What started as an experiment in live television 68 years ago continues this May with the Eurovision Song Contest.
The first competition was broadcast on the fledgling Eurovision Network in May 1956 to make programming more entertaining. It started with entries from seven European nations. Today, there are 37 participating countries — from Albania to the United Kingdom.
The contest is being held this year in Sweden’s Malmö Arena on May 7-11. Contestants are chosen by the European Broadcasting Union member broadcasters who then compete in three live shows: the first semifinal, the second semifinal and the grand finale.
The winner of the first contest was Switzerland’s Lys Assia with her second song, “Refrain.” During her career, she sang for a queen, a king and even Argentine luminary Eva Peron, aka Evita. Assia died in 2018 at the age of 94.
This year’s contestants include Baby Lasagna from Croatia with his song “Rim Tim Tagi Dim”; Windows95man, a duo from Finland, with their song “No Rules”; and Bambie Thug from Ireland with her song “Doomsday Blue.”
This year’s co-hosts are Swedish native Malin Åkerman and Swedish singer and comedian Petra Mede, who has hosted twice before.
“After first hosting it alone and then together with the delightful Måns Zelmerlöw by my side, I am now really looking forward to working with Malin,” Mede told Eurovision.tv.
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