Millions to tune in for Eurovision

Millions of viewers will tonight tune in for the world’s biggest singing extravaganza - the Eurovision Song Contest.

The first Eurovision Song Contest was held in 1956 in Lugano, Switzerland when seven countries - Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, France and Luxembourg each presented two songs.

Swiss singer Lys Assia carried off the first Eurovision prize for the host country before returning to the stage to forget her lines during a repeat performance.

Ireland has seen the most success with seven winners (four of them between 1992 and 1996). Britain has five winners, the most recent being Katrina and the Waves in 1997.

Belgium had to wait a record 30 years before notching its first win, in 1986. Its entry, J’aime La Vie, was sung by 13-year-old Sandra Kim before organisers introduced a rule that all contestants have to be at least 16.

But she was not the youngest singer. That honour went to France’s 11-year-old entry, Nathalie Peduc, in the 1970s.

Famous losers include Sir Cliff Richard with Congratulations. He was beaten into second place by one point in 1968, by a Spanish song containing the word ‘‘la’’ 138 times. It was called ‘‘La, la, la’’.

Lulu was instrumental in one of the most bizarre results in the contest’s history when her Boom Bang-A-Bang tied four ways with the entries from Spain, The Netherlands and France.

One of the longest titles in the contest’s history was Germany’s 1964 offering, Man Gewohnt Sich So Schnell An Das Schonf.

Other tongue-twisters who have made it to the Eurovision stage have been Lithuanian singer Ovidijius Vysniauskas and Dutch entrant Edwin

Schimscheimer and his song Anthrolos Ki Ego.

Abba fell short of Euro-success in 1973 with Ring Ring, but returned a year later to storm to victory with Waterloo - beating off Poogy from Israel and Korni from Yugoslavia.

The highest scoring winner was the UK’s 1976 entry, Save All Your Kisses For Me, by Brotherhood of Man. It won with 164 out of a possible 204 points.

Nationalities are often interchangeable for the purposes of Eurovision: Canadian Celine Dion won for Switzerland in 1988, while Aussie Gina G has sung for Britain and Greek-born Nana Mouskouri represented Luxembourg.

The contest can also raise diplomatic temperatures. In 1978, Jordanian TV switched to an American detective serial when it looked as if the Israeli entry, A-Ba-Ni-Bi, was going to win.

Three years later when Jordanians saw adverts instead of the Israeli entry and were deprived of seeing the scoring stage because it meant Israel’s name was on screen.