portugal
     * 1965 – Ireland
     * 1971 – Malta
     * 1973 – Israel
     * 1974 – Greece
     * 1975 – Turkey
     * 1980 – Morocco
     * 1981 – Cyprus
     * 1986 – Iceland
     * 1993 – Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia
     * 1994 – Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia,
       Slovakia
     * 1998 – FYR of Macedonia
     * 2000 – Latvia
     * 2003 – Ukraine
     * 2004 – Albania, Andorra, Belarus, Serbia & Montenegro
     * 2005 – Bulgaria, Moldova, (Lebanon)¹
     * 2006 – Armenia

   † Occasionally presented as " West Germany", before re-unification in
   1990.
   ‡ 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.
   ¹ Lebanon intended to participate in the 2005 contest, but withdrew
   because they refused to show the Israeli entry, and the rules state
   that participating countries must broadcast all songs.

Selection procedures

   Each country must submit one song to represent them in any given year
   they participate. The only exception to this was when each country
   submitted two songs in the inaugural Contest. There is a rule which
   forbids any song being entered which has been previously commercially
   released or broadcast in public before a certain date relative to the
   Contest in question. The purpose of this rule is to ensure that only
   new songs are entered into the Contest, and not existing successful
   songs of years gone by, which might give a country an unfair advantage
   due to the fact that the song is already known and popular.

   Countries may select their songs by any means they wish: whether it be
   an internal decision made by the participating broadcaster, or a public
   contest which allows the country's public to televote between several
   songs. The EBU encourages broadcasters to use the public competition
   format, as this generates more publicity for the Contest. These public
   selections are known as national finals.

   Some countries' national finals are as big — if not bigger — than the
   international Eurovision Song Contest itself, involving many songs
   being submitted to national public semi-finals. The Swedish national
   final, Melodifestivalen (literally, "The Melody Festival") includes 32
   songs being performed over four semi-finals, played to huge audiences
   in arenas around the country, before the final show in Stockholm. This
   has become the highest-rated programme of the year in Sweden by TV
   audience figures. In Spain, the reality show Operación Triunfo was
   inaugurated in 2002; the winner of which proceeded to represent the
   country at Eurovision.

   Whichever method is used to select the entry, the song's details must
   be finalised and submitted to the EBU before a deadline some weeks
   before the international Contest.

Hosting

   Most of the expense of the Contest is covered by event sponsors and
   contributions from the other participating nations. The Contest is
   considered a unique showcase for promoting the host country as a
   tourist destination. In the Summer of 2005, Ukraine abolished its
   normal visa requirements for tourists to coincide with its hosting of
   the Contest.
   Globen, Stockholm: host of Eurovision 2000.
   Enlarge
   Globen, Stockholm: host of Eurovision 2000.

   Preparations to host the Contest start a matter of weeks after a
   country wins, and confirms to the EBU that they intend to — and have
   the capacity to — host the event. A host city is chosen (usually the
   capital, but not always), and a suitable concert venue. The largest
   concert venue was a football stadium in Copenhagen, Parken, which held
   an audience of approximately 38,000 people when Denmark hosted the
   Contest in 2001. The smallest town in which the Contest has ever been
   held was Millstreet in County Cork, Ireland, which hosted the show in
   1993. The village had a population of 1,500 – although the Green Glens
   Arena venue held considerably more audience members.

   It is always a consideration, when choosing a host city and venue, what
   hotel and press facilities there are in the vicinity. 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. The impact that the
   Contest has on the host city is inversely proportional to its size: in
   Riga 2003, the city centre was virtually taken over by Eurovision
   delegates as they spent their week in the Latvian capital.

Eurovision Week

   The term "Eurovision Week" is used to refer to the week during which
   the Contest takes place. 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. This means, in turn, journalists and fans
   are also present during the preceding days, and the events of
   Eurovision last a lot longer than a few hours of television. 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.

   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.
   Members of the delegations include performers, lyricists, composers,
   official press officers and — if an orchestra is used that year, and if
   the song requires one — 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.

Rehearsals and Press Conferences

   Estonia rehearsing at the 2006 Contest.
   Enlarge
   Estonia rehearsing at the 2006 Contest.

   Traditionally, delegations would arrive on the Sunday before the
   Contest, in order to be present for rehearsals starting on the Monday
   morning. However, with the introduction of the semi-final — and
   therefore the resulting increase in the number of countries taking part
   — since 2004 the first rehearsals have commenced during the week before
   Eurovision Week. The countries taking part in the semi-final currently
   rehearse over four days from the first Thursday to the Sunday, with two
   rehearsal periods allowed for each country. The countries which have
   already directly qualified for the grand final rehearse on the Monday
   and Tuesday of Eurovision Week.
   Switzerland hosting a press conference at Eurovision 2006.
   Enlarge
   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. 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. 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.

   The Wednesday of Eurovision Week holds two full dress rehearsals of the
   semi-final; then one final dress rehearsal of the semi-final is held on
   the Thursday morning before the live show that evening. Once the grand
   final line-up is known, two dress rehearsals are held on the Friday,
   and then another last one on Saturday morning before the live
   transmission of the grand final on Saturday evening.

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.

   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.

   A Euroclub is held every night of the week; a Eurovision-themed
   nightclub, to which all accredited personnel are invited.

   During the week many delegations have traditionally hosted their own
   parties in addition to the officially-sponsored ones. However, in the
   new millennium the trend has been for the national delegations to
   centralise their activity and hold their celebrations in the Euroclub.

Voting

   The voting systems used in the Contest have changed throughout the
   years. The modern system has been in place since 1975, and is an
   adaptation of the Borda count. 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.

   Historically, a country's set of votes was decided by an internal jury,
   but in 1997 five countries (Austria, France, 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, 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 the
   televoting failure. Nowadays members of the public may also vote by
   SMS, in addition to televoting. Whichever method of voting is used —
   jury, telephone or SMS — it is not possible to vote for the same
   country from which the vote is cast; i.e. countries may not cast votes
   for their own songs.

Presentation of votes

   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. 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. Spokespeople may also give a short message to the hosts and
   organisers thanking them for the show before giving out their country's
   points, which has become somewhat of a tradition over the years.

   Votes are read out in ascending order, culminating with the maximum 12
   points. The scores are repeated by the Contest's presenters in English
   and French, which has given rise to the famous "douze points"
   exclamation when the host repeats the top score in French.

   From 1957 to 2003, countries were called in the same order in which the
   songs had been presented. Since 2004, the order of the countries'
   announcements of votes has changed – due to the presence of the
   semi-final, and the fact that non-participating countries could also
   vote. In 2004, the countries were called in alphabetical order
   (according to their ISO codes). 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. In 2006, a separate draw was held to
   determine the order in which countries would present their votes.

   From 1971 to 1973, each country sent two jurors, who were actually
   present at the Contest venue and announced their votes as the camera
   was trained on them. In 1973 one of the Swiss jurors decided that he
   should be the star of the show, and made a great show of presenting his
   votes with flamboyant gestures. This system was retired for the next
   year.

   In 1956 no public votes were presented: a closed jury simply announced
   that Switzerland had won. 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.

   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. In the
   2006 Contest, 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.

   The voting is presided over by the EBU scrutineer, who is responsible
   for ensuring that all points are allocated correctly and in turn. The
   scrutineer is notified in advance of the results of the last five
   countries in the running-order of voting, to ensure that no foul play
   can take place in the form of tactical voting; where for example a
   country could change its votes after seeing how the trend has gone
   before them on the scoreboard.

Ties for first place

   In 1969, a tie-break system had not yet been conceived, and four
   countries all tied for first place based on their total numbers of
   points: France, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Since
   there was no predetermined set of rules to decide the winner, all four
   countries were declared as winners. This caused much discontent among
   most of the non-winning countries, and mass-walkouts were threatened.
   Austria, Finland, Sweden, Norway 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.

   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 any points
   at all to each of the tied countries; and the one who received points
   from the most other 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 tied countries are
   jointly declared as the winners. The same tie-break rule is used if
   there is a tie for tenth place in the semi-final, or a tie in the final
   for the last automatic qualifying place for next year's final.

   As of 2006, 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 tie-break rules did not
   include counting the numbers of countries awarding any points at all to
   these countries, but went straight to 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 points,
   they were declared the winners.

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 rules

   In 1958 it was decided that from then on, the winning country would
   host the Contest the next year. 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 they had come
       second in 1959.
     * 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.
     * 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 their previous experience.
     * 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.
     * 1980 – hosted by NOS in The Hague when Israel declined due to
       expense, 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.

   The declinations due to expense were due to those broadcasters' already
   having hosted the Contest during the past couple of years.

   Since 1981, all Contests have been held in the country which won the
   previous year.

Live music rules

   All vocals must be sung live: no voices are permitted on backing
   tracks. 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.

   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.

   In 1999 the rules were amended to abolish the requirement by the host
   broadcaster to provide a live orchestra; although they could still do
   so if they chose. 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.

Language rules

   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.
   However, in 1966 a rule was imposed stating that the songs must be
   performed in one of the official languages of the country
   participating.

   The language restriction continued until 1973, when it was lifted and
   performers were again free to sing in any language they wished. Several
   winners in the mid-1970s took advantage of the newly-found freedom,
   with performers from non-native-English-speaking countries singing in
   English, including ABBA in 1974.

   In 1977, the EBU decided to revert to the national language
   restriction. However, special dispensation was given to Germany and
   Belgium as their national song selection procedures were already too
   advanced to change.

   In 1999, the rule was changed again to allow freedom of language once
   more. This linguistic freedom led to the Belgian entry in 2003, Sanomi,
   being sung in an entirely made-up language. In 2006 the Dutch entry,
   Amambanda, was sung partly in English and partly in a fictitious
   language.

Broadcasting rules

   Each participating broadcaster is required to broadcast the show in its
   entirety: including all songs, voting and reprise, skipping only the
   interval act for advertising breaks if they wish. 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.

Political recognition issues

   In 1978 when it became apparent during the later stages of the voting
   sequence that Israel was going to win the Contest, Jordanian television
   cut the broadcast and showed pictures of flowers. 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
   2^nd). 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 were 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.

Other notable rules

     * In the first Contest in 1956, there was no time limit on songs. In
       1957, a limit of 3½ minutes was recommended. In 1962, this was
       revised and imposed to 3 minutes precisely.
     * 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.
     * 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.
     * The performance and/or lyrics or a song "must not bring the Contest
       into disrepute".
     * All people on stage must be at least 16 years of age.

Expansion of the Contest

   Regular participants in 1992. "Yugoslavia" is coloured in red: 1992 was
   the last year in which that nation participated under one name.
   Enlarge
   Regular participants in 1992. "Yugoslavia" is coloured in red: 1992 was
   the last year in which that nation participated under one name.
   Regular participants in 1994. The addition of Central and Eastern
   European countries, and the separate ex-Yugoslavian states, makes a
   stark change from the participation map of 1992.
   Enlarge
   Regular participants in 1994. The addition of Central and Eastern
   European countries, and the separate ex-Yugoslavian states, makes a
   stark change from the participation map of 1992.

   The number of countries participating each year has steadily grown over
   the course of the years, from seven participants in 1956 to over 20 in
   the late 1980s. In 1993 there were 25 countries participating in the
   competition, including — for the first time that year —
   Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia, entering independently due to
   the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.

   Due to the fact that 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. In 2005 the programme was a little under 3½
   hours long. Following the introduction of the shortened voting
   announcements in 2006, the duration of the Contest was three hours and
   five minutes.

Pre-selections and Relegation

   Since 1993, 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 competition in any given year. 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. Also to be
   introduced that year was relegation. The six 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 also — for the first time —
   Lithuania, Poland and Russia.

   Relegation continued through 1994 and 1995; 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. Norway, as the host country in 1996 (having
   won the 1995 Contest), automatically qualified and was therefore
   excluded from the necessity of going through the pre-selection.

   One country which failed to qualify in the 1996 pre-selection was
   Germany. As one of the largest financial contributors to the EBU,
   together with having one of the largest television audiences in Europe,
   neither they nor the EBU were happy about their exclusion from the
   international final.

The "Big Four"

   Prompted by Germany's failure to qualify for the 1996 final, a new rule
   was made: From 2000 onwards, four particular countries would always
   qualify for the Eurovision final, regardless of their positions on the
   scoreboard in previous Contests. They earned this special status by
   being the four biggest financial contributors to the EBU (without which
   the production of the Eurovision Song Contest would not be possible).
   These countries are France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. Due
   to their "untouchable" status in the Contest, these countries became
   known as the "Big Four".

Qualification

   From 1997 to 2001, countries qualified for each Contest based on the
   average of their points totals for their entries over the previous five
   years. 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.

Semi-Final

   A qualification round, known as the semi-final, was introduced for the
   2004 Contest. 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. Since then,
   the semi-final programme has been held on the Thursday of Eurovision
   Week.

   The semi-final includes those countries whose ranking on the scoreboard
   the previous year was not high enough to ensure direct qualification
   for the final. As of 2006, it is necessary for a country to attain a
   place within the top ten of the final scoreboard to be assured of
   direct qualification for next year's grand final. The Big Four rule
   remains, so that France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom always
   automatically bypass the semi-final and are directly included in the
   grand final.

   Since the introduction of the semi-final, it has been possible for
   countries to vote even though they are not participating in the
   programme: for example it is possible for the United Kingdom to vote
   for countries in the semi-final even though they do not participate
   themselves; and a country in the semi-final, which fails to qualify for
   the final, may still vote for the other countries in the final on
   Saturday.

   After the votes have been cast in the semi-final, the countries which
   received the most votes — and will therefore proceed to the final on
   Saturday — are announced in no particular order. The announcement of
   the actual number of points these qualifiers received is withheld by
   the EBU until after the grand final, lest the news influence the result
   on Saturday through tactical voting or otherwise.

   The ten most highly-placed countries in the final are guaranteed a
   place in next year's final, without the need to participate in next
   year's semi. These ten positions exclude Big-Four countries; so that
   if, for example, Germany comes in the top ten, the 11^th-placed
   non-Big-Four country will automatically qualify for next year's final.

Winners

   Winning the Eurovision Song Contest provides a unique opportunity for
   the winning artist(s) to capitalise on their success and surrounding
   publicity by launching or furthering their international career.
   However, throughout the history of the Contest relatively few names
   have gone on to be huge international stars.

Winning artists

   The most notable winning Eurovision artists whose career was directly
   launched into the spotlight following their win were ABBA, who won the
   Contest for Sweden in 1974 with their song Waterloo. ABBA went on to be
   one of the most successful bands of their time.

   Another notable winner who subsequently achieved international fame and
   success was Céline Dion, who won the Contest for Switzerland in 1988
   with the song Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi. Céline's success, however, is not
   as directly attributed to her winning the Contest, as she achieved
   international fame some years later.

   Other artists who have achieved varying degrees of success after
   winning the Contest include France Gall ( Poupée De Cire, Poupée De
   Son, Luxembourg 1965), Lulu ( Boom Bang-a-Bang, United Kingdom 1969),
   Vicky Leandros ( Après Toi, Luxembourg 1972), Brotherhood Of Man ( Save
   Your Kisses For Me, United Kingdom 1976), 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), and
   Nicole ( Ein Bißchen Frieden, Germany 1982). Many other winners include
   well-known artists who won the Contest mid-career, after they had
   already established themselves as successful.

   Some artists, however, have vanished into relative obscurity, making
   little or no impact on the international music scene since their win.

Winning countries

   Ireland holds the record for the most number of wins, having won the
   Contest seven times – including three times in a row in the mid 1990s.
   In joint second place with five wins each are France, Luxembourg and
   the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom holds the best record at the
   Contest in terms of average scoreboard position; having finished in the
   top two in 21 out of 51 Contests (1956-2006).

   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.
   The last time Luxembourg entered the Contest was in 1993.

   The first years of the 21^st century produced a spate of first-time
   winners, from both "new" Eurovision countries, and old-timers who had
   entered for many years without a win. Every year from 2001 to 2006
   inclusive resulted in a country winning for the first time. 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 their second entry in 2004.

   As of 2006, the country which has entered the longest with no wins to
   their name is Portugal. They started entering in 1964, and are still
   awaiting their first win.

Criticisms

   The Contest has been the subject of much criticism over the years;
   regarding both its musical content, and the perception that it is more
   about politics than it is about music.

Musical style and presentation

   Due to the fact that the songs are playing to such a diverse
   international audience with diverse 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 historically have been middle-of-the-road
   pop. Deviations from this formula have rarely achieved success, leading
   to criticism that the music in the Contest is old-fashioned, and
   "bubblegum pop". This well-estabilished pattern, however, was notably
   broken in 2006 with Finnish hard rock band Lordi's landslide victory.
   As it is a visual show, many performances attempt to attract the
   attention of the voters through means other than the music, which
   sometimes leads to bizarre onstage gimmicks.

Political voting

   The Contest has long been perceived as a political institution, where
   judges — and now televoters — allocate points based on their nation's
   political relationship to the other countries, rather than on their
   opinions of the songs. An analysis of voting patterns does indeed show
   that certain countries tend to favour certain other countries with
   which they are politically aligned. Defenders of the Contest argue that
   the reason certain countries allocate disproportionately high points to
   others is because the people of those countries share similar musical
   taste and culture, speak similar languages, and are therefore more
   likely to appreciate each other's music: for example the explanation
   for Greece and Cyprus' frequent exchange of 12 points is because those
   countries share the same music industry and language, and artists who
   are popular in one country are popular in the other.

Spin-offs

   A number of spin-offs and imitators of the Eurovision Song Contest have
   been produced over the years:
     * Junior Eurovision Song Contest – held annually since 2003, for
       artists under the age of 16.
     * Sopot International Song Festival – held in Sopot, Poland,
       sporadically since 1961.
     * Intervision Song Contest – held by the Eastern bloc countries
       between 1977 and 1980.
     * World Oriental Music Festival – first held in Sarajevo in 2005;
       includes participants from Europe and Asia.
     * World Vision: An American Anthem – proposed competition based on
       the Eurovision format, bought by NBC from the EBU: the states of
       the USA would submit songs in a competition.

   In Autumn 2005, the EBU organised a special programme to celebrate the
   50^th 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 detemine the most popular
   Eurovision song of all-time, which was won by ABBA's Waterloo (winner,
   Sweden 1974).
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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