Eurovision Song Contest (article)

Published by Mason Oldridge, 8 May 2026

Good evening Europe! It’s May, which can only mean one thing… it’s Eurovision season!

Eurovision Song Contest is a European international music competition, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and held annually since 1956. It is broadcast on the pan-European Eurovision network and watched by around 200 million viewers. Some of the most famous artists to feature in the contest include ABBA, Celine Dion, Bucks Fizz, Cliff Richard and two-time winner Johnny Logan. However, this article will focus purely on modern Eurovision of the last 20 years.

So how does it work? Each member country sends an artist as their representative with an original song. The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy make up the Big Five (the five highest financial contributors to the competition) who, along with last year’s winning country, automatically qualify for the Grand Final. The rest of the participating countries are split into two groups, with each group performing at one of the two semi-finals held earlier in the week on Tuesday and Thursday, and 10 entries from each semi-final progress to the Grand Final. The winner generally hosts the following year’s contest.

The Grand Final is an approximately four-hour long musical extravaganza and the single biggest event in the entertainment calendar. The final opens with an opening act, followed by the flag parade. The finalists, of which there are usually 26, then perform in a pre-determined running order intended to space out different song styles. When all acts have performed, the vote opens, as the hosts announce with the catchphrase “Europe, start voting now!” During the voting, interval acts perform. These are typically last year’s winner, previous entries, entries from the host country and music that celebrates the host country’s culture. During this point, one host will often visit the green room (the space in which the finalists and their delegation congregate whilst not performing) and check in with them. National flags, pride and enthusiasm are in full swing in this area and indeed around the rest of the arena. When voting closes and the votes have been counted and verified, the executive producer gives the go ahead for the results sequence. The results come equally from a jury vote made up of music professionals and a public televote. The hosts then go to each competing country’s designated spokesperson live from their country via webcam, who announce their country’s jury votes. The results work on a points system, with the top ten receiving 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points, respectively. “Douze points” and “nul points” are common catchphrases used to refer to the maximum 12 points and the minimum 0 points, respectively. The hosts then announce the televote points, but each finalist is given their total televote points at once, starting with the country with the least jury points and working up. This replaced the old points system, where the winning country could be mathematically revealed earlier on, making for a more exciting results sequence. Once the winner is announced, they receive their trophy and perform their song again.

Eurovision can always promise a wide array of genres at the contest, with pop being the frontrunner as a catchy hit is most likely to get stuck in heads and become favourites, for example Netta’s Toy (Israel 2018), Keiino’s Spirit in the Sky (Norway 2019) and Sam Ryder’s Space Man (United Kingdom 2022). Specifically female pop shines through too and can be seen as a display of feminine empowerment with Destiny’s Je me casse (Malta 2021), Stefania’s Last Dance (Greece 2021), Efendi’s Mata Hari (Azerbaijan 2021), Chanel’s SloMo (Spain 2022), Noa Kirel’s Unicorn (Israel 2023), Alessandra’s Queen of Kings (Norway 2023), Blanka’s Solo (Poland 2023) and Miriana Conte’s Serving (Malta 2025). Ballads are powerful and emotional so it should come as no surprise that they frequently appear on the Eurovision roster. Prime examples are Duncan Laurence’s Arcade (Netherlands 2019), Barbara Pravi’s Voilà (France 2021), Gjon’s Tears’ Tout l'univers (Switzerland 2021) and Slimane’s Mon amour (France 2024). Electronic and dance music is also popular, I mean, Eurovision is one big party after all. This includes Daði Freyr’s Think About Things and 10 Years (Iceland 2020/2021), The Roop’s On Fire and Discoteque (Lithuania 2020/2021), Käärijä’s Cha Cha Cha (Finland 2023), Baby Lasagna’s Rim Tim Tagi Dim (Croatia 2024) and Abor & Tynna’s Baller (Germany 2025). Sometimes, the electronic genre turns darker, such as Hatari’s Hatrið mun sigra (Iceland 2019), Luke Black’s Samo mi se spava (Serbia 2023) and Bambie Thug’s Doomsday Blue (Ireland 2024). Eurovision can always guarantee a novelty act as a staple of the contest. Arguably, the most famous example is Verka Serduchka’s Dancing Lasha Tumbai (Ukraine 2007). Little Big’s Uno (Russia 2020) proved popular before the contest was cancelled, as well as Subwolfer’s Give That Wolf a Banana (Norway 2022), Teya and Salena’s Who the Hell Is Edgar? (Austria 2023), Tommy Cash’s Espresso Macchiato (Estonia 2025) and KAJ’s Bara bada bastu (Sweden 2025). Rock is a less common genre heard at Eurovision, though has enjoyed some success at the event, most notably Måneskin’s Zitti e buoni (Italy 2021). Other examples include Blind Channel’s Dark Side (Finland 2021), The Rasmus’ Jezebel (Finland 2022), Voyager’s Promise (Australia 2023) and Lord of the Lost’s Blood & Glitter (Germany 2023). Where English language was once dominant, countries have reverted back to performing in their native tongue again, as well as honouring their nation’s musical heritage, such as Go_A’s Shum (Ukraine 2021), Konstrakta’s In corpore sano (Serbia 2022) and Ladaniva’s Jako (Armenia 2024). Spain, Italy and Albania regularly incorporate their own country’s sound into their entries. Although songs must refrain from being politically influenced, entries have been linked to war before, such as Jamala’s 1944 (Ukraine 2017) and Kalush Orchestra’s Stefania (Ukraine 2022).

Winning Eurovision is one of the biggest titles that can be won in the music world but particularly notable winners include Lordi with Hard Rock Hallelujah (Finland 2006) for their monster aesthetic, Alexander Rybak with Fairytale (Norway 2009) for being the highest scoring winner under the old voting system, Loreen with Euphoria and Tattoo (Sweden 2012/2023) for doing the double and Conchita Wurst with Rise Like a Phoenix (Austria 2014) for appearing as a bearded lady.

Innovative staging is key to catching eyes on the stage, as evident with Måns Zelmerlöw, who interacted with animated robots during Heroes (Sweden 2015), fan favourite Sergey Lazarev during You Are The Only One (Russia 2016), Kate Miller-Heidke, who appeared on a large swaying pole during Zero Gravity (Australia 2019), Rosa Linn, who performed in a paper house during Snap (Armenia 2022), Nemo, who performed on a rotating and seesawing disc during The Code (Switzerland 2024), and JJ, whose performance mimicked a tempest storm during Wasted Love (Austria 2025).

With the 2026 contest fast approaching, there’s only one thing left to say: let the Eurovision Song Contest begin!