Facts you probably didn’t know about the Eurovision Song Contest

This year's contest takes place in Liverpool

Author: Alex RossPublished 15th Mar 2023

Every year Europe’s finest get out their best outfits, cheesy song lyrics and slightly weird dance moves to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest.

While we're looking forward to this year's competition which will take place in Liverpool, where Mae Muller will represent the UK, are some interesting facts about the competition that you might not know...

Things you probably didn't know about the Eurovision Song Contest:

1) The first contest took place way back in 1956 but it took the UK 11 years to become victorious. Sandy Shaw stepped up in 1967 with ‘Puppet On A String’ finishing top of the leaderboard!

2) It seems performing second is totally cursed. No country ever to perform second on the final night has ever gone on to win the contest. Romania performed second in 2022 and finished in 18th place.

3) The contest is so huge it is actually broadcasted around five different continents!

4) ABBA are dubbed as the most successful act ever to come out of Eurovision, however the UK actually gave them zero points back in 1974.

5) 1969 saw four countries (yes four) win Eurovision! UK, Spain, France and The Netherlands all racked up the same score. Could they not have had a sing off?

6) In 2015 Australia took part in the contest for the first time, despite being an estimated 8,752 miles from Europe. The Aussies have been back every year since and Australia's participation in the contest has been confirmed by the European Broadcasting Union and Special Broadcasting Service until 2023.

Singer-songwriter Sheldon Riley was the 2022 contestant, with his track 'Not The Same'.

7) After recent years, you may think the UK are the least successful in the contest, but you'd be wrong. It is in fact Norway. The poor Norwegian’s have ended in last place a massive nine times, most recently in 2001.

8) The rules of the contest mean only six members of each country can be on stage during a performance. If you think this is harsh, until 1971 it was only three!

9) Sweden won the contest in 2012 with the extremely popular track ‘Europhia’ by Loreen. The song received the highest number of 12 points ever, when a staggering 18 countries all rewarded her top marks. Great effort!

10) The 2021 Eurovision Song Contest was cancelled for the first time in history due to the Coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world. All 41 countries that were due to compete were invited back to the 2021 ceremony.

11) In 2020 a movie based on Eurovision was released on Netflix called Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. The film, which stars Will Ferrell, Demi Lovato and Rachel McAdams. It was a massive hit with fans, featuring original tracks like 'Jaja Ding Dong', 'Double Trouble' and 'Husavik (My Hometown)'.

The hit movie also features real-life Eurovision stars such as Alex Ryback, Loreen, Jamala and Conchita Wurst.

12) Eurovision is the world’s biggest music show. Of course it is!

This year, the competition will take place on Saturday 13th May.

Check out the most watched Eurovision performances of all time:

10) Hadise - 'Düm Tek Tek'

Country: Turkey
Year: 2009
Views: 17m
Watch on YouTube here.

9) SunStroke Project & Olia Tira - 'Run Away'

Country: Moldova
Year: 2010
Views: 19m
Watch on YouTube here.

8) Conchita Wurst - 'Rise Like A Phoenix'

Country: Austria
Year: 2014
Views: 41m
Watch on YouTube here.

7) Eleni Foureira - 'Fuego'

Country: Cyprus
Year: 2018
Views: 45m
Watch on YouTube here.

6) Lordi - 'Hard Rock Hallelujah'

Country: Cyprus
Year: 2006
Views: 49m
Watch on YouTube here.

5) Måns Zelmerlöw - 'Heroes'

Country: Sweden
Year: 2015
Views: 49m
Watch on YouTube here.

4) Loreen - 'Euphoria'

Country: Sweden
Year: 2012
Views: 52m
Watch on YouTube here.

3) Alexander Rybak - 'Fairytale'

Country: Norway
Year: 2009
Views: 60m
Watch on YouTube here.

2) Måneskin - 'Zitti e buoni'

Country: Italy
Year: 2021
Views: 95m
Watch on YouTube here.

1) Netta - 'Toy'

Country: Israel
Year: 2018
Views: 169m
Watch on YouTube here.

Who will represent the UK at Eurovision in 2023?

Mae Muller has been announced as the UK entry for the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest. Mae will perform a song called 'I Wrote A Song'. Good luck Mae!

Now read:

UK Eurovision contestants: Where are they now?

The most watched Eurovision performances of all time

The most memorable UK Eurovision performances

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