Founder of Eurovision. Eurovision: requirements for participants and songs
- No more than 45 countries - active members of the European Broadcasting Union - take part in the competition.
- Participation in the final of the competition is guaranteed to 5 countries: the organizing country and the founding countries of the competition - Germany, Spain, France and Great Britain.
- All participating countries hold their own national qualifying competitions. The rules for their conduct are established by the television company participating in Eurovision at its own discretion. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure proper transparency of the process.
- No more than 40 countries can take part in the semi-finals of the competition. The organizing committee of the competition determines by drawing lots how these countries will be divided into two semi-finals.
- 25 countries take part in the finals of the competition.
- The order of performance in all concerts is determined by drawing lots. From each semi-final, 10 countries will advance to the final of the competition.
Song and performance requirements
- The song entered into the competition (lyrics and music) must not be released or publicly performed before October 1 of the year preceding the competition.
- The maximum length of a song should be 3 minutes.
- During each performance, up to 6 people at least 16 years old have the right to be on stage.
- Animals are prohibited from being allowed on stage.
- The choice of execution language is free.
- All artists must perform the song live, accompanied by a backing track.
- The lyrics and performance should not create a negative reputation for the competition.
- Songs containing political statements or advertising, swearing or obscene language are not allowed in the competition.
- Artists are not allowed to represent more than one country at Eurovision in a given year.
Sanctions
A song may be disqualified for the following reasons:
- If an artist, a member of a delegation or a representative does not comply with the requirements of the television company of the organizer or the executive director of the EBU and may, through their actions, interfere with the holding or broadcast of the show.
- If the artist's performance differs from what was planned and shown at the dress rehearsals and thereby interferes with the organization or presentation of the show.
- If participants (TV company or artist) try to violate the rules of the competition at any stage of its preparation or conduct or plan to violate them during the show itself.
The decision on disqualification is made by the organizing committee of the competition on the recommendation of the EBU executive director.
A television company participating in the competition may be subject to sanctions, including exclusion from participation in subsequent shows, in case of violation of the rules or withdrawal of an application after December 14 of the year preceding the competition. Such a sanction cannot be imposed for more than 3 years.
- In the final and semi-finals of Eurovision 2010, voting will be carried out among television viewers and a professional jury of 5 people. TV viewers and the jury will each have 50% weight in determining the results of the competition.
- The top ten of the total voting in each of the semi-finals will advance to the final of the competition.
- During the semi-finals and final of Eurovision 2010 in Oslo, voting will be open from the start of the first song and will continue for another 15 minutes after the end of the last song.
- You are not allowed to vote for your own country of residence.
- In the event of a technical or other failure in televoting, only the results of the national jury's vote will be taken into account.
Determination of the winner
The winner of the competition is the song with the most points at the end of voting.
In case of a draw last place in the semi-final, which gives the right to qualify for the final, or for first place in the final, the winner is the song that receives points from the largest number of countries. If this number is also the same, then the winner is the country with the most 12-point marks. If this number is the same, then 10 point scores are considered, etc.
If in the semi-final the above procedure was unable to determine the finalist, then the right to advance to the final will be given to the country that competed earlier (in order) in this semi-final.
In the final, if this procedure does not help determine the winner, both songs are declared winners of the competition.
Eurovision is a pop song competition held by the countries of the European Broadcasting Union. One representative from each member country of the union takes part in the competition. To participate you must submit an application. A live broadcast is used to demonstrate the completion of the competition. A representative of one country (or a team), participating in the competition, can perform one pop composition, which lasts no more than 3 minutes. According to the terms of the competition, no more than six artists can be on stage at the same time. The song that becomes the most popular is determined by voting, in which television viewers and a jury from all countries participating in the semi-finals and finals participate.
The first competition took place in 1956. Since then it has been held every year. It is the most popular (non-sporting) event in the world. The audience that the competition gathers is 600 million viewers. Eurovision, in addition to the member countries of the union, is shown in a number of countries around the world and the CIS, which are located outside the borders of Europe. 2000 was the first year when the singing competition began to be shown on the Internet. In 2006, there were 74 thousand online viewers.
Participation in the Eurovision Song Contest has a great influence on the fame of artists. The world learned about the legendary ABBA (1974) and Celine Dion (1988) thanks to the competition.
Rules. Basic provisions of Eurovision
Throughout the history of this song competition, the rules of participation have changed several times. Today's rules say that the participating country must select the performer in any way. The sound at the competition is live, the song is performed once. The sequence of performances is determined by drawing lots. After the performance last participant, voting takes place within 15 minutes. You cannot vote for a representative of your own country. In parallel with television viewers, a professional jury takes part in voting. The votes are summed up and the total score is displayed, which the participant receives.
Requirements for a song at Eurovision
The song must be new. The performance must be live. You are only allowed to use accompaniment recording. The language in which the song is written can be any.
Requirements for Eurovision participants
The participant must be at least 16 years old and of any nationality. The country's representative at the competition may not even be its citizen. Appearance the participant must be decent. A contract is concluded with the winner, under the terms of which he undertakes to attend all events held by the broadcasting union.
National Eurovision selections
There can only be one song per country. Only in 1956 two songs took part in the competition. Songs in countries are chosen by voting.
Television broadcasting and Eurovision venue
All EBU member countries can broadcast the competition. Changing anything in the broadcast is prohibited.
The winner country of the previous competition is chosen as the venue for the competition. Most of costs are borne by EMU. A few weeks after winning the competition, preparations begin for the next competition.
There have been cases of refusal to hold a competition. In 1972, Monaco refused to host the competition (there was no venue in the country). In 1974, Luxembourg refused because preparation required a lot of costs.
Most often, the singing competition took place in the UK. During the period from 1960 to 1988 - eight times.
Eurovision semi-final and final
These stages were introduced in 2004. Since 2001, the Big Four countries - Great Britain, France, Germany and Spain - have qualified for the finals regardless of the number of votes. In 2011, Italy joined them.
Eurovision voting
The voting system currently in place was first used in 1975. Each country awards points to the 10 countries it considers the best. The song that gets the most votes gets 12 points and then in descending order. Since 1998, following the example of five countries, all countries have introduced televoting for viewers. But the national jury still exists. Viewers vote using phone calls or SMS voting.
Announcement of Eurovision votes
The results are announced in ascending order, ending with the highest score - 12. latest rules, the queue for announcing the voting results is determined by drawing lots.
Equal number of points at Eurovision
There were cases during the competition when participants received the same number of votes. Then the winner was determined by the number of countries that voted for this participant, regardless of the scores. Based on the total number of “12” points that he received, as well as the total number of all ratings that the participant received.
If all these indicators coincide, then only then will several people be named winners.
Neighborhood voting at Eurovision
Viewers often cast their votes not for a specific participant, but for the country of which they are representatives. The organizers of the competition are trying to minimize this phenomenon, since it interferes with the main goal of the competition - stimulating the creation of original compositions.
History of Eurovision
The idea of holding a competition arose in the 50s of the last century. It was approved by the EMU General Assembly, which was held in Rome in 1955. The official goal was to hold an annual festival 0 of the Eurovision Song Contest, which would be broadcast throughout Europe and help identify talented and original songs in the genre of popular music.
The first name of the competition is “Eurovision Grand Prix”, which took place in 1956 in Switzerland. As the number of participants increased, it was decided to eliminate countries that show the worst results.
Ireland has the largest number of victories - 7, followed by Sweden, Great Britain, France and Luxembourg with 5 each.
Style of music at Eurovision
The style of music is chosen by the performer. Restrictions are imposed only on texts in terms of prohibiting the use of obscene expressions, political appeals and insults. Many are trying to prepare a song that fits the format of the competition that has developed during its existence.
Almost regularly, performers in the style of rock, jazz, rap and blues began to participate in the competition. However, they practically do not achieve success.
Eurovision participating countries
The competition participants are countries that are members of the European Broadcasting Union. Several representatives of Asia are taking part: from Armenia, Israel and Cyprus, as well as countries located in both Europe and Asia: Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan.
The total number of countries that took part in the competition (at different times) is 51.
The unrealized idea of the USSR participating in Eurovision
In the territory former USSR The competition has been broadcast since 1965. In 1987, the possibility of the USSR participating in the competition was considered. A proposal was made to send Valery Leontyev to the competition. But the idea was not supported by Gorbachev.
From the countries of the former Union, 10 states took part in the competition and representatives of Estonia in 2001, Latvia in 2002, Ukraine in 2004, Russia in 2008 and Azerbaijan in 2011 won. Over all the years, countries only failed to make it into the top three twice. In total, the countries of the former USSR received 15 prizes: 5 first, 5 second and 5 third.
During the period from 1994 to 2012, 8 failures occurred (according to economic reasons) from participation in the competition and 5 non-admissions from the countries of the former USSR. The main reasons for non-admission were legal and political. Lithuania refused to participate most often - 6 times. The main reason is financial problems. the most big number Russia has no permits - 3.
Eurovision records
In first place in terms of winnings is Ireland (7 wins, of which 3 in a row). At the beginning of the history of the competition, Eurovision countries won. Recent decades none of them brought victory.
The beginning of the 21st century brought victory to countries that had never before won such a prestigious competition. The list of winning countries is growing new country Every year. Finland won for the first time after 45 years of participation. Ukraine became the winner in the second year after the start of participation in the competition, Russia became the first after 12 years of participation.
The country that has gone the longest without winning the competition is Portugal. She has been participating in the competition since 1964. In 1996, the representative of this country took 6th place and since then this has been the best result.
Popularity of Eurovision in the Yandex search engine
As you can see, the query “Eurovision” is quite popular in the Russian-language segment of the Internet of the Yandex search engine:
- 290,796 queries in the Yandex search engine per month,
- 2,149 mentions of Eurovision in the media and on the websites of news agencies Yandex.News.
Along with the Eurovision query, Yandex users search for:
Eurovision 2012 - 120282 requests in Yandex per month
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Eurovision is an annual music song competition held among performers from countries that are members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). That is why among the competition participants you can see performers from Israel and other countries outside Europe. Each participating country sends one participant to Eurovision who performs one song. The winner of the competition is determined by voting by viewers and a jury from each participating country.
The Eurovision music competition was first held in 1956. The competition appeared as a result of the transformation of the Italian Sanremo festival. Marcel Beson, who was very fond of this project, saw in the competition an opportunity to unite nations in the post-war era. The festival in Sanremo still exists today. And Eurovision today is one of the most anticipated and popular events in musical life Europe. Every year this competition is watched by more than 100 million television viewers around the world.
Every year, before the competition, a pre-selection procedure takes place, which helps determine the list of participating countries. Performers from the Big Four EBU countries - , - enter the competition automatically.
We can say that the luckiest country at Eurovision is Great Britain. Of course, it became the winner more often (7 times against 5 victories of Britain), but the British took second place 15 times, France and Luxembourg, like England, won 5 times, but they took second place no more than three times.
The nationality of performers at Eurovision does not matter. This is confirmed by the participation of Katrina Lescanish in the competition. She was born in America and performed with the Cambridge band Waves. Another foreigner representing Great Britain in the competition was Ozzy Gina J., while Greek Nana Mouskouri and Belgian Lara Fabian competed for Luxembourg in 1963 and 1988 respectively. By the way, the victory in 1988 went to Switzerland, represented by the Canadian singer Celine Dion. It was the victory at the competition that turned nobody famous singer into a real star.
In 1986, the competition was won by 13-year-old Belgian Sandra Kim with the song “J’aime la vie.” Now the Eurovision rules set an age limit for performers - you can take part in the competition from 16 years old.
There are special strict rules for the final of the competition. For example, there cannot be amplifiers on stage, the drummer must play on a provided drum kit. The performer may use instrumental backing tracks. Any song whose duration is more than 3 minutes can be disqualified. Everyone remembers that “brevity is the sister of talent.”
The first Eurovision Song Contest took place in Lugano (Switzerland). 7 countries took part in the competition with two artists/songs per country. Lis Assia from Switzerland won with the song “Refrain”. Lis beat out the Belgian song "The Drowned Men Of The River Seine".
The second Eurovision Song Contest was held in the German city of Frankfurt am Main. For the first time, Austria, Great Britain and Germany took part in the competition. The victory was won by Corrie Brocken from the Netherlands, who performed the song “Net Als Toen”. It was in 1957 that the rule was adopted that the duration of a song should be no more than three minutes.
The location of the competition was the city of Hilversum (). Third place went to the Italian singer Domenico Modugno, who performed the song “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu”. This song was later recorded under the name “Volare” and became a real hit. The victory went to Andre Clavet from France with the song “Dors Mon Amour”. Great Britain did not participate in this competition.
Cannes, France. The UK returned to Eurovision and took second place with "Sing Little Birdie", beating France's "Oui, Oui, Oui, Oui" by just one point. The winner was Holland with the song “Een Beetje”. Starting this year, professional composers prohibited from serving on the jury.
The Netherlands refuses to host the competition for the second time and Eurovision is being held in the UK for the first time. Frenchwoman Jacqueline Boyer took first place with the song “Tom Pillibi”, second place went to the British with their song “Looking High, High, High”, performed by Brian Jones. This year the number of participating countries has increased to 13 due to Norway joining the competition and Luxembourg returning. 1960 was also the first year that the final of the competition was shown on live. Finland has decided to take this step.
Eurovision returns to Cannes (France). Luxembourg won with the song “Nous les amoureux”, performed by Jean-Claude Pascal. Second place out of 16 participating countries was taken by Great Britain, represented by The Allisons.
The venue of the competition was Luxembourg. The song “Un premier amour”, performed by the Frenchwoman Isabelle Oubre, took first place with 26 points.
France refuses to host Eurovision for the third time and the competition is again held in London. Luxembourg is represented by Greek singer Nana Mouskouri, while the French pop star represents Monaco. For the first time in the history of the competition, Norway scored zero points. Denmark won with the song “Dansevise”, performed by Greta and Jürgen Ingmann.
The festival takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark. Second place is again taken by the UK - Matt Monroe with the song “I Love The Little Things”. Later, his song “Walk Away”, a reworked version of the composition of this year’s Austrian participant, became very popular. The victory went to Italy with the song “Non ho l’eta”, performed by 16-year-old Gigliola Cinquetti.
In Naples (Italy), Luxembourg wins with a song by the Frenchman Serge Gainsbourg, performed by 17-year-old France Gall. The UK takes second place for the fifth time in 8 years thanks to singer Katya Kirby, who performed the song “I Belong”.
The victory in the competition goes to Udo Jürgens with the song “Merci Cheri”, who represented Austria. Starting this year, the rule comes into force that the song presented at the competition must be performed on state language performing country.
The competition takes place in Vienna (Austria). Vicky Leandros performed for Luxembourg for the first time with the song “L’amour est bleu”, which later became a classic. This year's winner was Sandie Shaw with her song "Puppet On A String". The UK takes first place for the first time.
London, Great Britain. The competition takes place at the Royal Albert Hall. The first place was taken by the Spanish singer Massiel with the song “La La La”. The word "La" was used 138 times in this song. Briton Cliff Richard with the song “Congratulations” was one point behind the Spaniard and took second place.
Eurovision takes place in Madrid, Spain. For the only time in the history of the competition, four countries took first place at once. The Netherlands with "De troubadour" performed by Lenny Cure, France with "Un Jour, Un Enfant" performed by Frida Boccara, UK with "Boom bang a bang" performed by Lulu and Spain with the song "Vivo cantando" performed by Salomé ( Maria Rosa Marco).
The location of the competition was determined by drawing lots between the winning countries of 1969. The competition ended up taking place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. This year, changes were made to the rules, which eliminated the possibility of several participants winning at the same time. In the event that several performers receive the same number of points, they must perform the song again and the jury, in addition to representatives of the countries claiming first place, again determines the winner. If in this case there is a draw, both countries will receive the Grand Prix. In 1970, due to disagreement with the voting system, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Finland refused to take part in the competition. As a result, the number of participants in the competition was reduced to 12. The victory went to the Irish singer Dana with the song “All kinds of everything”, which eclipsed spanish singer Julio Iglesias, who took only fourth place.
Dublin, . This year, a rule came into effect limiting the number of performers on stage to six. The first place was taken by the representative of Monaco, Severine, with the song “Un banc, un arbre, une rue”.
Monaco refused to host the competition and Eurovision is taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The winner was a Greek girl living in Germany, but singing for Luxembourg - Vicky Leandros with the song “Apres toi”.
The competition takes place in Luxembourg. This is the first time Israel is taking part in the competition, which required additional security measures. The rules have once again undergone changes; now the performer can independently choose the language for performing the song. For the second year in a row, Luxembourg won with the song “Tu te reconnaitras”, performed by Anne-Marie David. ABBA's song "Ring Ring" failed in the national selection competition.
Brighton, UK. Greece is taking part in the competition for the first time. From France, no one spoke out in connection with the death of President Georges Pompidou. Took first place Swedish group ABBA with their famous song "Waterloo".
Stockholm, Sweden. Türkiye is taking part in Eurovision for the first time. Due to Turkey's participation, Greece refuses to participate in the competition, thus expressing its protest against the Turkish invasion of Northern Cyprus. France and Malta returned to the competition. The winner was the Netherlands with the song “Ding-A-Dong” performed by the groups Teach-In.
The Hague, Netherlands. Türkiye refuses to participate in the competition, and therefore Greece returns. For the third time in the history of the competition, the UK wins with the song “Save Your Kisses For Me”, performed by the band Brotherhood Of Men.
London, Great Britain. The rules of the competition are undergoing minor changes. Once again, songs must be performed only in the official language of the performing country. France won this year with the song “L’oiseau et l’enfant”, performed by Marie Miriam, who became a star in France.
Paris, France. Türkiye and Denmark are returning to the competition. The victory went to Israel thanks to the catchy song “A-Ba-Ni-Bi” performed by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta group.
Eurovision takes place in Jerusalem. Türkiye once again refuses to take part in the competition. The victory went to the hosts, who were represented by Gali Atari and Milk and Honey with the composition “Hallelujah”.
Israel refused not only to host the competition, but also to participate in Eurovision. The competition took place in The Hague, the Netherlands. Turkey returned to the number of participants in the competition, Morocco took part in Eurovision for the first time. The victory went to the Irishman Johnny Logan, who performed the song “What’s Another Year”.
Dublin, Ireland. Yugoslavia and Israel returned to the competition. Cyprus took part in the competition for the first time. The victory was won by the British group Bucks Fizz, who performed the song “Making Your Mind Up”. Germany is in second place, only 4 points behind Britain.
Harrogate, UK. First place went to Germany with the song “Ein Bißchen Frieden”, performed by singer Nicole. This song was recorded in six languages and reached number one in the charts in all European countries.
Munich, Germany. Luxembourg decided to send a “trained singer”, Corinne Hermé, to the competition. And this decision justified itself - she took first place, ahead of the Israeli singer Ofra Haza.
Eurovision takes place in Luxembourg. British band Belle and the Devotions were booed at the end of their performance. Sweden won with the song “Diggi-Loo, Diggi-Lee” performed by Herrey’s.
Gothenburg, Sweden. The victory went Norwegian group"Bobbysocks" with the song "La det swinge". For the first time in the history of the competition, it was broadcast only via satellite.
Bergen, Norway. The victory in the thirtieth anniversary Eurovision contest was won by 13-year-old Sandra Kim, who performed the song “J’Aime La Vie”. Belgium was the first. The host of the competition was the Norwegian Minister of Culture Ase Kleveland, who took third place at Eurovision in 1966.
Brussels, . First place was taken by Irishman Johnny Logan, who performed the song “Hold Me Now”. He became the first to win Eurovision twice.
Dublin, Ireland. Thanks to the singer Celine Dion with the song “Ne partez pas sans moi”, Switzerland takes first place in the competition. British representative Scott Fitzgerald was just one point behind her.
Lausanne, Switzerland. The thirty-fourth Eurovision Song Contest was memorable for the fact that two participants were still children: 11-year-old Nathalie Park represented France and 12-year-old Gili Nathanel, who competed for Israel. It was because of these participants that the rule was adopted that participants in the competition should not be under 16 years old. This year's winner was Yugoslavia with the song "Rock me" performed by Riva. The UK is again in second place.
Zagreb, Yugoslavia. By this year, the number of participants had become relatively constant, with 22 countries taking part in the competition. The victory in 1990 was won by the Italian Toto Cutugno, who performed the song “Insieme: 1992”.
Rome, Italy. This year there was intense competition between France with "C'est le dernier qui a parle qui a raison" sung by Amina and Sweden with "Fangad av en stormvind" sung by Carola. Both participating countries scored 146 points. In accordance with the rules, in this case, the victory is won by the country that most often received the most points (12 points, 10, etc.). As a result, Sweden became the winner.
Malmo, . Irish singer Linda Martin took first place in the competition with Johnny Logan’s song “Why me?” Johnny Logan became the first artist to win the Eurovision Grand Prix three times. Once as a songwriter and twice as a performer.
Millstreet, Ireland. For the first time, three former Yugoslav republics, which declared their independence, are taking part in Eurovision. As a result, the number of competitors increased to 25. For the fifth time in the history of the competition, the victory went to the representative of Ireland - singer Niamh Kavanagh, who performed the song “In your eyes”.
Dublin, Ireland. This year, Hungary and Russia took part in the competition for the first time. However, the number of competitors did not change, since Denmark, Belgium, Israel, Luxembourg, Italy, Turkey and Slovenia did not take part in the competition this year. The third success in a row and only the sixth success came to Ireland with the song “Rock’n roll kids”, performed by Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan. Russia's debut at Eurovision brought the country 9th place. The country was represented by Judith (Maria Katz) with the song “Eternal Wanderer”.
Dublin, Ireland. The composition of participating countries continues to change. Norway wins Eurovision for the second time. This year's winner was the group Secret Garden, who performed the song “Nocturne”. Philip Kirkorov with the song “Lullaby for a Volcano” brought Russia only 17th place.
Oslo, Norway. Due to the fact that a large number of countries expressed a desire to take part in the competition, a new system selection. It included additional jury and a preliminary audio application that had to be sent to the EBU. The number of participants was limited to 23. In 1996, Russia did not take part in Eurovision. Ireland took first place, thereby setting a record for the number of victories (seven). The winning song was “The voice” performed by Imer Quinn.
Eurovision takes place again in Dublin, Ireland. The selection system has been modified to ensure that all countries can take part in the competition at least once every two years. The winning country of last year's competition automatically takes part in the competition. The remaining 17 participants are selected based on their GPA over the past 5 years. Great Britain won with the song “Love shine a light” performed by Katrina and The Waves. Alla Pugacheva performed from Russia with the song “Primadonna”. However, neither the popularity of the singer in our country nor the monumentality of the song made an impression. As a result, only 15th place.
Birmingham, UK. This year, a televoting system was launched to attract additional attention from viewers to the show. This year's winner created a lot of buzz. Israel took first place thanks to transsexual singer Dana International, who performed the song “Diva.”
Jerusalem, Israel. The victory at Eurovision in 1999 was won by the representative of Sweden, Charlotte Nilsson, who performed the song “Take me to your heaven”. This year, new rules were also adopted: songs can be performed in any language, and you can also sing with a backing track, replacing the orchestra. Russia did not take part in the competition this year.
Eurovision takes place in Stockholm, Sweden. It was this year that Russia made its first notable appearance at the competition. Our country took 2nd place thanks to the singer Alsou. First place was taken by two Olsen brothers from Denmark, who performed the song “Fly on the wings of love.”
Copenhagen, Denmark. The competition took place at the Parken stadium, 35,000 people watched Eurovision live, which became a record for the competition. Russia was represented by the Mumiy Troll group with the song “Lady alpine blue”. This year our country took only 12th place. The winners were Estonian performers Tanel Padar, Dave Benton & 2XL with the song “Everybody”.
The Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Tallinn, Estonia. Russia is represented by the group “Prime Minister” with the song “Northern girl”. The result is 10th place. The winner of this competition was singer Mari N from Latvia, who performed the song “I wanna”. This was the second victory in a row for the Baltic countries.
Riga, . Russia goes all-in and sends to Eurovision scandalously famous group"TATTOO" with the composition "Don't believe, don't be afraid." The group took only third place. First place was taken by Sertab Erener from Turkey, who amazed everyone with her song “Everyway That I Can” and the show she staged on the stage of Skonto Hall. This year, Ukraine took part in Eurovision for the first time, and as a result took 14th place.
Istanbul, . This year, young singer Yulia Savicheva performed for Russia. Many experts believe that Yulia performed quite professionally; she was able to overcome her anxiety and performed with dignity. However, this was not enough for victory; as a result, only 11th place. First place went to Ukrainian Ruslana, who performed a fiery song with Hutsul motifs “Wild Dances”.
Kyiv, . In February 2005, the Eurovision qualifying round took place in Russia: TV viewers chose the winner through interactive voting. According to the results of the audience vote, singer Natalya Podolskaya won. With the song “Nobody Hurt No One” she represented our country in Kyiv. At Eurovision, Natalya took only 15th place. The victory went to the singer from Greece Helena Paparizou, who performed the song “My Number One”.
This year's international music festival took place in Athens. Dima Bilan with the song “Never Let You Go” first competed in the Eurovision semi-finals (since Russia did not score the required number of points in 2005), and then in the final, where he took second place. The victory went Finnish rock band"Lordi" with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah". The group performed at Eurovision dressed as monsters, which shocked many viewers of the competition.
Helsinki, . Russia was represented by the female trio “Silver”, which was created shortly before the competition. Their song “Song No. 1” took third place at Eurovision. The winner was the singer from Serbia Maria Šerifović with the composition “Prayer”.
Eurovision 2008 took place in Belgrade, Serbia. Dima Bilan is representing Russia for the second time, whose song “Believe” brought victory to our country. On the same stage with Bilan were figure skater, Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko, and the famous Hungarian violinist Edvin Marton. In second place was Ukrainian singer Ani Lorak with a song to the music of Philip Kirkorov " Shady lady”, and on the third - the Greek Kalomira with the song “Secret combination”.
The 54th Eurovision Song Contest was held in Moscow. The winner of the competition was Alexander Rybak, representing Norway. In terms of the number of points scored, Rybak set an absolute record - in the final he scored 387 points. The famous French singer Patricia Kaas. Arash and Aysel competed for Azerbaijan. A Ukrainian citizen, Anastasia Prikhodko, performed for Russia with the song “Mamo”. She took only 11th place.
This year the music festival took place in Norway. This is the third time the country has hosted Eurovision on its territory. The first time Eurovision took place in Norway in 1986 thanks to the victory of the duo “Bobbysocks”, the second time - in 1996 after the victory of the group Secret Garden and the third time the right to host the competition was obtained thanks to Alexander Rybak. The winner of the 55th Eurovision Song Contest was singer Lena Mayer-Landrut with the song “Satellite”. represented Russia Music band Peter Nalich with the song “Lost and Forgotten”. The guys took 11th place, but they themselves were satisfied with the result.
The 56th Eurovision Song Contest was held in the city of Dusseldorf, located in Germany. The winner was a duet from Azerbaijan. The song “Running Scared” brought the duo 221 points. Alexey Vorobyov represented Russia, who scored 77 points and took only 16th place.
Eurovision 2012 took place in Azerbaijan, in Baku, where a concert complex with a capacity of 20,000 seats was built specifically for the competition. Montenegro returned to the list of participants.
The 58th Eurovision Song Contest was held in the city of Malmö. Sweden hosted the Euroshow for the fifth time. The winner was the representative with the song Only Teardrops. According to the voting results, the singer scored 281 points. Russian Dina Garipova took fifth place. Refused to participate in the competition: Czech Republic. Slovakia, Türkiye and Portugal. Armenia returned to Eurovision.
The 59th Eurovision Song Contest took place in Denmark from 6 to 10 May. 37 countries took part in it: on stage international competition Representatives of Poland and Portugal returned. For the first time, performers from Montenegro and San Marino became finalists of the competition. The winner, with 290 points, was an Austrian drag queen performer with the song Rise Like A Phoenix.
The anniversary, 60th Eurovision Song Contest was held in Austria from 19 to 23 May 2015. The winner was the representative of Sweden with the song “Heroes”. Contestant from Russia Polina Gagarina with the composition “Million Voices” took an honorable second place, unconditionally winning the sympathy of the European public. Representatives from 40 countries competed in the anniversary event; Ukraine refused to participate for the first time due to economic difficulties. For the first time, a performer from Australia came to Eurovision, performing under special conditions.
Eurovision 2016 was the 61st song contest held in Stockholm, Sweden from 10 to 14 May. Representatives from 42 countries took part in it, including a performer from Australia, who performed under special conditions. The victory was won by the singer from Ukraine Jamala with the composition “1944”. Representative of Russia Sergey Lazarev with the song “You Are the Only One took third place, receiving the highest number of points - 361 - from viewers. In 2016, for the first time since 1975, the rules of the competition were changed: now the jury's scores are announced separately from the results of TV viewers' voting.
The 62nd Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Kyiv (Ukraine) from May 9 to 13. Ukraine is hosting the competition for the second time.
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Last updated: 05/11/2016
The debut year for Russia at Eurovision was 1994. The singer received the honor of becoming the first participant in the competition representing our country Masha Katz, also known by the pseudonym Judith. In Irish Dublin, she performed the song “Eternal Wanderer” and took 9th place.
Masha Katz was a member of such groups as "Quarter" And "Blues League", as well as a backing vocalist for many famous Russian performers. She performs in concerts, teaches vocals, and takes part in scoring films and cartoons. Has the title “Voice of Russia”.
In the next one, 1995, at Eurovision, which was again held in Dublin, Russia was represented by a popular pop singer Philip Kirkorov. With the song “Lullaby for a Volcano” he took 17th place.
Philip Kirkorov is one of the most famous Russian performers, People's Artist of Russia, winner of many prestigious awards, ex-husband of the famous singer Alla Pugacheva. Today, Kirkorov produces and performs concert programs.
IN 1996 a singer and composer was supposed to attend the competition Andrey Kosinsky, however, his song “I am I” did not pass the additional qualifying round.
Andrey Kosinsky is a composer from St. Petersburg who has written songs for many famous pop singers, such as Valery Leontyev, group "A" Studio, Alena Apina, Laima Vaikule, Mikhail Boyarsky.
IN 1997 represented the country Alla Pugacheva. Having performed the song “Primadonna”, she took 15th place. Initially it was supposed to be performed Valeriy Meladze, however, he fell ill.
Alla Pugacheva began her singing career back in the 1960s, and subsequently became famous throughout the country. Her repertoire includes more than 500 songs. She - People's Artist USSR, has many awards, in particular, she was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation.
The next time Russia participated in the competition only in 2000. A young singer from Tatarstan participated from our country in Eurovision Alsou, who at that time was not yet 17 years old. Alsou was waiting for triumph - her song “Solo” took 2nd place in the competition.
Alsou, daughter of a businessman and former senator of the Federation Council Ralifa Safina, started musical career at the age of 15 and almost immediately became popular. Until 2006, no one could repeat her achievement at Eurovision.
IN 2001 went to Eurovision Russian rock band "Mummy Troll" with the song “Lady Alpine Blue” (“Lady of the Blue Alps”). She took 12th place in the competition.
The Mumiy Troll group was created Ilya Lagutenko in Vladivostok back in 1983, but became popular and widely known only in the late 1990s after the release of the album “Morskaya”. Today the group continues to tour.
IN 2002 A Russian pop group performed at a song competition "Prime Minister". Having performed the song “Northern Girl” (“Girl from the North”), the quartet became tenth.
The group "Prime Minister" was formed in 1998, and gained popularity in 2000. It included Zhan Grigoriev-Milimerov, Pete Jason, Vyacheslav Bodolika, Marat Chanyshev. Since 2005 they are known as "PM Group". A new composition was recruited to the “Prime Minister” group.
In Eurovision 2003 a group popular both in Russia and abroad participated "t.A.T.u.". At a competition in Latvia, the group performed the song “Don’t believe, don’t be afraid, don’t ask” and took 3rd place.
Group "t.A.T.u." was created in 1999 by producer Ivan Shapovalov. The group included Yulia Volkova And Elena Katina. Originally "t.A.T.u." shocked the public with the image of girls with gay, but subsequently abandoned it. This group has achieved recognition far beyond the borders of our country, however, since 2010, Volkova and Katina began performing solo, although they performed together in 2012.
IN 2004 A graduate of the TV project “Star Factory - 2” went to the most popular music competition in Europe Yulia Savicheva. Her song "Believe Me" took 11th place.
Singer Yulia Savicheva became famous after she reached the final of “Star Factory 2” in 2003, and although she did not become the winner, her career was quite successful. Today she continues to record albums, act in films, and participate in television projects.
Another participant in the “Star Factory”, singer Natalia Podolskaya, represented Russia at Eurovision in 2005. With the song "Nobody Hurt No One" she became 15th.
Belarusian pop singer Natalya Podolskaya actively performed at various music festivals, such as “Slavic Bazaar” in Vitebsk, and in 2004 she got to the “Star Factory - 5”, after which she became famous in Russia. Podolskaya is the wife of the famous pop singer singer Vladimir Presnyakov and often performs with him.
IN 2006 Eurovision participant from Russia Dima Bilan Just a little bit was not enough to win the famous competition. Having performed the song “Never Let You Go” (“I will never let you go”), he became second. That year, Europeans liked the costumed rock band more Lordi from Finland.
Singer Dima Bilan (real name - Victor Belan) began his career in pop music in the 2000s and gained immense popularity. He went to Eurovision as a famous performer and continues to tour today.
IN 2007 went to defend the honor of Russia at that moment little-known group "Silver"(SEREBRO), which performed quite successfully with the song “Song #1” - it became third.
The group "Silver" (SEREBRO) was formed in 2006 by producer Maxim Fadeev and a participant in the “Star Factory” Elena Temnikova. In addition to Temnikova herself, the group included Olga Seryabkina And Marina Lizorkina. The group had not performed anywhere before Eurovision, but thanks to their bright start they immediately became quite popular. In 2009, Marina Lizorkina left the team and was replaced by Anastasia Karpova.
IN 2008 went to Eurovision again Dima Bilan and this time he returned home triumphant. His song “Believe” (“Believe”) took 1st place—Russia won the competition for the first time. Bilan did not perform alone on stage; a figure skater took part in the performance Evgeni Plushenko and Hungarian violinist and composer Edwin Marton.
IN 2009 Eurovision was held in Moscow for the first time. Russia was represented at the competition by another graduate of the “Star Factory” - singer Anastasia Prikhodko. She performed the song “Mamo” in Russian and Ukrainian and ended up in 11th place.
Ukrainian singer Anastasia Prikhodko participated in the TV show “Star Factory - 7”, after which she gained fame.
IN 2010 The singer's musical group passed the national qualifying round Peter Nalich. Nalich went to Eurovision with the song “Lost and Forgotten” (“Lost and Forgotten”) and took 11th place.
Petr Nalich did not participate in the TV show and did not have famous producers. He became famous thanks to the Internet - after he posted on YouTube in 2007 a video he made for own song"Guitar." The video entered the Top 20 most viewed Russian clips on the portal in November 2007. After this, the musical group began giving concerts and recording studio albums.
IN 2011 A singer participated in Eurovision from Russia Alexey Vorobiev with the song “Get You” (“Conquer you”). Vorobyov's participation in the competition was accompanied by a number of scandalous incidents; in the end, his performance was far from successful, taking 16th place.
Alexey Vorobyov began his musical and acting career in the mid-2000s. In 2005, he reached the finals of the “Secret of Success” competition on the Rossiya TV channel, and in 2006 he starred in the television series “Alice’s Dreams” on MTV. A year later, he received the MTV Discovery 2007 Award.
IN 2012 The team went to Eurovision "Buranovsky grandmothers". Singing grannies national costumes Even before the start of the competition they were considered favorites. They made a huge impression on the audience and took second place with the song “Party for Everybody”.
“Buranovskie Babushki” is a folk music group from the village of Buranovo, Udmurtia. Grandmothers perform songs in Udmurt and Russian, including re-covering famous hits.
In 2013, Russia was represented by singer Dina Garipova- winner of the TV show “The Voice” on Channel One.
Russia can turn away from Europe as much as it wants with its cheeses and liberal values, but this does not apply to the large-scale pseudo-musical competition “Eurovision”. In 2015, Polina Gagarina, a veteran of music competitions and winner of the second Star Factory, was sent to the anniversary competition. Although Eurovision today can hardly boast of a truly interesting musical program, few remain on the sidelines. During the competition, everyone, from Russia to Iceland, is literally seized with a fever, comparable only to large sports championships. The final will take place tomorrow - in anticipation of it, we’ll figure out why everyone is still crazy about Eurovision and what’s really behind this competition.
Dasha Tatarkova
Where did Eurovision come from?
It was invented after World War II to unite nations experiencing the results tragic event, and concentrate on the joys of peacetime. Eurovision was held for the first time in 1956 according to the idea of the European Broadcasting Union. The festival in San Remo was taken as an example. The competition was held in the company's homeland, Switzerland, 7 countries participated, and the organizing country won.
Since then, the Eurovision Song Contest has become one of the oldest and largest television programs in the world: more than 100 million people have already watched it this year, and at its peak the audience of the program reached 600 million viewers. The ideological mission of the organizers - to unite nations - has been fulfilled: the main unity in which the participating countries merge is aggressive rivalry, especially noticeable today, when any sneeze of the participants is immediately spread throughout the Internet.
Eurovision today is a spectacular show, somewhere at the intersection of Cirque du Soleil and reality competitions like The Voice. This is not yet a Lady Gaga concert, but it seems that everything is going well. suits him. Of course, this was not always the case: at first the competition was very simple, the participants simply went on stage to the microphone and performed very modest and calm numbers by today’s standards; in the end we're talking about about the fifties. Since then, the intensity of the performances has been increasing.
Although for Eurovision it was as if neither rock and roll, nor punk, nor other musical revolutions existed, it absorbed innovations in non-conflict pop music with pleasure. The effectiveness of what was happening on stage changed along with the volume, until eventually the formats familiar to us today were established. Note that the manner of singing in English also did not come immediately, but eventually globalization took its toll.
How to get to Eurovision?
The name is misleading: it seems as if membership in the competition is guaranteed only to countries that are members of the European Union. In reality, this is not the case: the competition involves different countries that are not geographically tied to Europe. Applications are submitted by TV channels that are members of the European Broadcasting Union, which created the competition. Each country, or rather a television company, can nominate only one participant, having previously conducted its selection at home in a format convenient for it.
Thus, the composition of participants changes from year to year, depending on who decides to apply. However, some members, for example the Vatican, have never taken advantage of such an opportunity, which is a pity - a representative of the Pope would do well to shake up the whole event. Today, Eurovision participants are mainly artists who are familiar with music competitions first-hand, or those who have passed the local selection based on a principle similar to the main competition. This is exactly why winners or participants of reality talent shows like our “Star Factory” often go to represent the country.
After the TV companies have selected their representatives and the song, the semi-finals begin. They were invented quite recently (the first circle appeared in 2004, and the second in 2008), since the number of participants has increased significantly. IN previous years potential competitors for next year were eliminated based on current Eurovision scores and fulfillment of requirements such as broadcasting, so the semi-finals now give many more countries a shot at breaking through to the top. In addition to the contenders fighting for the opportunity to reach the final, Eurovision has its own elite, to whom this right was initially assigned. Since 2000, these have been the “big four”: Great Britain, Germany, France and Spain. In 2010, Italy joined them, and in 2015, Australia also joined as an exception. Plus, a place in the final is always reserved for the winning country of the previous year.
Why is the music at Eurovision so bad?
The songs of the participants are always one hundred percent radio hits. Nowadays, from year to year, they bet either on a cheerful pop melody, or on a soulful ballad, or on local exoticism, at least in the eyes of other countries. Eurovision likes to boast that it gave impetus world famous Celine Dion, ABBA and Julio Iglesias. However, in a crowded music market, becoming a global pop star simply because of winning a competition is becoming more and more difficult every year. Those who try to break the paradigm of plastic songs performed by young and attractive people are much more memorable.
Few people remember just the pop songs that won the different years, but the heavy metal of Lordi, which Finland unexpectedly put up, Conchita Wurst, over whom the whole of Europe quarreled, or the slightly ridiculous but charming “Buranovsky Babushki” are still remembered. 2015 is no exception in this sense. This time Finland is again trying to push the boundaries of the tight competition - they sent the punk band Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät, whose participants were diagnosed with developmental delays, and the representative of Poland Monika Kuszynska will be the first to perform at the competition in a wheelchair.
How does voting work?
The votes are divided in half between the audience and the jury. Each country selects 10 favorite numbers, and then points are distributed depending on the popularity of the track in each country, from 12 to zero. The method of voting has changed over time, at first it was decided solely by the jury, then it was only the audience's choice. Since 2009, a mixed system has been established: both spectators and a special jury of professionals from each country influence the outcome of the competition. To vote today, you don’t have to call or send an SMS - just download the official Eurovision app. The counting of votes takes place during the out-of-competition final presentation of the organizing country. This year the closing song will be performed by Conchita Wurst.
No matter how much the founders of Eurovision tried to avoid favoritism, since the audience's sympathies began to be converted into numbers, it has become obvious that everyone votes primarily based on geopolitical sympathies. Neighbors vote for neighbors and are deeply offended if someone violates this order. It even has its own memes - just remember the guy with the saxophone, whose performance at Eurovision was turned into into a 10 hour video. Great Britain, which performs very poorly from year to year, is viewed rather condescendingly, despite victories in the distant past, and Russia is treated with caution. The Tolmachev sisters, who performed last year, were booed in light of the country's internal politics, which thundered throughout the world.
Why did Australia become Europe?
In 2015, the competition is being held in Vienna, since last year’s winner was Conchita Wurst, representing Austria. Eurovision 2015 is the 60th, and in honor of the anniversary, the organizers wanted to make some spectacular gesture - they decided to invite Australia to participate, where the show has been popular for many years. The SBS television company, which represented the country at the competition in 2015, has been broadcasting Eurovision for more than thirty years.
Despite the time difference, Australians will vote on equal terms with everyone else. The choice of a local lucky winner for the competition is quite natural. Australian Jury unspoken tradition modernity decided that it was best to entrust such a responsible task to the winner of the first Australian “Idol” - Guy Sebastian. However, what will happen if Australia wins is not clear. Since it is participating as an exception, the country will not be able to bring the competition home, although, perhaps, Australia simply does not count on winning. Pageant officials have however stated that if Australia emerges as the winner, its broadcaster SBS will have to choose a European country for the next competition, but whether Australia will then still be a participant has not yet been decided.
What is the essence of the competition if not the music?
The Eurovision Song Contest is anything but a musical event: behind the plastic facade it combines several diverse phenomena, only hiding behind music as a form of existence. At the same time, for ordinary Europeans this is the only vote that, despite all its obvious political overtones, remains exciting and fun. Moreover, other elections may envy his transparency. Countries vote for their neighbors and friends, who are often closer rather than further away, so that the finger-pointing process explains the distribution of political likes in and around Europe.
Eurovision has become a litmus test not only for political ideas, but also for a certain average taste. Not all countries send someone more or less famous in their homeland to the competition, but most radio-friendly tracks talk about what kind of pop music, in the opinion of TV channel producers, is most profitable and will definitely attract attention in their homeland. It is more difficult to judge other countries, but if you remember who Russia sent away, everything falls into place: “Buranovskie Grandmothers” and Dima Bilan talk equally a lot about the preferences of our compatriots.
“Eurovision” has become a competition in a cube: it combines popular reality shows like “Idol”, “The Voice”, “Star Factory”, dance battles and even beauty contests. Titles songs about love, peace and unity - like the lines of answers from contestants fighting for a sparkling tiara. It’s just like in “Miss Congeniality”: the participants dream of “world peace.” The competitiveness of what is happening makes Eurovision something of a sport for everyone. The language of music is universal: to watch it, you don’t need to understand the rules, and to cheer, you don’t need to know the teams or the results of previous selections. It's simple: one country, one participant and a sea of emotions.
Behind all this, the music itself fades into the background. The song lasts three minutes and no more, there is a maximum of six people on stage. The fact that songs and not something else are competing is rather nominal, especially today, when the performance itself plays no less a role. Just remember Alexander Rybak from Norway, who was inspired largely by the fact that he played the violin while gymnasts jumped around him. The diversity of world music exists separately from Eurovision. Here, year after year, they present dance tracks that go straight to the Turkish disco, or power ballads, a kind of pure technical soul for white people.
This is very easy-to-understand music that can be easily broken down into its components: here’s the beat, here’s the verse, here’s the bridge; the singer hits clean notes than stronger voice- all the better. Producers treat creating a hit as a matter of honor, in which there is no room for experimentation: the track must hit all the proven pain points, and nothing else. Perhaps this is precisely why, of the solo performers, 28 victories belong to women, and only 7 to men. An impressive ballad just typical of women's repertoire.
When did Russia participate and who represented it?
For political and ideological reasons, at the time the competition appeared, the USSR did not even think about sending anyone to sing for the country. During Gorbachev's reforms, in 1987, the USSR Minister of Education proposed sending Valery Leontyev to Eurovision - to establish contact with the Western capitalist world, but no one supported him. Not all countries of the former Soviet Union received a place in the competition as easily as Russia did after the collapse of the Union. Many are still refused participation due to political and economic considerations, fearing that the applicant TV channel will not be able to adequately fund the event on its part.
For the first time, Russia was represented at Eurovision by singer Maria Katz under the pseudonym Judith. After her from us to the competition went the most different participants: at first they tried to rely on local figures like Alla Pugacheva and Philip Kirkorov, but their performances turned out to be among the most disastrous Russian numbers. Since then, Russia has had several refusals to participate, and then several shock hits. Alsou earned second place, Tatu - third. Before winning, Dima Bilan came close to second place in 2006; in 2012, “Buranovskie Babushki” ended up there. The “Silver” group became a prize-winner in 2007, finishing in third place.
Russia's overall score, considering its recent participation and even one victory, is very good. In the overall ranking we are in 16th place, second only to the oldest participants in the competition. Russia has become a Eurovision winner six times, taking one of the first three places; Dima Bilan brought the competition to his homeland once - in 2008. It is indicative how the political climate within a country influences who is chosen to represent the entertainment industry. In very recent 2009, Russia was represented by Anastasia Prikhodko, who sang in Russian and Ukrainian - unfortunately, such friendship of peoples is now difficult to imagine on the stage of the official TV channel. But if last year they sent the extremely positive Tolmachev sisters, this time they decided to loosen their grip a little. Polina Gagarina allows herself to take a selfie with Conchita Wurst and, despite the rather mediocre song, she does not lose her charisma and gives her all on stage.
Who made it to the finals and who can win?
This year's semi-finals included 33 countries. After the selections, 20 winners will compete for the title of winner, as well as 5 sponsoring countries, Germany, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, France, as well as Australia, plus the host country - Austria. The final finalists were revealed tonight after the second semi-final. The countries also received serial numbers of performances: Polina Gagarina will sing third from the end.
The Russian singer's chances are rated as one of the highest in the competition. Around Eurovision, as around any competition, there has long been a huge betting industry and a pool of bookers offers similar estimates of the likely outcome. So far, according to one estimate, Gagarin is in second place, losing the championship to Sweden; according to another, our chances of winning are still less, somewhere around 10 to 1, after Estonia, Sweden and Australia.