Top 10 fun facts.....Eurovision

Hello there Gentle Readers, tonight in Sweden, Europe goes to war....song war that is....never mind the dodgy costumes, big hair and cheesy pop. But neighbours will vote for friends and enemies will give nul points. No one will vote for the UK and whoever wins there will be tears and  cries of unfairness.

In the end though....does anyone really care? Here are my top 10 facts.

  

1. The Eurovision Song Contest began in 1956 with the sole purpose of uniting nations through song. Ironically it has been dividing them ever since. The first competition was in Switzerland and featured seven countries. 

 

2. Despite its fame, the phrase "nul points" is never actually used. Instead they tend to say "pas de points" or "zero point". The country who has scored the most zeros is Norway but the longest running losers are the Portuguese, having never made the top five.

3. In 1981 the UK act Bucks Fizz stunned viewers with their Velcro rip-away skirts and within 48 hours, Velcro had sold out across the country. Singer Cheryl Baker said: "A strip of Velcro changed my life."

4. The UK have finished last three times and won five times.

5. The youngest ever entrant was 13-year-old Sandra Kim from Belgium who won in 1986. The oldest was 95-year-old Emil Ramsauer from Switzerland.

6. The previous year’s winner hosts Eurovision but it’s so expensive that nations have pleaded poverty to get out of it. The countries who have opted out include the Netherlands, France, Monaco, and Luxembourg and the job went to the UK four times.

7. When Ukrainian singer Rusiana won Eurovision in 2004, she was rewarded with a seat in Parliament.

8. The UK’s first victory was in 1967 with Sandie Shaw’s Puppet On A String. She later said:"‘I hated the song from the first oompah to the final bang on the big bass drum. I was repelled by its sexist drivel and cuckoo-clock tune."

9. In 1978 Jordan showed some flowers instead of the Israeli entry on their screening of the show. When Israel went on to win they pretended it was Belgium.

10. After a run of bad luck the UK started hiring acts who weren’t even European, let alone British. We were 8th in 1996 with Ooh Ah Just A Little Bit by Australia’s Gina G and won in 1997 with Love Shine A Light by American Katrina Leskenich of Katrina & the Waves.

#eurovision #votelatvia #top10funfacts