Editing Eurovision Song Contest (section)

== Origins and history ==
{{Further|History of the Eurovision Song Contest}}
[[File:Eurovision Song Contest 1958 - Lys Assia (crop).png|thumb|alt=Photo of Lys Assia, the first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest, performing at the third contest in 1958.|[[Lys Assia]], the winner of the first Eurovision Song Contest in {{Escyr|1956}}, performing at the {{Escyr|1958|3=1958 contest}}]]
The [[European Broadcasting Union]] (EBU) was formed in 1950 among 23 broadcasting organisations. The word "Eurovision" was first used by British journalist George Campey in the ''[[Evening Standard]]'' in 1951, when he referred to a [[BBC|British Broadcasting Corporation]] (BBC) programme being relayed by Dutch television.{{sfn|Roxburgh|2012|pp=93–96}}<ref name="GoldenJubilee">{{Cite web |last=Jaquin |first=Patrick |date=1 December 2004 |title=Eurovision's Golden Jubilee |url=http://www.ebu.ch/en/union/diffusion_on_line/television/tcm_6-8971.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040811033906/http://www.ebu.ch/en/union/diffusion_on_line/television/tcm_6-8971.php |archive-date=11 August 2004 |access-date=18 July 2009 |publisher=[[European Broadcasting Union]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Campey |first=George |title=And now– Eurovision |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-standard-and-now-eurovision/168903073/ |access-date=26 March 2025 |work=[[Evening Standard]] |date=5 November 1951 |location=London, United Kingdom |page=9 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Following several events broadcast internationally via their [[Eurovision (network)|Eurovision transmission network]] in the early 1950s, including the [[coronation of Elizabeth II]] in 1953, an EBU committee, headed by [[Marcel Bezençon]], was formed in January 1955 to investigate new initiatives for cooperation between broadcasters, which approved for further study a European song competition from an idea initially proposed by {{lang|it|[[RAI|Radiotelevisione italiana]]|i=no}} (RAI) manager [[Sergio Pugliese]].<ref name="GoldenJubilee" /><ref name="Eurovision network">{{Cite web |title=Eurovision: About us – who we are |url=https://www.eurovision.net/about/whoweare |access-date=28 June 2020 |publisher=[[Eurovision (network)|Eurovision Song Contest]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sommerlad |first=Joe |date=18 May 2019 |title=Eurovision 2019: What exactly is the point of the annual song contest and how did it begin? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/eurovision-2019-song-contest-what-is-the-point-purpose-pop-history-a8916801.html |access-date=27 June 2020 |website=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> The EBU's general assembly agreed to the organising of the song contest in October 1955, under the initial title of the ''European Grand Prix'', and accepted a proposal by the [[Swiss Broadcasting Corporation]] (SRG SSR) to host the event in [[Lugano]] in the spring of 1956.{{sfn|Roxburgh|2012|pp=93–96}}<ref name="GoldenJubilee" />{{sfn|O'Connor|2010|pp=8–9}} The Italian [[Sanremo Music Festival]], held since 1951, was used as a basis for the initial planning of the contest, with several amendments and additions given its international nature.{{sfn|Roxburgh|2012|pp=93–96}} The Eurovision Song Contest was developed as a way of putting transnational [[live television]] to the test, promoting television, as well as encouraging the production of original songs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Österdahl |first=Martin |title=The Eurovision Song Contest: an academic phenomenon |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-03-203774-5 |editor-last=Dubin |editor-first=Adam |location=London ; New York |page=xii |chapter=Foreword |editor-last2=Vuletic |editor-first2=Dean |editor-last3=Obregón |editor-first3=Antonio}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=27 May 2019 |title=The Origins of Eurovision |url=https://eurovision.tv/history/origins-of-eurovision |access-date=15 April 2023 |website=Eurovision Song Contest}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Vuletic |first=Dean |title=The Eurovision Song Contest: an academic phenomenon |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-03-203774-5 |editor-last=Dubin |editor-first=Adam |location=London ; New York |page=8 |chapter=The Grand Tour: the origins of the Eurovision Song Contest as a cultural phenomenon |editor-last2=Vuletic |editor-first2=Dean |editor-last3=Obregón |editor-first3=Antonio}}</ref><ref name="GoldenJubilee" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Règlement du Grand Prix Eurovision 1956 de la Chanson Européenne (version définitive) |trans-title=Rules of the Grand Prix of the Eurovision Song Competition 1956 (final version) |url=https://eurovision.tv/upload/history/1956/56_rules.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160620231134/http://www.eurovision.tv/upload/history/1956/56_rules.pdf |archive-date=20 June 2016 |publisher=[[European Broadcasting Union]] (EBU) |location=[[Geneva]], Switzerland |language=fr}}</ref>

Broadcasters from seven countries participated in the {{Escyr|1956||first contest}}, with each country represented by two songs; the only time in which multiple entries per country were permitted.<ref name="Nutshell">{{Cite web |date=31 March 2017 |title=Eurovision Song Contest: In a Nutshell |url= https://eurovision.tv/history/in-a-nutshell |access-date=27 June 2020 |publisher=Eurovision Song Contest}}</ref><ref name="Facts & Figures">{{Cite web |date=12 January 2017 |title=Eurovision Song Contest: Facts & Figures |url= https://eurovision.tv/about/facts-and-figures |access-date=27 June 2020 |publisher=Eurovision Song Contest}}</ref> The winning song was "{{lang|fr|[[Refrain (Lys Assia song)|Refrain]]|i=no}}", representing the host country Switzerland and performed by [[Lys Assia]].<ref name="Winners">{{Cite web |title=Eurovision Song Contest: Winners |url=https://eurovision.tv/winners |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180512231240/https://eurovision.tv/winners |archive-date=12 May 2018 |access-date=23 May 2021 |publisher=Eurovision Song Contest}}</ref> Voting during the first contest was held behind closed doors, with only the winner being announced on stage; the use of a scoreboard and public announcement of the voting, inspired by the BBC's ''[[Festival of British Popular Songs 1956|Festival of British Popular Songs]]'', began in {{Escyr|1957}}.{{sfn|Roxburgh|2012|p=152}} The tradition of the winning broadcaster hosting the following year's contest, which has since become a standard feature of the event, began in {{Escyr|1958}}.{{sfn|O'Connor|2010|pp=12–13}}{{sfn|Roxburgh|2012|p=160}} Technological developments have transformed the contest: [[Color television|colour broadcasts]] began in {{Escyr|1968}}; [[Satellite television|satellite broadcasts]] in {{Escyr|1985}}; and [[Streaming media|streaming]] in {{Escyr|2000}}.<ref name="Eurovision network" /><ref name="London 68">{{Cite web |title=Eurovision Song Contest: London 1968 |url= https://eurovision.tv/event/london-1968 |access-date=5 July 2020 |publisher=Eurovision Song Contest}}</ref><ref name="Webcasting">{{Cite web |last=Laven |first=Philip |date=July 2002 |title=Webcasting and the Eurovision Song Contest |url= http://www.ebu.ch/en/technical/trev/trev_291-editorial.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080528091401/http://www.ebu.ch/en/technical/trev/trev_291-editorial.html |archive-date=28 May 2008 |access-date=28 June 2020 |publisher=[[European Broadcasting Union]]}}</ref> Broadcasts in [[16:9 aspect ratio|widescreen]] began in {{Escyr|2005}} and in [[High-definition television|high-definition]] in {{Escyr|2007}}, with [[Ultra-high-definition television|ultra-high-definition]] tested for the first time in {{Escyr|2022}}.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Polishchuk |first=Tetiana |date=17 May 2005 |title=Eurovision to Be Broadcast in Widescreen, With New Hosts |url= https://day.kyiv.ua/en/article/culture/eurovision-be-broadcast-widescreen-new-hosts |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201122170009/https://day.kyiv.ua/en/article/culture/eurovision-be-broadcast-widescreen-new-hosts |archive-date=22 November 2020 |access-date=23 February 2021 |work=[[The Day (Kyiv)|The Day]] |location=[[Kyiv]], Ukraine}}</ref><ref name="Helsinki 07" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cafarelli |first=Donato |date=23 April 2022 |title=Eurovision Song Contest 2022: la Rai trasmetterà l'evento per la prima volta in 4K |trans-title=Eurovision Song Contest 2022: Rai will broadcast the event for the first time in 4K |url=https://www.eurofestivalnews.com/2022/04/23/eurovision-song-contest-2022-rai-4k/ |access-date=23 April 2022 |website=Eurofestival News |language=it-IT}}</ref>

By the 1960s, between 16 and 18 countries were regularly competing each year.<ref name="ESC History">{{Cite web |title=Eurovision Song Contest: History by events |url=https://eurovision.tv/events |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825083217/https://eurovision.tv/events |archive-date=25 August 2017 |access-date=27 June 2020 |publisher=Eurovision Song Contest}}</ref> Countries from outside the traditional [[Europe#Definition|boundaries of Europe]] began entering the contest, and countries in Western Asia and North Africa started competing in the 1970s and 1980s. Apart from {{Esccnty|Yugoslavia}} (a member of the [[non-aligned movement]] and not seen as part of the Eastern Bloc at the time) no socialist or communist country ever participated.{{efn|However, its Eastern European counterpart, the [[Intervision Song Contest]], organised by the [[International Radio and Television Organisation]] (OIRT), which held four editions in 1977–1980 saw the participation of Western countries – including some from outside Europe like Canada – in addition to the Eastern Bloc countries.}} Only after the [[Cold War (1985–1991)|end of the Cold War]] did other countries from [[Central and Eastern Europe]] participate for the first time – some of those countries having gained or regained their independence in the course of the breakup of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union. As a consequence, more broadcasters were now applying than could feasibly participate in a one-night-event of reasonable length. Numerous solutions to this problem were tried out over the years. The {{Escyr|1993||1993 contest}} included a contest called {{lang|sl|[[Kvalifikacija za Millstreet]]}} which was a pre-qualifying round for seven of these new countries, and from {{Escyr|1994}}, [[Promotion and relegation|relegation systems]] were introduced to manage the number of competing entries, with the poorest performing countries barred from entering the following year's contest.<ref name="ESC History" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Eurovision Song Contest 1993 |url=https://eurovision.tv/event/millstreet-1993 |access-date=27 June 2020 |publisher=Eurovision Song Contest}}</ref> From 2004, the contest expanded to become a multi-programme event, with a semi-final at the {{Escyr|2004||49th contest}} allowing all interested countries to compete each year; a second semi-final was added to each edition from {{Escyr|2008}}.<ref name="Facts & Figures" /><ref name="ESC History" />

There have been 69 contests {{as of|2025|lc=y|post=,}} making Eurovision the longest-running annual international televised music competition as determined by ''[[Guinness World Records]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lynch |first=Kevin |date=23 May 2015 |title=Eurovision recognised by Guinness World Records as the longest-running annual TV music competition (international) |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2015/5/eurovision-recognised-by-guinness-world-records-as-the-longest-running-annual-tv-379520 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122030337/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2015/5/eurovision-recognised-by-guinness-world-records-as-the-longest-running-annual-tv-379520 |archive-date=22 January 2020 |access-date=26 June 2020 |publisher=[[Guinness World Records]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Escudero |first=Victor M. |date=23 May 2015 |title=Eurovision Song Contest awarded Guinness world record |url=https://eurovision.tv/story/eurovision-song-contest-awarded-guinness-world-record |access-date=9 July 2020 |publisher=Eurovision Song Contest}}</ref> The contest has been listed as one of the longest-running television programmes in the world and among the world's most watched non-sporting events.<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 June 2015 |title=Culture & Entertainment {{!}} Eurovision |url=http://www.brandeu.eu/eu-powerhouse/culture-and-entertainment/eurovision/ |access-date=19 March 2021 |publisher=[[Brand EU]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=3 June 2015 |title=Press Release: 60th Eurovision Song Contest Seen by Nearly 200 Million Viewers |url=https://www.ebu.ch/news/2015/06/press-release-60th-eurovision-so |access-date=19 March 2021 |publisher=[[European Broadcasting Union]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Ritman |first=Alex |date=3 June 2015 |title=Eurovision Song Contest Draws Almost 200 Million Viewers |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6583366/eurovision-song-contest-draws-almost-200-million-viewers |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=20 March 2021}}</ref> Broadcasters from a total of [[List of countries in the Eurovision Song Contest|52 countries]] have taken part in at least one edition, with a record 43 countries participating in a single contest, first in {{Escyr|2008}} and subsequently in {{Escyr|2011}} and {{Escyr|2018}}.<ref name="Facts & Figures" /><ref name="ESC History" />

Eurovision had been held every year until 2020, when {{Escyr|2020||that year's contest}} was cancelled in response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name="Facts & Figures" /><ref name="2020 cancellation">{{Cite web |date=6 April 2020 |title=Official EBU statement & FAQ on Eurovision 2020 cancellation |url=https://eurovision.tv/official-ebu-statement-and-faq-eurovision-song-contest-2020-cancellation |access-date=27 June 2020 |publisher=Eurovision Song Contest}}</ref> No competitive event was able to take place due to uncertainty caused by the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Europe|spread of the virus in Europe]] and the various restrictions imposed by the governments of the participating countries. In its place a special broadcast, ''[[Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light]]'', was produced by the organisers, which honoured the songs and artists that would have competed in 2020 in a non-competitive format.<ref name="2020 cancellation" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=9 April 2020 |title=Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light |url=https://eurovision.tv/eurovision-europe-shine-a-light |access-date=27 June 2020 |publisher=Eurovision Song Contest}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=17 May 2020 |title=Eurovision still shines despite cancelled final |work=[[The Guardian]] |agency=[[PA Media]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/may/17/eurovision-still-shines-despite-cancelled-final |access-date=27 June 2020}}</ref>

=== Naming ===
The contest has been known by different names in various languages. The first contest was officially named the {{lang|fr|Gran premio Eurovisione della canzone europea}} in Italian, the {{lang|fr|Grand Prix Eurovision de la chanson européenne}} in French, and the ''Grand Prix of the Eurovision Song Competition'' in English,<ref name="Radio Times">{{cite news |title=Thursday 24 May – Television |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/page/8550f816c7ad447fbfccbf0903ad4814?page=38 |access-date=2 June 2022 |work=[[Radio Times]] |date=18 May 1956 |page=38 |location=London, United Kingdom |archive-date=11 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811084616/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/page/8550f816c7ad447fbfccbf0903ad4814?page=38 |url-status=live}}</ref> Similar variations, such as {{lang|se|Eurovision Schlagerfestival}} in Swedish or {{lang|nl|Eurovisie Songfestival}} in Dutch, were unofficially used in some editions. The names ''Eurovision Song Contest'' and {{lang|fr|Concours Eurovision de la Chanson}} in French became a {{lang|la|de facto}} standard in subsequent decades. The contest was briefly rebranded as ''Eurosong'' in English for the {{ESCYr|1996|3=1996 edition}},<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Chris|last=Marlowe|date=1996-05-11 |title=Norway Shapes a New-style Eurovision|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1996/MM-1996-05-11.pdf|magazine=[[Music & Media]]|volume=13|issue=19|location=[[Amsterdam]], Netherlands|issn=1385-612X|page=10|access-date=2025-01-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817005018/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1996/MM-1996-05-11.pdf|archive-date=2020-08-17|url-status=live}}</ref> but this was reverted the following year. The names were not standardised until 2004,<ref>{{Cite web |year=2002 |title=Palmarès du Concours Eurovision de la Chanson |url=http://www.ebu.ch/departments/television/pdf/Winners-Palmares_56-02.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528174029/http://www.ebu.ch/departments/television/pdf/Winners-Palmares_56-02.pdf |archive-date=28 May 2008 |access-date=28 June 2020 |publisher=[[European Broadcasting Union]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=Rules of the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest|url=http://www.myledbury.co.uk/eurovision/pdf/esc2004.pdf|id=SPG 03-12612|publisher=European Broadcasting Union}}</ref>{{bsn|date=January 2025}} when the contest was rebranded.<ref name="ESC History" /> The official brand guidelines specify that translations of the name may be used depending on national tradition and brand recognition in the competing countries, but that the official name ''Eurovision Song Contest'' is always preferred.<ref name="Brand" />

On only four occasions has the name used for the official logo of the contest not been in English or French: the Italian names {{lang|it|Gran Premio Eurovisione della Canzone}} and {{lang|it|Concorso Eurovisione della Canzone}} were used when Italy hosted the {{Escyr|1965}} and {{Escyr|1991}} contests respectively; and the Dutch name {{lang|nl|Eurovisiesongfestival}} was used when the Netherlands hosted in {{Escyr|1976}} and {{Escyr|1980}}.<ref name="ESC History" />