Eurovision Song Contest Timeline

(May 24, 1956 – Present)

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual international music competition organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), first held in Lugano, Switzerland in 1956. Featuring performers representing primarily European countries, the contest has grown into one of the world's most-watched non-sporting television events, famous for launching careers (like ABBA and Céline Dion), its unique voting system combining jury and public votes, and its celebration of musical diversity across the continent. More Less

Go to: Timeline | Event List | Key Facts | Directory

Origins and Early Years

First Eurovision Song Contest held in Lugano

May 24, 1956

The inaugural Eurovision Song Contest was staged at the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland. Seven nations each performed two songs, and Switzerland's Lys Assia won with 'Refrain', launching what would become the world's longest-running annual international music competition.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1956

Eurovision Song Contest 1957 expands format

Mar 3, 1957

Held in Frankfurt am Main, West Germany, the second contest introduced one song per country instead of two, a format that became standard. The Netherlands won with Corry Brokken's 'Net als toen'.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1957

First Scandinavian win as the Netherlands triumphs again

Mar 11, 1959

At Cannes, France hosted its first Eurovision after winning in 1958. Teddy Scholten of the Netherlands won with 'Een beetje', giving that country back-to-back victories.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1959

Jacqueline Boyer wins for France in London

Mar 29, 1960

France won for the second time when Jacqueline Boyer performed 'Tom Pillibi' at the Royal Festival Hall in London, cementing France's early dominance in the competition.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1960

Jean-Claude Pascal wins for Luxembourg in Cannes

Mar 18, 1961

Luxembourg claimed its first victory with Jean-Claude Pascal singing 'Nous les amoureux' at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, beginning a remarkable run of success for the small nation.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1961

France wins its third contest in Luxembourg City

Mar 18, 1962

Isabelle Aubret won for France with 'Un premier amour' at Villa Louvigny in Luxembourg City, marking France's third victory and reinforcing the dominance of francophone countries in the early era.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1962

Luxembourg wins again as Ireland debuts

Mar 20, 1965

Ireland joined the contest in Naples as Luxembourg secured another win thanks to France Gall's 'Poupée de cire, poupée de son', written by Serge Gainsbourg — the first pop-style winner.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1965

Udo Jürgens wins for Austria

Mar 5, 1966

Austria earned its first and only victory when Udo Jürgens sang 'Merci Chérie' at Villa Louvigny in Luxembourg City, ending Austria's long wait for a win.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1966

Sandie Shaw wins for the United Kingdom

Apr 8, 1967

Sandie Shaw gave the United Kingdom its first victory with 'Puppet on a String' at the Großer Festsaal der Hofburg in Vienna, launching the UK's strong run in the late 1960s.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1967

Massiel wins for Spain with 'La, la la'

Apr 6, 1968

Spain won for the first time at the Royal Albert Hall in London as Massiel edged out Cliff Richard by just one point with 'La, la la'.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1968

Monaco wins its only Eurovision title

Apr 3, 1971

Séverine won Monaco's sole victory with 'Un banc, un arbre, une rue' at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, where the contest introduced postcards introducing each act.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1971

Teach-In wins for the Netherlands

Mar 22, 1975

Teach-In gave the Netherlands its fourth victory with 'Ding-a-dong' at Stockholm's Internationalfären. The same year introduced the iconic 'douze points' scoring system still used today.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1975

Brotherhood of Man wins for the United Kingdom

Apr 3, 1976

Brotherhood of Man scored the UK's second win with 'Save Your Kisses for Me', which went on to sell millions of copies worldwide and became one of Eurovision's best-selling winners.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1976

Winners and Iconic Moments

Domenico Modugno performs 'Nel blu dipinto di blu'

Mar 12, 1958

Although Italy's Domenico Modugno finished third with 'Volare' in Hilversum, his performance became an international sensation, topping charts worldwide and becoming one of the most famous songs ever to debut at Eurovision.

Image source: Nel blu, dipinto di blu

Frida Boccara and three-way tie in Madrid

Mar 29, 1969

For the first time ever, four countries tied for victory: Spain's Salomé, the United Kingdom's Lulu, France's Frida Boccara, and the Netherlands' Lenny Kuhr all shared the title in Madrid.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1969

ABBA wins with 'Waterloo' in Brighton

Apr 6, 1974

Sweden's ABBA triumphed with 'Waterloo' at the Dome in Brighton, catapulting them to worldwide fame and becoming arguably the most famous Eurovision winner of all time.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1974

Johnny Logan wins for Ireland with 'What's Another Year'

Apr 19, 1980

Johnny Logan won in The Hague for Ireland with 'What's Another Year', beginning his legendary association with the contest; he would later become the only artist to win twice as a performer.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1980

Bucks Fizz wins with 'Making Your Mind Up'

Apr 4, 1981

Bucks Fizz delivered the United Kingdom's fourth victory in Dublin, complete with their famous skirt-rip dance routine that became one of Eurovision's most iconic performances.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1981

Johnny Logan wins Eurovision a second time

Apr 4, 1987

Performing 'Hold Me Now' in Brussels, Johnny Logan became the only singer to win the contest twice, having also composed Linda Martin's winning entry 'Why Me?' in 1992.

Image source: Hold Me Now (Johnny Logan song)

Yugoslavia claims its only win

May 6, 1989

Riva won Yugoslavia's only Eurovision victory with 'Rock Me' in Lausanne, allowing Yugoslavia to host the final pre-reunification-era contest in Zagreb in 1990.

Image source: Rock Me (Riva song)

Alexander Rybak sets record score with 'Fairytale'

May 16, 2009

Norway's Alexander Rybak won in Moscow with 'Fairytale', scoring 387 points under the new combined jury-and-televote system — then the highest total in Eurovision history.

Image source: Fairytale (Alexander Rybak song)

Growth and Expansion

Denmark and Finland join the contest

Mar 23, 1963

The 1963 contest in London saw Denmark return after an absence and Finland participate for the first time. Denmark won with Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann's 'Dansevise'.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1963

Portugal debuts at Eurovision in Naples

Mar 21, 1964

Portugal made its first appearance in Naples while Italy celebrated its only win of the 20th century with Gigliola Cinquetti's 'Non ho l'età', sung by the 16-year-old singer.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1964

Israel wins twice in a row

Apr 1, 1978 - Mar 31, 1979

Izhar Cohen & Alphabeta won in Paris with 'A-Ba-Ni-Bi', and Israel successfully defended the title in Jerusalem in 1979 when Milk and Honey sang 'Hallelujah', the first contest held outside Europe.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1978

Modern Era and Milestones

Tie-breaking rules introduced after 1969 controversy

Mar 21, 1970

In response to the four-way tie of 1969, new tie-break procedures were introduced. Dana won for Ireland with 'All Kinds of Everything' in Amsterdam, giving Ireland its first win.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1970

Secret Garden wins for Norway with 'Nocturne'

May 25, 1995

Norway's Secret Garden won in Dublin with the mostly instrumental 'Nocturne', a rare victory for an unconventional entry that showcased the diversity of musical styles at Eurovision.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1995

Dana International becomes first trans winner

May 9, 1998

Israel's Dana International won in Birmingham with 'Diva', making history as the first openly transgender performer to win Eurovision and marking a landmark moment for LGBTQ+ visibility.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1998

Free-language rule leads to 'Love Shine a Light' style entries

May 29, 1999

With the free language rule restored, countries could sing in any language. Sweden's Charlotte Nilsson won 'Take Me to Your Heaven' in Jerusalem as 23 nations competed without relegation for top finishers.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 1999

Estonia wins first Baltic and former-Soviet title

May 12, 2001

Tanel Padar, Dave Benton, and 2XL won in Copenhagen with 'Everybody'. Dave Benton became the first Black winner of Eurovision, and Estonia became the first former Soviet republic to win.

Image source: Everybody (Tanel Padar and Dave Benton song)

Estonia wins first Baltic and former-Soviet title

Marija Šerifović wins for Serbia with 'Molitva'

May 12, 2007

Serbia, competing as an independent nation for the first time, won in Helsinki with Marija Šerifović's ballad 'Molitva' — notably the last winning entry sung entirely in a language other than English for years.

Image source: Eurovision Song Contest 2007

Key Facts

The first Eurovision Song Contest was held on May 24, 1956, in Lugano, Switzerland, with seven participating countries; Switzerland won with Lys Assia's song 'Refrain'.
ABBA's victory in 1974 with 'Waterloo' launched the Swedish band to global stardom and remains one of the contest's most famous moments.
In 2015, Australia was invited to participate as a special guest due to the contest's popularity there, becoming a permanent participant despite being outside Europe.
Since 2016, each country's score is determined by a combination of professional jury votes (50%) and public televoting (50%).
Ireland holds the record for the most wins with seven victories, followed by Sweden with seven wins as of 2023.

Source

This Eurovision Song Contest timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

We work hard to keep these timelines accurate, but mistakes do get through. If you spot one, email us at [email protected] and we'll fix it for future visitors.

Want a timeline like this one?

Generate yours with AI or build it from scratch, for free.

Try It for Free