What is the Eurovision Song Contest?
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual international song competition in which countries, mostly from Europe, each send an original song. Viewers and juries vote to choose the winner.
Eurovision was first held in 1956 in Lugano, Switzerland, with seven countries. It was created by the European Broadcasting Union to bring nations together after World War II through a shared television event. Today, around 35 to 40 countries usually take part, including some outside Europe, such as Israel and Australia.
Each country performs one song, which must be no longer than three minutes, with no more than six people on stage. Semi-finals decide most of the countries in the final. Points come from national juries and public televotes. The winning country usually hosts the next year's contest.
Famous winners and fans
ABBA launched their international career by winning for Sweden in 1974 with Waterloo, and Céline Dion won for Switzerland in 1988. Eurovision is famous for its spectacular staging and passionate fans and attracts well over 100 million viewers. Bulgaria won the 2026 contest in Vienna.
Did You Know?
Australia has competed in Eurovision since 2015, even though it is on the other side of the world, because of the contest's huge popularity there.