May 22, 2019

On Saturday, May 18, at the Expo Tel Aviv in Israel, Duncan Laurence of the Netherlands won the Eurovision Song Contest with his song “Arcade.” The soaring ballad narrowly won over songs by Italian, Russian, and Swiss artists in the contest’s Grand Final. Held every year since 1956, Eurovision is the world’s largest and longest-running annual television song competition. Laurence was the first entrant from the Netherlands to win since 1975, when the group Teach-In won for its Dutch-language song “Ding-a-dong.”

Duncan Laurence of the Netherlands lifts a bouquet and the glass microphone trophy after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel, on May 18, 2019. Credit: © EUPA-IMAGES/Shutterstock

This year’s Eurovision featured a performance by the United States megastar Madonna during the Grand Final “half-time,” but the five-day contest may be best remembered for a number of political protests. In 2018, Israeli singer Netti won for her song “Toy,” giving Israel hosting duties in 2019. The contest faced boycotts and protests because of the controversial policies of the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the occupied Palestinian territories. The most startling moment came during the Eurovision semifinals, when the live broadcast was hacked with a fake alert of a missile attack and animated images of explosions in Tel Aviv, the host city. Throughout the contest, Palestinian banners and flags crept into the show.

In the end, however, music ruled the day at Eurovision. Laurence’s simple piano performance won out over a number of elaborately staged productions (including fog machines, rockets, and even gravity-defying dances on flexible poles). An impressive showing by Tamara Todevska (8th place for her song “Proud”) reminded the viewing audience that the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is at last—as of 2019—simply North Macedonia.

Long before “American Idol,” “The Voice,” “The X Factor,” or even “Star Search,” there was Eurovision. The show began as the “Eurovision Grand Prix” in 1956 and became the “Eurovision Song Contest” in 1968. Each year, primarily European countries submit one entry—one artist with one new and original song—to the Eurovision contest. Despite the great variety of nations participating, most songs are in English. The songs are each performed live—often with elaborate stage shows—and votes from the television audience are combined with those of a professional international jury to gradually narrow the competition to the Grand Final round. The final songs are then performed, and voting determines the overall winner, who performs again and receives the glass microphone trophy. This year’s competition began with 41 national entries; 26 took part in the Grand Final. Each year’s winning nation hosts the following year’s contest.

More than 50 nations have participated in Eurovision. All active members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) can take part in the contest. The EBU is a professional association of national broadcasters that negotiates and advocates on behalf of public broadcasters in Europe. The EBU also includes numerous non-European nations. It operates the Eurovision network, the world’s largest provider of international sports and news broadcasts.

The Swedish group ABBA’s superstardom began with the 1974 Eurovision contest, and the show kick-started the career of the French-Canadian star Céline Dion (singing for Switzerland) in 1988. Other Eurovision winners have included the French singer France Gall (1965) and the British group Katrina and the Waves (1987). In 1958, Italy’s Domenico Modugno placed third at Eurovision with his song “Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu,” better known as “Volare” (made famous by the American singer Dean Martin). In 1994, Eurovision first presented the Irish dance production Riverdance to international audiences. Ireland has won Eurovision seven times, more than any other country.

May 15, 2018

On Saturday, May 12, Israel’s Netta Barzilai (usually simply called “Netta”) won the Eurovision Song Contest with her song “Toy.” The attention-grabbing anthem features Netta’s versatile voice clicking and chicken clucking into a boisterous dance song that carries a strong statement for female independence and against sexual exploitation and harassment—a direct result of the related Me Too movement. Netta is the first Israeli to win the hugely popular European contest since 1998, when pop singer Dana International took top prize with the song “Diva.” Greek-Albanian star Eleni Foureira, who represented Cyprus with the song “Fuego,” took second place this year just behind Netta. Cesár Sampson of Austria finished third with “Nobody but You.”

Netta raises the glass microphone trophy at the close of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon, Portugal. Credit: Wouter van Vliet, EuroVisionary (licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

Held every year since 1956, Eurovision is the world’s largest and longest-running annual television song competition. This year’s contest took place at Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal. Each year’s winning nation hosts the following year’s contest. In 2017, Portuguese singer Salvador Sobral won Eurovision with the song “Amar Pelos Dois” (Love for Both of Us).

Long before “American Idol,” “The Voice,” “The X Factor,” or even “Star Search,” there was Eurovision. The show began as the “Eurovision Grand Prix” in 1956 and became the “Eurovision Song Contest” in 1968. Each year, primarily European countries submit one entry—one artist with one new and original song—to the Eurovision contest. Despite the great variety of nations participating, most songs are in English. The songs are each performed live—often with elaborate stage shows—and votes from the television audience are combined with those of a professional international jury to gradually narrow the competition to the “Grand Final” round. The final songs are then performed, and voting determines the overall winner, who performs again and receives the “glass microphone” trophy. This year’s competition began with 43 national entries; 26 took part in the Grand Final.

More than 50 nations have participated in Eurovision. All active members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) can take part in the contest. The EBU is a professional association of national broadcasters that negotiates and advocates on behalf of public broadcasters in Europe. The EBU also includes numerous non-European nations. It operates the Eurovision network, the world’s largest provider of international sports and news broadcasts.

Swedish group ABBA’s superstardom began with the 1974 Eurovision contest, and the show kick-started the career of French-Canadian star Céline Dion (singing for Switzerland) in 1988. Other Eurovision winners have included French singer France Gall (1965) and the British group Katrina and the Waves (1987). In 1958, Italy’s Domenico Modugno placed third at Eurovision with his song “Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu,” better known as “Volare” (made famous by American singer Dean Martin). In 1994, Eurovision first presented the Irish dance production Riverdance to international audiences. Ireland has won Eurovision seven times, more than any other country.

May 16, 2017

On Saturday, May 13, Portugal’s Salvador Sobral won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song, “Amar Pelos Dois” (Love for Both of Us). The Portuguese-language ballad was written by Sobral’s sister, Luisa. Sobral is the first Portuguese artist to win the the hugely popular European contest. Held every year since 1956, Eurovision is the world’s largest and longest-running annual television song competition. This year’s contest took place at the International Exhibition Centre in Kiev, Ukraine. Each year’s winning nation hosts the following year’s contest. In 2016, Ukrainian singer Jamala won Eurovision with her song, “1944.”

Portuguese artist Salvador Sobral performs the Eurovision-winning ballad, “Amar Pelos Dois,” at the Internatinal Exhibition Centre in Kiev, Ukraine, on May 13, 2017. Credit: © Review News/Shutterstock

Long before “American Idol,” “The Voice,” “The X Factor,” or even “Star Search,” there was Eurovision. The show began as the “Eurovision Grand Prix” in 1956 and became the “Eurovision Song Contest” in 1968. Each year, primarily European countries submit one entry—one artist with one new and original song—to the Eurovision contest. Despite the great variety of nations participating, most songs are in English. The songs are each performed live—often with elaborate stage shows—and votes from the television audience are combined with those of a professional international jury to gradually narrow the competition to the “Grand Final” round. The final songs are then performed and voting determines the overall winner, who performs again and receives the “glass microphone” trophy. This year’s competition began with 42 national entries; 26 took part in the Grand Final.

Conchita Wurst, representing Austria, won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The televised annual singing competition began in 1956 and is the largest music competition in the world. Credit: © AP Photo

More than 50 nations have participated in Eurovision. All active members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) can take part in the contest. The EBU is a professional association of national broadcasters that negotiates and advocates on behalf of public broadcasters in Europe. The EBU also includes numerous non-European nations. It operates the Eurovision network, the world’s largest provider of international sports and news broadcasts.

Swedish group ABBA’s superstardom began with the 1974 Eurovision contest, and the show kick-started the career of French-Canadian star Céline Dion (singing for Switzerland) in 1988. Other Eurovision winners have included French singer France Gall (1965) and the British group Katrina and the Waves (1987). In 1958, Italy’s Domenico Modugno placed third at Eurovision with his song, “Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu,” better known as “Volare” (made famous by American singer Dean Martin). In 1994, Eurovision first presented the Irish dance production Riverdance to international audiences. Ireland has won Eurovision seven times, more than any other country.