About the Eurovision Song Contest

The entrants

Eurovision facts and figures

• An estimated 100 million people across the world watch the contest every year.
• Last year, 11 million British viewers watched the culmination of the voting on BBC One.
• The United Kingdom has won the contest five times.
• Norway has been at the bottom of the list 10 times.
• The Eurovision Song Contest has been broadcast every year since 1956, which makes it one of the longest-running television programmes in the world.
• The competition has also been broadcast in Australia, Canada, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Jordan, Korea, New Zealand and the United States, even though these countries do not participate.
• The most covered Eurovision song is Volare, which has been covered by top stars including Frank Sinatra, Cliff Richard and David Bowie.
• More winning songs have been performed in English than any other language.
• Songs in English have won 22 times. French is also popular, with 14 victories, although this year's French entry will be in English. Dutch and Hebrew songs have won three times each.
• The Eurovision Song Contest is the biggest non-sporting event in the world.
• Celine Dion, Olivia Newton-John, Julio Iglesias and Las Ketchup have all participated in Eurovision.
• The United Kingdom didn't award a single point to Abba in 1974.
• In 1969 there was a four-way tie at the top of the leader board.
• The UK's Lulu was one of the four winners that year.
• Last year's UK entry Scooch reached number five in the UK singles chart, the highest chart placing since Katrina & The Waves in 1997.
• Ruslana, the Ukranian winner of 2004 Eurovision Song Contest, was elected to the country's parliament in 2006.

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