The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) was formed on 12th February 1950 by 23 broadcasting organisations from Europe and the Mediterranean at a conference in Devon, United Kingdom. It was on the 6th of June, 1954, that Montreux became the venue for the first transmission by the EBU's Eurovision Network of the Narcissus Festival and its flower-bedecked procession floats.
The first Eurovision viewers eagerly watched on four million television sets in homes, bars, and shop windows in Germany, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
In 1955, the EBU came up with the idea of an international song contest whereby countries, represeted by their respective public broadcasters, would participate in one television show, to be transmitted simultaneously in all represented nations.
Since 1956, the Eurovision Song Contest is Europe's favourite TV show. After more than five decades featuring some 1,100 songs, the contest has become a modern classic, strongly embedded into Europe's collective mind.
In its almost 60 years, the Eurovision Song Contest and its participants broke many records and enriched us with countless fait divers. Eurovision.tv highlights the most remarkable and impressive records.
More than 1,000 songs already have taken part in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2006, the song of Ireland's Brian Kennedy was number 1,000. In 2003, Cyprus delivered the 900th song for the Eurovision Song Contest. In 1999, Lydia's No Quiero Escuchar was the 800th song.
Number 100 was T'en Va Pas, performed by Esther OFARIM for Switzerland, De Troubadour performed by Lenny Kuhr was the 200th song in 1969. Malta brought number 300 in 1975; Singing This Song. He, He M'sieurs Dames was the 400th song performed on the Eurovision Song Contest, this time by France in 1980.
Luxembourg had the honour of presenting the 500th song in 1986, L'amour De Ma Vie, Portugal the 600th song in 1990 with Ha Sempre Slguem and in 1994, the Polish representative performed song number 700, To Nie Ja. The 1,100th song has been performed in 2008.
In 2005, Europe celebrated the 50th anniversary of its favorite TV show. Congratulations: 50 Years of Eurovision Song Contest was a television programme organised in 2005 to commemorate this. During a spectacular live show from Copenhagen, 14 of the contest's evergreens competed for the title of best Eurovision Song Contest entry of all times.
