Eurovision arrived in 1956 with a music competition format consisting of performances of original songs – one song per participating country – which are evaluated by a committee and also with public participation in the popular vote phase.
In addition to all European countries, the contest is open to all countries participating in the European Broadcasting Union, which includes countries from the Middle East and North Africa. Furthermore, in the 60th edition of Eurovision, Australia entered as a guest country, but what was intended to be a special participation became a permanent part of the competition.
One of the oldest contests in the world.
Eurovision is not the oldest music contest in the world only because the Sanremo Festival, which started in 1951, remains strong in Italy; in fact, it is the festival that determines the Italian participant in Eurovision.
But how does a competition like this last so long? The European competition is funded annually through a fee paid by each broadcaster responsible for its worldwide transmission. This is all added to an investment from the host broadcaster, the host city, sponsorship revenue, ticket sales, and promotional materials.
Editions that marked an era.
Held annually, except for 2020 due to the pandemic, Eurovision travels to the winning countries, which then host the following edition and welcome new musical stars. But do you know who has already graced the Eurovision stage? Want to take a guess?
Celine Dion, ABBA, Julio Iglesias, and Olivia Newton-John are just a few examples of big names who have performed at Eurovision. Oh, and before you ask... "But were they all born in the participating countries?!" The competition rules never required that the artist be born in the country they were representing.
Each country has its own way of selecting the artist to participate in Eurovision; a good way to understand how this choice can happen is through the film released by Netflix: Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Sigrit and Lars.
The film was released in 2020 as a way to fill the void left by the canceled edition and shows everything that makes Eurovision what it is: rehearsals and performances full of pomp and circumstance, lots of singing, and special appearances by artists who have left their mark, such as Conchita Wurst and Netta Barzilai.
A hit-making machine
After reading about some of the names of musicians who have participated in Eurovision, it's easy to understand that the competition is a great boost to a musician's career. A good current example is the band... Maneskin, winner of the 2021 edition held in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The Italian band won the Eurovision trophy with the song Zitti e Buoni and has since conquered the world and become a trending topic on TikTok and Instagram. Participating in competitions is part of the band's history, which began on The X Factor Italy, where they finished in second place.
Things are going so well for the band that songs from their reality show days are getting hits. positions on the Billboard chartsThe cover of "Beggin'", a single by the winning band, went viral and has already amassed over 371 videos on Instagram Reels using the song's audio. And that wasn't the only song by the band that went viral; "I Wanna Be Your Slave" has 28,6 videos on the social network.
Have you heard any of these songs before? Were you familiar with Eurovision? Tell us all about it in the comments! Oh, and to get you even more in the mood for the music competition, come listen to this playlist with us!
