Did you know that The Eurovision Song Contest was inspired by the popular Italian San Remo Festival. The idea was born during a meeting in Monaco in 1955 and adopted in Rome shortly after.
The event was to be held for the first time the following year in Lugano, Switzerland; it was entitled "The Eurovision Grand Prix", a name thought up by a British journalist.
In 1956 seven countries entered The Eurovision Song Contest. Each participant was allowed to submit two songs in the language they wanted. The only restriction: the performance was limited to 3½ minutes. The winner was chosen by a jury consisting of two delegates from each country who could award between 1 and 10 points and that year it was Lys Assia (Switzerland) with her song "Refrain".
The UK first tasted victory when Sandie Shaw sang "Puppet on a String" in 1967 with Cliff Richard's "Congratulations" finishing runner-up the following year.
For many the major achievement of Eurovision will be the championing of Abba who in 1974 won with "Waterloo" and went on to considerable commercial success.
Few but the diehard fans will remember much since then save a remarkable run for Ireland which saw them winning back to back acclaim for so many years that it almost became too expensive for them to keep putting on the Contest each year. Transsexual "diva" Dana International strutted onto the podium for Israel in the mid-nineties provoking the wrath of many but amusing most. Overall the standard of music is variable to say the least but as an annual cheese-fest it probably still justifies its existence.
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