The Best Episodes of Eurovision Song Contest

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1. #1 Fan Favorite
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   6.2/10(4 votes)

   #1 - Grand Prix of the 1957 Eurovision Song Contest

   S2:E13/3/1957

   The 1957 Eurovision Song Contest was hosted by the Hessischer Rundfunk on behalf of Deutsches Fernsehen ARD. Austria, Denmark and the United Kingdom entered the contest for the first time, joining the other seven participating countries from the previous year. Despite the fact that an increasing number of Europeans had access to television, the contest was still mainly a radio programme at this time. In a change to the contest the year before, duos were allowed into the competition. Danish duo Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler shocked the audience with their passionate on-screen kiss, the longest in the history of the contest. Germany's entry, performed by Margot Hielscher featured a telephone during the performance, the first gimmick to appear at the Eurovision Song Contest.

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2. 

   6.0/10(5 votes)

   #2 - Semi-Final 1

   S67:E15/9/2023

   The First Semi-Final opened with host Julia Sanina performing part of 'Маяк' by her band, The Hardkiss. The interval featured global superstar Rita Ora, who delivered a medley of some of her biggest hits and her then-new single, 'Praising You'. Ukrainian singer Alyosha, who represented Ukraine at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, performed alongside Liverpool's acclaimed singer-songwriter, Rebecca Ferguson. Alyosha, who was forced to leave her country as a refugee in 2022, shared her personal journey through a new, haunting arrangement of Duran Duran’s song, 'Ordinary World'.

   Directors:Richard Valentine, Nikki Parsons

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3. 

   5.8/10(6 votes)

   #3 - Final

   S67:E35/13/2023

   The 67th Eurovision Song Contest took place in Liverpool, where the BBC hosted on behalf of Ukraine under the slogan 'United By Music'. The event expressed solidarity with Ukraine, culminating in an emotional performance of 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. Sweden's Loreen became the first woman to win the contest twice with her song 'Tattoo'. In second place, Finland's Käärijä won the public vote with 'Cha Cha Cha', while Noa Kirel of Israel finished third. Hosted by a team including Alesha Dixon, Graham Norton, and Hannah Waddingham, the Grand Final opened with a performance from 2022 winners Kalush Orchestra. The flag parade featured iconic past Ukrainian contestants, and interval acts included the UK's Sam Ryder and 'The Liverpool Songbook'—a tribute featuring past Eurovision stars like Mahmood, Netta, and Duncan Laurence.

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4. 

   5.4/10(5 votes)

   #4 - Final

   S62:E35/13/2017

   The 2017 Eurovision Song Contest took place in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. The right to host came after Jamala won the 2016 edition in Stockholm with her song '1944'. It was Kyiv's second time hosting the main contest, having previously done so in 2005. 42 countries competed, including Romania and Portugal, who returned to the competition after a year’s absence. The contest was a special one for Austria, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, which all celebrated the 60th anniversary of their first participation in 1957. Kyiv was announced as the host city after a competitive bid process against five other cities. The decision was made to stage the contest at the International Exhibition Centre, which had a capacity of up to 11,000 spectators.

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5. 

   5.4/10(5 votes)

   #5 - Semi-final 1

   S63:E15/8/2018

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6. 

   5.4/10(5 votes)

   #6 - Semi-final 2

   S63:E25/10/2018

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7. 

   5.3/10(6 votes)

   #7 - Grand Final

   S65:E35/22/2021

   Following the cancellation of the 2020 contest due to the COVID-19 crisis, the Eurovision Song Contest returned in 2021, hosted in Rotterdam. Extensive preparations ensured the show went on with a limited audience and contingency plans, such as pre-recorded 'Live-on-Tape' performances for all artists. These measures were put to the test. Australia, unable to travel, was the only country to use its taped performance. Iceland's rehearsal footage was used for their live show appearances after a delegation member tested positive for COVID-19; the group still finished in 4th place. Italian alt-rock band Måneskin won with their song 'Zitti E Buoni', which became a global streaming hit. The contest's return was a huge success, attracting 183 million viewers and achieving massive online engagement, particularly with younger audiences. The slogan from the cancelled 2020 event, #OpenUp, was carried over.

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8. 

   5.2/10(5 votes)

   #8 - Semi Final 2

   S65:E25/20/2021

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9. 

   5.2/10(5 votes)

   #9 - Semi-Final 2

   S67:E25/11/2023

   In the Second Semi-Final, the theme “Music Unites Generations” explored the connection between Ukrainian generations and their music. Mariya Yaremchuk, who represented Ukraine in 2014, led a montage of some of the country's most well-known musical pieces. The performance travelled through time and ended with a collaborative performance from rapper OTOY, 14-year-old Junior Eurovision representative Zlata Dziunka, and Mariya, showing that music is the light that overcomes darkness. Another interval act, a performance called “Be Who You Wanna Be”, celebrated how Eurovision was a place for everyone. Three extraordinary drag performers led a high-energy pop routine with a troupe of dancers. They represented the huge spectrum of fans—regardless of age, nationality, or background—who revelled in being part of the contest. The medley of songs and incredible staging made it a performance to be remembered.

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10. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #10 - Grand Prix of the 1956 Eurovision Song Contest

    S1:E15/24/1956

    Inspired by the Italian Sanremo Festival, the idea to organise a pan-European musicial competition was born at a meeting of the European Broadcasting Union in Monaco in 1955. It was decided that the first ever Eurovision Song Contest would be hosted the following year in the Swiss resort of Lugano. The 1956 Eurovision Song Contest was primarily a radio show, although some cameras were taping the contest for the few Europeans who had a television set at that time. Lohengrin Filipello hosted the programme, which lasted 1 hour and 40 minutes. The seven participating countries each submitted two entries. The songs of the contest were not to exceed three and a half minutes, and the performers were accompanied by an orchestra of 24 musicians, led by Fernando Paggi.

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11. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #11 - Grand Prix of the 1958 Eurovision Song Contest

    S3:E13/12/1958

    The Dutch entry Net Als Toen by Corry Brokken had brought the first victory to the Netherlands in Frankfurt am Main the previous year and Dutch TV was the proud host in 1958. It was the first time that the winning country from the previous year had hosted the contest. Despite ending third, the Italian entry Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu, better known under the title Volare, performed by Domenico Modugno, became a worldwide hit and to date. It is one of the most successful songs in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest. Domenico even managed to reach the No.1 spot in the US-American Billboard Charts with his song and was also awarded three Grammies.

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12. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #12 - Grand Prix of the 1959 Eurovision Song Contest

    S4:E13/11/1959

    The Eurovision Song Contest of 1959 welcomed the small principality of Monaco. Moreover, the United Kingdom re-entered the contest after one year of absence, and Luxembourg decided not to participate. A new rule was introduced to this fourth Eurovision Song Contest; musical experts were no longer allowed in the national juries, but other than that, the same voting system as in 1957 and 1958 was used.

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13. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #13 - Eurovision Song Contest Grand Prix 1960

    S5:E13/29/1960

    The capital of the United Kingdom, London, provided the setting for the fifth Eurovision Song Contest. This was despite the fact that the Netherlands actually won the Eurovision Song Contest in Cannes the year before with Een Beetje, performed by Teddy Scholten. Following the victory the Dutch national broadcaster did not want to host the contest again so the honour went to the UK which had finished second the year before.

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14. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #14 - Eurovision Song Contest Grand Prix 1961

    S6:E13/18/1961

    Just like in 1959, the Palais des Festivals was the venue of this year's contest. The presenter of the show was Jacqueline Joubert, who already did this task in 1959. The stage used for the show was much bigger than in previous years, and it was magnificently decorated with flowers. The number of participants of this year’s song contest rose to 16 as Spain, Yugoslavia and Finland all made their respective debuts. For the first time, the contest took place on a Saturday night which would come to be the contest's home.

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15. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #15 - Eurovision Song Contest Grand Prix 1962

    S7:E13/18/1962

    After the victory in Cannes in 1961, Luxembourg was the host of the seventh Eurovision Song Contest. The stage was decorated with twinkling stars, but unfortunately they could not be seen for parts of the evening because there were some problems with the lights in the big auditorium of the Villa Louvigny. The number of participants of this year's contest remained stable at 16 with no new countries entering. However, there was a change in the voting system: the national juries - which still consisted of 10 people - had to attribute 3, 2 and 1 points to their three favourite songs.

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16. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #16 - Eurovision Song Contest Grand Prix 1963

    S8:E13/23/1963

    The UK hosted the song contest after France declined, having recently hosted twice (1959 & 1961). The competition featured international stars like Esther Ofarim (Switzerland), Nana Mouskouri (Luxembourg), and Francoise Hardy (Monaco). Host broadcaster BBC used an innovative approach: songs were performed in one studio while the audience watched from another. Each performance had unique, rapidly changed staging, sparking untrue rumours that the songs were pre-recorded. A voting controversy erupted when the Norwegian jury spokesperson, caught unprepared by presenter Katie Boyle, gave a rushed, incorrect set of points. Following the rules, Boyle returned to the Norwegian jury after all other countries had voted. Their corrected final results were decisively different from the interim ones, handing victory to their Nordic neighbour, Denmark, in a close race with Switzerland.

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17. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #17 - Eurovision Song Contest Grand Prix 1964

    S9:E13/21/1964

    The 1964 Eurovision Song Contest took place in the famous Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen. The event became highly politicised with demands that right-wing dictatorships in Spain and Portugal should be excluded from the contest. There was even some trouble during the contest as just before the Belgian entry, a man entered the stage holding a banner saying "Boycott Franco and Salazar". He was quickly removed from the stage. As in the three previous contests, 16 countries participated in the competition. Portugal made its debut whilst Sweden chose not to enter. Germany, Portugal and Switzerland each scored zero points for the first time. In the case of Portugal, it was the first time in the history of the contest that a newcomer did not receive any points at all.

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18. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #18 - Eurovision Song Contest Grand Prix 1965

    S10:E13/20/1965

    Italy and its national broadcaster RAI hosted this year's contest for the first time. 18 countries took part, at that point, the number of participants ever. After a year of absence, Sweden returned to the competition and Ireland debuted. Belgium, Germany, Finland and Spain all scored nul points while Luxembourg won for the second time with the highly controversial Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son sung by teenager France Gall. The song went on to become a massive hit in almost all European countries and had a major impact on the type of songs entered into the contest in the following years. Swedish participant Ingvar Wixell performed his song -originally called Annorstädes Vals - in English instead of Swedish while all the other participants sang in their native languages. This incident led to a rule change meaning that all participants would have to perform their songs in their respective national languages.

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19. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #19 - Eurovision Song Contest Grand Prix 1966

    S11:E13/5/1966

    The capital city of Luxembourg was the home of the 11th Eurovision Song Contest. The rules for the contest were changed and national juries could include music experts again. The major change was that a rule was introduced stipulating that songs had to be performed in one of the official languages of the participating country. During the dress rehearsal, the Italian participant Domenico Modugno was not satisfied with the orchestra and left the stage in anger. It was uncertain if he was going to perform during the live show, but he sang his song Dio Come Ti Amo after all. The song later became a huge success in South America for Gigliola Cinquetti, the winner of the 1964 Eurovision Song Contest.

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20. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #20 - Eurovision Song Contest: Grand Prix 1967

    S12:E14/8/1967

    The 1967 Eurovision Song Contest took place at the Großer Festsaal der Wiener Hofburg in Vienna. The number of participants went down from 18 to 17 because Denmark chose to withdraw from the contest and would not come back to the contest until 1978. The contest had a very glamorous setting: the stage included three revolving mirrors and a staircase entrance in the middle. The juries had undergone a change as well, as half of the jurors in every national jury had to be less than 30 years old. During the voting the presenter of the show, Erika Vaal, declare the United Kingdom winner of the song contest before the last jury's votes were cast. However, the confusion about the voting would not make any difference: the United Kingdom clearly won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time, nine years after participating for the first time. The winning entrant Sandy Shaw performed her song, Puppet on a String, barefoot.

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21. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #21 - Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final: 1968

    S13:E14/6/1968

    France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom broadcast the 1968 contest in colour despite the fact that very few TV-viewers at home owned a colour TV set. However, colour was here to stay and all song contests since then have been broadcast primarily in colour. Some countries hired foreign singers to sing for them: Germany was represented by Norwegian Wenche Myhre and Austria's entry was performed by Karel Gott from Prague.

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22. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #22 - Eurovision Song Contest: Grand Prix 1969

    S14:E13/29/1969

    For the first time in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, the outcome of the voting resulted in a tie for first place. Four countries gained 18 points each: France, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. Since there was no solution for this situation, all four countries were declared winners. Luckily, there were four medals available to the four winning singers - the four medals were originally intended for the winning singer and three winning songwriters.

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23. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #23 - Eurovision Song Contest for the Grand Prix of 1970

    S15:E13/21/1970

    There were plenty of host countries to choose from as a result of the four-way tie in 1969; the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France and Spain. Eventually, Amsterdam was chosen to host the fifteenth Eurovision Song Contest by the drawing of lots. For the second year in a row, the number of participants went down. Finland, Norway, Sweden and Portugal were all dissatisfied about the voting in the 1969 contest when 4 countries were declared winners and withdrew from the contest. To ensure that a similar incident did not happen again a tie rule was created. The rule stated that if two or more songs gained the same number of points, each song had to be performed once more. After these performances, the juries (with the exception of the countries that had tied) had to select their favourite song. This had to be done by the showing of hands. If entries still were to tie, both of them would share the first position.

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24. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #24 - The Eurovision Song Contest for the Grand Prix 1971

    S16:E14/3/1971

    For the first time in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, Ireland hosted the event at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. Compared to 1970, the number of participants rose to 18 as Finland, Norway, Sweden and Portugal all returned to the contest after a year of absence. Malta also made its debut. The contest was broadcast in 29 countries. The rule of performing either as single or duet was abolished: now groups of up to six people were allowed to perform. In this year's Eurovision Song Contest, a new voting system was created: two jury members - one of them had to be younger than 25 - had to award between 1 and 5 points to each song. This created some problems because some juries gave fewer points than others. For example, Luxembourg awarded 43 points altogether compared to France's 107! In theory this meant that jury members could vote tactically, awarding few points and hoping to gain many.

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25. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #25 - Eurovision Song Contest 1972

    S17:E13/25/1972

    The BBC stepped in to host the Eurovision Song Contest in 1972 and chose a venue outside of London for the first time. The contest was broadcast live to Asia for the first time with viewers in Japan, Taiwan, The Philippines, Hong Kong and Thailand, all able to watch the show. It also was the first year that a video wall was used to present song titles and artists.

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