The Eurovision Song Contest, often known simply as Eurovision or by its initialism ESC, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union. Each participating country submits an original song to be performed live and transmitted to national broadcasters via the Eurovision and Euroradio networks, with competing countries then casting votes for the other countries' songs to determine a winner.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1999 was the 44th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 29 May 1999 at the International Convention Centre in Jerusalem, Israel. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), the contest was held in the country following its victory at the 1998 contest with the song "Diva" by Dana International, and was presented by Dafna Dekel, Yigal Ravid and Sigal Shachmon.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and presented by Terry Wogan and Ulrika Jonsson, the contest was held in the United Kingdom following the country's victory at the 1997 contest with the song "Love Shine a Light" by Katrina and the Waves.
Seán Patrick Michael Sherrard, known professionally as Johnny Logan, is an Irish singer and musician. He is best known for being the first performer to win the Eurovision Song Contest as a lead singer twice.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest is an international song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) annually since 2003.
Eurovision is a pan-European television telecommunications network owned and operated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It was founded in 1954 in Geneva, Switzerland, and its first official transmission took place on 6 June 1954. However, a year before the official launch, on 2 June 1953 the coronation of Elizabeth II was one of the first events to be broadcast across Europe.
Israel has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 45 times since making its debut in 1973. Israel was able to enter the contest as the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was an active member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which was responsible for the event. The IBA was succeeded as the broadcaster in charge of the Israeli entry by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan) in 2018. Israel has won the contest four times, and has hosted the contest in Jerusalem twice in 1979 and 1999. Israel hosted the contest for the third time in Tel Aviv in 2019.
Die Grand Prix Hitliste – Die schönsten Songs Europas was a one-off music competition, held by the German broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) on 20 May 2006 in Hamburg, Germany. Its aim was to determine the best song in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest by means of an opinion poll.
"Diva" is the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1998, performed in Hebrew by Israeli singer Dana International representing Israel. The music was composed by Svika Pick, with lyrics written by Yoav Ginai. The song was produced by Offer Nissim with music arrangements by Alon Levin and included on her fifth album, Free (1999). It was Israel's third winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest, following the consecutive victories of 1978 and 1979. Dana International's win is considered one of the most groundbreaking moments in Eurovision history.
Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Irelande Douze Pointe" written by Darren Smith, Simon Fine and Dustin the Turkey. The song was performed by children's show puppet Dustin the Turkey. The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2008 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia. Six songs faced a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "Irelande Douze Pointe" performed by Dustin the Turkey as the Irish Eurovision entry.
John Kennedy O'Connor is a television and radio broadcaster, author, and entertainment commentator. He was born in North London, England, but is a naturalized citizen of the United States. He has written, reported and broadcast for numerous media organizations, as well as writing, created and produced media events for a number of international corporations all over the world. He is best known for his work within the Eurovision Song Contest as a TV commentator and host. Until 2023, he was the news anchor for NBC and CBS Northern California channels KIEM-TV and KVIQ-LD, before moving to CBS Station KIMA-TV in Washington, as the main anchor.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "No Goodbyes" written by Ellert Driessen and John O'Hare. The song was performed by Linda Wagenmakers. The Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) organised the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2000 in order to select the Dutch entry for the 2000 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Eight entries competed in the national final on 27 February 2000 where "No Goodbyes" performed by Linda Wagenmakers was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from twelve regional juries and a public vote.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "My Heart Goes Boom" written by Tore Madsen and Morten Henriksen. The song was performed by the group Charmed. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2000 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2000 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Ten entries competed in a show that took place on 4 March 2000 and the winner was determined over two rounds of voting from a five-member jury panel and a regional televote. The top four entries in the first round of voting advanced to the competition's second round—the superfinal. In the second round of voting, "My Heart Goes Boom" performed by Charmed was selected as the winner.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Ding Dong" written and performed by Dana International, who had previously represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998 where she won the contest with the song "Diva". The Israeli entry for the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2011, organised by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA). The competition took place on 8 March 2011 that featured ten entries. "Ding Dong" performed by Dana International emerged as the winner after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from three thematical jury groups, a twelve-member jury panel and a public vote.
Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Waterline" written by Nick Jarl and Sharon Vaughn. The song was performed by the duo Jedward, who had previously represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 where they achieved eighth place with the song "Lipstick". The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2012 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Five songs faced the votes of five regional juries and a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "Waterline" performed by Jedward as the Irish Eurovision entry.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Diva" performed by Dana International. The song was written by Svika Pick and Yoav Ginai.
Australia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest eight times since its debut in 2015, the second country outside of the Eurasia region to take part in the contest after Morocco in 1980. The country has been in the top ten five times, with their best result being a second-place finish for Dami Im in 2016, followed by Guy Sebastian finishing fifth in 2015 and Isaiah, Kate Miller-Heidke and Voyager finishing ninth in 2017, 2019 and 2023 respectively.
Azerbaijan participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Hour of the Wolf" written by Sandra Bjurman, Nicolas Rebscher, Nicklas Lif and Lina Hansson. The song was performed by Elnur Hüseynov, who was internally selected by the Azerbaijani broadcaster İctimai Television (İTV) in March 2015 to represent the nation at the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. Hüseynov had previously represented Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008 together with Samir Javadzadeh where they placed eighth with the song "Day After Day". The song "Hour of the Wolf" was presented to the public on 15 March.
Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits was a live television concert programme organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest. The concert took place on 31 March 2015 at the Eventim Apollo, in Hammersmith, London. Guy Freeman was the executive producer and Geoff Posner the director, both of whom held the same positions as the last time the BBC hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998. Simon Proctor was the senior producer and David Arch was the musical director for the concert. Tickets for the event went on sale at 10:15 (GMT) on 6 February 2015.
Australia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Sound of Silence" written by Anthony Egizii and David Musumeci. The song was performed by Dami Im, who was internally selected by the Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) to represent that nation at the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Im was announced as the Australian representative on 3 March 2016 during the Sydney concert of Conchita Wurst, Austria's Eurovision Song Contest 2014 winner. The song Im performed, "Sound of Silence", was presented to the public on 11 March 2016.
