THE HISTORY OF EUROVISION

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual event organized by Europe's Public Television Channels, aiming to promote the most popular new song.

In reality, Eurovision is the name of the European Broadcasting Union's (EBU) European distribution network, which was founded in the mid '50s and continues to provide news and sports material within and beyond the borders of the continent.

Naturally, many technical problems arose back in the olden days. There were no satellites, the use of video was still basic, however, the idea quickly spread to unite all the EBU countries. The new system was called Eurovision and it entailed common productions of theatrical plays, documentaries and sports programmes. Today, 41 years later, Eurovision continues to supply material throughout Europe, - and many more countries - however, the only programme that is commonly linked to Eurovision is the song contest.

The European Song Contest took place for the first time in Switzerland in 1956. Its roots go back to the San Remo Italian Song Festival, while the idea of an event that would unite the nations of post-war Europe belongs to Frenchman Marcel Baison. The San Remo Festival continues until today.

Only the members of the EBU can participate in the contest, with the exception of Israel and some other countries that are not on the European map. Due to the fact that the demand for participation has skyrocketed, a new procedure had to be adopted, based on the countries' performances in the last few years. United Kingdom, Germany, France and Spain are excluded from the rule, as they are the four largest EBU members and qualify automatically.

The selection of the song that will represent each country is up to the country itself. Many countries have their own selection procedure, during which a committee, or the viewing audience (through tele-voting) determine the artist and song that will represent them.

The most successful countries of the contest are Ireland, with 7 wins, and United Kingdom, France and Luxemburg, with 5 wins respectively.

However, there are no limits for the ethnicity of the artists. Two years ago, American Katrina Leskanich represented UK along with the British band "Wave". Also internationally acclaimed Greek singer Nana Mouschouri had represented Luxemburg in 1963. Furthermore, in the day of the final, each country can appear on stage with a maximum of six artists, including the dancers.

Sandra Kim of Belgium was just 13 years old when she won the Contest in 1986 with the song "J'aime La Vie". Today, the competitors have to be over 16 years of age in order to participate in the contest.

The rules are quite strict during the final. The use of amplifiers on stage is forbidden, while the drummers have to only use the equipment supplied. However, they can use recorded background music, as long as it is instrumental. Furthermore, songs over 3 minutes long may be disqualified. The audience finally chooses the songs through televoting, while they cannot vote for their own country's song.