History of the Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest (French: Concours Eurovision de la chanson) was first held in 1956, originally conceived as an experiment in transnational television broadcasting.^[1] Following a series of exchange broadcasts in 1954, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) commissioned an international song competition, from an idea developed by Sergio Pugliese and Marcel Bezençon and originally based on the Italian Sanremo Music Festival.

A total of 68 contests have been held since its first edition, and 1,717 songs representing 52 countries have been performed on the Eurovision stage as of 2024.^[update] The contest has seen many changes since its inauguration, such as the introduction of relegation in the 1990s, and subsequently semi-finals in the 2000s, as a response to growing numbers of interested participants. The rules of the contest have also seen multiple changes over the years, with the voting system and language criteria being modified on several occasions.

The Eurovision Song Contest has been identified as the longest-running annual international televised music competition in the world, as determined by Guinness World Records, and around 40 countries now regularly take part each year. Several other competitions have been inspired by Eurovision in the years since its formation, and the EBU has also created a number of complimentary contests which focus on other aspects of music and culture. The 2020 edition of the contest was the first to be cancelled, as no competitive event was able to take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.