71 songs written by 147 songwriters have won the Eurovision Song Contest, an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union. The contest, which has been broadcast every year since its debut in 1956 (with the exception of 2020), is one of the longest-running television programmes in the world. The contest's winner has been determined using numerous voting techniques throughout its history; centre to these have been the awarding of points to countries by juries or televoters. The country awarded the most points is declared the winner. [1] The first Eurovision Song Contest was not won on points, but by votes (two per country), and only the winner was announced. [2]
There have been 68 contests, with one winner each year except for the tied 1969 contest, which had four. 27 countries have won the contest, with Switzerland winning the first contest in 1956. The countries with the highest number of wins are Ireland and Sweden with seven wins each. Two people have won more than once as a performer: Ireland's Johnny Logan, who performed "What's Another Year" in 1980 and "Hold Me Now" in 1987, and Sweden's Loreen, who performed "Euphoria" in 2012 and "Tattoo" in 2023. Logan is also one of seven songwriters to have written more than one winning entry ("Hold Me Now" in 1987 and "Why Me?" in 1992, performed by Linda Martin), [3] and is the only person to have three Eurovision victories to their credit, as either singer, songwriter or both. The other six songwriters with more than one winning entry to their credit are Willy van Hemert (Netherlands, 1957 and 1959), Yves Dessca (Monaco, 1971 and Luxembourg, 1972), Rolf Løvland (Norway, 1985 and 1995), Brendan Graham (Ireland, 1994 and 1996), and Thomas G:son and Peter Boström (both for Sweden's entries in 2012 and 2023).
Relatively few winners of the Eurovision Song Contest have gone on to achieve major success in the music industry. The most notable winners who have gone on to become international stars are ABBA, who won the 1974 contest for Sweden with their song "Waterloo", [4] and Céline Dion, who won the 1988 contest for Switzerland with the song " Ne partez pas sans moi ". [5] More recently, Duncan Laurence, who won the 2019 contest for the Netherlands with "Arcade", experienced worldwide streaming success with the song as a sleeper hit throughout 2020 and 2021, [6] while Måneskin, winners of the 2021 contest for Italy with " Zitti e buoni ", subsequently achieved worldwide popularity in the months following their victory. [7]
Since 2008, the winner has been awarded an official winner's trophy of the Eurovision Song Contest. The trophy is a handmade piece of sandblasted glass in the shape of a 1950s microphone. [8] The songwriters and composers of the winning entry receive smaller versions of the trophy. The original design was created by Kjell Engman of Kosta Boda, who specialises in glass art. [9]
The following individuals have won the Eurovision Song Contest as a performer or songwriter more than once.
Wins | Name | Wins as performer | Wins as songwriter |
---|---|---|---|
3 | Johnny Logan | 1980, 1987 | 1987, 1992 |
2 | Willy van Hemert | — | 1957, 1959 |
Yves Dessca | — | 1971, 1972 | |
Rolf Løvland | 1995 | 1985, 1995 | |
Brendan Graham | — | 1994, 1996 | |
Loreen | 2012, 2023 | 2023 | |
Peter Boström | — | 2012, 2023 | |
Thomas G:son | — |
Eleven Eurovision winners (alongside three non-winners) were featured at the special concert Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005, in which ABBA's "Waterloo" was voted the most popular song of the contest's first fifty years. [82]
Ireland and Sweden have won seven times, more than any other country. Ireland also won the contest for three consecutive years (1992, 1993, 1994), the only country to ever do so. Three countries have won twice in a row: Spain (1968 and 1969), Luxembourg (1972 and 1973) and Israel (1978 and 1979). Serbia is the only country to win with its debut entry (in 2007), although Serbia had competed previously as part of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro. By contrast, Portugal holds the record for waiting the longest to achieve their first win, doing so in 2017; 53 years after their first appearance in the contest. Austria holds the record for longest wait in between wins, having won for the first time in 1966 and a second time in 2014. Under the voting system used between 1975 and 2015, the winner of the contest was decided by the final voting nation on eleven occasions. [N 1]
Changes to the voting system, including a steady growth in the number of countries participating and voting, means that the points earned are not comparable across the decades. Portugal's Salvador Sobral holds the record of the highest number of points in the contest's history, earning 758 with the song "Amar pelos dois". Norway's Alexander Rybak holds the largest margin of victory in absolute points, a 169-point cushion over second place in 2009. Italy's Gigliola Cinquetti holds the record for largest victory by percentage, scoring almost three times as many as second place (49 points compared with 17 by the runner-up) in the 1964 contest. The lowest winning score is the 18 points (of the 160 total votes cast by 16 countries) scored by each of the four winning countries in 1969.
Under the voting system used from 1975 until 2015, in which each country gives maximum points to its first place choice, Sweden's Loreen won the 2012 contest with the most ever first place votes earned, receiving first place votes from 18 of 41 countries (excluding themselves). The 1976 winner for the United Kingdom, Brotherhood of Man, holds the record of the highest average score per participating country, with an average of 9.65 points received per country. 2011 Azerbaijani winners Ell and Nikki hold the lowest average score for a winning song under that system, receiving 5.14 points per country.
Around two-thirds of the winning songs were performed in the second half of the final. According to the official statistics, until 2019, only 34.3% of the winning songs were performed in the first half, including 3 of the 4 winners in 1969. The only song to win without being clearly in one half or the other was the Israeli entry "Hallelujah" in 1979, which was drawn 10th out of 19 songs. Between 2005 and 2013, all the winning songs were performed in the second half of the final's running order. [83]
The United Kingdom has finished second sixteen times at Eurovision (most recently in 2022), more than any other country. France has finished third and fourth eight times at Eurovision (most recently respectively in 1981 and in 2024), and Sweden has finished fifth nine times at Eurovision (most recently in 2019). The country with the most top three places that has never won the contest is Malta, having finished second in 2002 and 2005 and third in 1992 and 1998. Another island nation, Iceland, has also finished second twice, in 1999 and 2009. With Portugal achieving its first win in 2017, Malta now also holds the record for longest wait for a first win, having first entered the contest in 1971 (although Cyprus has more winless appearances, with 36 since debuting in 1981, due to Malta taking a break from 1976 through 1990). Spain holds the current record for longest drought by a winning country, having last won in 1969. They are followed by France (1977) and Belgium (1986).
There is no official runner-up for two of the contests – 1956 and 1969. In 1956 only the winner, Switzerland, was announced, whilst there were speculative reports that Germany ended up in second place with "Im Wartesaal zum großen Glück" by Walter Andreas Schwarz,[ citation needed ] given that Germany was chosen to host the 1957 contest. In 1969, four songs shared first place by achieving the same number of points; fifth place was achieved by Switzerland, which is not considered an official runner-up, because of the draw for first place.
Since the reintroduction of the juries alongside televoting in 2009, both the jury and the televote have agreed on the winner on only six occasions: in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2017. Two winners have won without placing first in either area: Ukraine's Jamala in 2016, who finished second in the jury vote behind Australia and second in the televote behind Russia, and the Netherlands' Duncan Laurence in 2019, who placed third behind North Macedonia and Sweden in the jury vote, and second behind Norway in the televote.
Sweden won both the combined vote and jury vote in 2015 and 2023, represented by Måns Zelmerlöw and Loreen (the latter of whom had also won in 2012), respectively. However, in the televote, Sweden came third behind Italy and Russia in 2015, and second behind Finland in 2023. Switzerland's Nemo won the combined vote and jury vote in 2024, but placed fifth in the televote behind Croatia, Israel, Ukraine and France.
Azerbaijan's Ell and Nikki in 2011, Israel's Netta in 2018, Italy's Måneskin in 2021 and Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra in 2022 all won both the combined vote and televote. However, in the jury vote, Azerbaijan came second behind Italy in 2011, Israel came third behind Austria and Sweden in 2018, Italy came fourth behind Switzerland, France and Malta in 2021, and Ukraine came fourth behind the United Kingdom, Sweden and Spain in 2022. [84]
Year | Country | Jury place | Televote place | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | Norway | 1st | 1st | [85] |
2010 | Germany | 1st | 1st | [86] |
2011 | Azerbaijan | 2nd | 1st | [87] |
2012 | Sweden | 1st | 1st | [88] |
2013 | Denmark | 1st | 1st | [89] |
2014 | Austria | 1st | 1st | [90] |
2015 | Sweden | 1st | 3rd | [91] |
2016 | Ukraine | 2nd | 2nd | [92] |
2017 | Portugal | 1st | 1st | [93] |
2018 | Israel | 3rd | 1st | [94] |
2019 | Netherlands | 3rd | 2nd | [95] |
2021 | Italy | 4th | 1st | [96] |
2022 | Ukraine | 4th | 1st | [97] |
2023 | Sweden | 1st | 2nd | [98] |
2024 | Switzerland | 1st | 5th | [99] |
The first repeat winner was the Netherlands, completed in 1959. France was the first country to win three times (completed in 1962), four times (completed in 1969), and five times (completed in 1977). Ireland was the first country to win six times (completed in 1994) and seven times (completed in 1996). The first country to win two consecutive contests was Spain, from 1968 to 1969. The first country to win three consecutive contests was Ireland, from 1992 to 1994.
† | Inactive –countries which participated in the past but did not appear in the most recent contest, and have not announced their appearance in the upcoming contest |
◇ | Ineligible –countries whose broadcasters are no longer part of the EBU and are therefore ineligible to participate |
‡ | Former –countries which previously participated but no longer exist |
Wins | Country | Years | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
7 | Ireland | 1970, 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 | [100] |
Sweden | 1974, 1984, 1991, 1999, 2012, 2015, 2023 | [101] | |
5 | France | 1958, 1960, 1962, 1969 , 1977 | [102] |
Luxembourg | 1961, 1965, 1972, 1973, 1983 | [103] | |
United Kingdom | 1967, 1969 , 1976, 1981, 1997 | [104] | |
Netherlands | 1957, 1959, 1969 , 1975, 2019 | [105] | |
4 | Israel | 1978, 1979, 1998, 2018 | [106] |
3 | Norway | 1985, 1995, 2009 | [107] |
Denmark | 1963, 2000, 2013 | [108] | |
Italy | 1964, 1990, 2021 | [109] | |
Ukraine | 2004, 2016, 2022 | [110] | |
Switzerland | 1956, 1988, 2024 | [111] | |
2 | Spain | 1968, 1969 | [112] |
Germany | 1982, 2010 | [113] | |
Austria | 1966, 2014 | [114] | |
1 | Monaco † | 1971 | [115] |
Belgium | 1986 | [116] | |
Yugoslavia ‡ | 1989 | [117] | |
Estonia | 2001 | [118] | |
Latvia | 2002 | [119] | |
Turkey † | 2003 | [120] | |
Greece | 2005 | [121] | |
Finland | 2006 | [122] | |
Serbia | 2007 | [123] | |
Russia ◇ | 2008 | [124] | |
Azerbaijan | 2011 | [125] | |
Portugal | 2017 | [126] |
1969 is in italics to indicate the joint (four-way) win.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1999 was the 44th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 29 May 1999 at the International Convention Centre in Jerusalem, Israel. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), the contest was held in the country following its victory at the 1998 contest with the song "Diva" by Dana International, and was presented by Dafna Dekel, Yigal Ravid and Sigal Shachmon.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1997 was the 42nd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on 3 May 1997 at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) and presented by Carrie Crowley and Ronan Keating, the contest was held in Ireland following the country's victory at the 1996 contest with the song "The Voice" by Eimear Quinn. The 1997 contest was the seventh – and to date last – edition to be staged in Ireland, as well as the fourth to be produced by RTÉ in five years. The Point Theatre served as the host venue for the third time, following the 1994 and 1995 contests, becoming the only venue to have been the site of three Eurovision Song Contests.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest is an international song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) annually since 2003.
The winner of the Eurovision Song Contest is selected by a positional voting system. The most recent system was implemented in the 2023 contest. Each participating country is awarded two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points, based on their ten favourite songs. One set of picks from their professional jury, and the other from televoting. Only televoting is used in the semi-finals. Both jury and televoting is used in the final.
A detailed set of rules and obligations, which all participating broadcasters and participants in the annual Eurovision Song Contest must uphold, is produced annually ahead of each edition of the international song contest. These rules are drafted by the contest organisers, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), and approved by the contest's Reference Group, and typically outline which songs may be deemed eligible for entry; the format of the contest; the voting system employed to select a contest winner and how the results of this vote are presented to the televised audience; the overall values of the contest; and distribution and broadcasting rights through television, radio and streaming services.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "My Impossible Dream" written by Robert D. Fisher and Bruce Smith. The song was performed by Glennis Grace. The Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) organised the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2005 in collaboration with broadcaster Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (TROS) in order to select the Dutch entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. 24 entries competed in the national final which consisted of five shows: four semi-finals and a final. Six entries competed in each semi-final with three advancing: two entries selected based on a public vote and one entry selected by a three-member jury panel. Twelve entries qualified from to compete in the final on 13 February 2005 where "My Impossible Dream" performed by Glennis Grace was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from three jury panels and a public vote.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "Without You" written by Ed van Otterdijk and Angeline van Otterdijk. The song was performed by the duo Re-union. The Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) organised the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2004 in collaboration with broadcaster Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (TROS) in order to select the Dutch entry for the 2004 contest in Istanbul, Turkey. 24 entries competed in the national final which consisted of six shows: four semi-finals, a wildcard round and a final. Ten entries qualified from to compete in the final on 22 February 2004 where "Without You" performed by Re-union was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public vote.
Greece competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001, held on 12 May 2001 at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Greek broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) organised a public selection process entitled Ellinikós Telikós 2001 to determine its entry for the contest. Held on 6 March 2001 in Athens, the event saw nine songs compete to be the Greek entry; the results were determined by a combination of jury and televoting. The song "Die for You", written by Nikos Terzis and Antonis Pappas, and performed by Antique received the most votes and was selected to represent the nation. Greece performed 22nd out of the 23 countries competing in the contest and placed third with 147 points, marking their highest placement in the annual event to this point.
Belgium participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Dis oui" written by Philippe Swan. The song was performed by Mélanie Cohl. The Walloon broadcaster Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française (RTBF) returned to the Eurovision Song Contest after a one-year absence following their relegation from 1997 as one of the six countries with the least average points over the preceding four contests. The Belgian entry for the 1998 contest in Birmingham, United Kingdom was selected through the national final Finale Nationale Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1998, organised by RTBF. In the final on 13 March 1998 which featured ten competing entries, "Dis oui" performed by Mélanie Cohl was selected as the winner solely by public televoting, receiving 15,424 votes.
Slovenia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with the song "Samo ljubezen" written by Robert Pešut and Barbara Pešut. The song was performed by the drag act Sestre. Slovenian broadcaster Radiotelevizija Slovenija organised the national final EMA 2002 in order to select the Slovenian entry for the 2002 contest in Tallinn, Estonia. 18 entries competed in the national final which consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final. Entries were selected to advance from the semi-final based on a public televote and a jury panel. Ten entries qualified to compete in the final where "Samo ljubezen" performed by Sestre was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from two thematical juries.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the 2014 contest with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), the contest was held at the Hall D of the Wiener Stadthalle and consisted of two semi-finals on 19 and 21 May, and a final on 23 May 2015. The three live shows were presented by Austrian television presenters Mirjam Weichselbraun, Alice Tumler and Arabella Kiesbauer, while the previous edition's winner Conchita Wurst acted as the green room host.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song "Out on My Own" written by Dirk-Jan Vermeij and André Remkes. The song was performed by Michelle. The Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) organised the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2001 in order to select the Dutch entry for the 2001 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. Six entries competed in the national final on 3 March 2001 where "Out on My Own" performed by Michelle was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from three jury panels and a public vote.
Latvia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "My Star" by band Brainstorm. The song was written by band's lead singer Renārs Kaupers. The Latvian broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) organised the national final Eirodziesma 2000 in order to select the Latvian entry for the 2000 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Ten songs were selected to compete in the national final on 26 February 2000 where a public televote and a fourteen-member jury panel selected "My Star" performed by Brainstorm as the winner.
Portugal participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 with the song "Antes do adeus" written by Thilo Krasmann and Rosa Lobato de Faria. The song was performed by Célia Lawson. The Portuguese broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) organised the national final Festival da Canção1997 in order to select the Portuguese entry for the 1997 contest in Dublin, Ireland. After five semi-finals and a final which took place between January and March 1997, "Antes do adeus" performed by Célia Lawson emerged as the winner after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from 20 regional juries and a public televote.
Malta competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001, held on 12 May 2001 at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Maltese entry was selected through the Malta Song for Europe contest, where the winner was Fabrizio Faniello with the song "Another Summer Night". Malta performed 21st out of the 23 countries competing in the contest and placed ninth with 48 points.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Outlaw in 'Em" written by Waylon, Ilya Toshinsky and Jim Beavers. The song is performed by Waylon, who was internally selected by the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS to represent the Netherlands at the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal. Waylon's appointment as the Dutch representative was announced on 9 November 2017. Five potential songs were presented to the public between 23 February and 1 March 2018 during the Dutch talk show De Wereld Draait Door, and the selected song, "Outlaw in 'Em", was announced on 2 March 2018.
Montenegro participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Heaven" written by Dejan Božović and Adis Eminić. The song was performed by the group D mol. The Montenegrin broadcaster Radio i televizija Crne Gore (RTCG) organised the national final Montevizija 2019 in order to select the Montenegrin entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. Five entries competed in the national final on 9 February 2019 where the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the top two entries advanced to the superfinal following the combination of the votes of an international jury, a Montenegrin jury, a radio jury and public televoting. In the superfinal, "Heaven" performed by D-moll was selected as the winner entirely by a public televote, gaining 62% of the votes. The group was later renamed as D mol for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Italy participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. Italian broadcaster RAI announced in October 2020 that the winning performer(s) of the Sanremo Music Festival 2021, later turning out to be Måneskin with "Zitti e buoni", would earn the right to represent the nation at the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Måneskin eventually became the sixty-eighth winner of the Eurovision Song Contest and the first Italian entry to win the contest in 31 years. Italy received a total of 524 points, winning the public vote with 318 points and coming at fourth place in the jury vote with 206 points.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Liverpool, United Kingdom, as Ukraine, the winner of the 2022 contest with the song "Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra, was unable to host the event due to the Russian invasion of the country. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) acting as host broadcaster on behalf of the Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC). The contest was held at Liverpool Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 9 and 11 May and a final on 13 May 2023. The three live shows were presented by British singer Alesha Dixon, British actress Hannah Waddingham, and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina, with Irish television presenter Graham Norton joining for the final.
Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, with the song "Sekret" performed by Ronela Hajati. Its entry was selected through the national selection competition Festivali i Këngës organised by Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) in December 2021. To this point, the nation had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 17 times since its first entry in 2004. Albania was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 10 May 2022. The nation failed to qualify for the final, placing 12th and scoring 58 points, marking their eighth non-qualification.