The BEST episodes of Eurovision Song Contest

#1 - Eurovision Song Contest 2021: 1st Semi-Final (The Netherlands)

Season 2021 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/18/2021

#2 - Eurovision Song Contest 1976 (Netherlands)

Season 1976 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/3/1976

After being host of the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest, Sweden withdrew from the contest as Swedish TV thought that the contest had become too commercial. They were also afraid of winning again and having to host the expensive show so soon. Turkey and Malta withdrew as well, but Greece and Austria returned. 18 countries participated in the 1976 song contest altogether. Former Dutch Eurovision Song Contest winner Corry Brokken hosted the contest.

#3 - Eurovision Song Contest 1995 (Ireland)

Season 1995 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/13/1995

1995 was the first time ever that the Eurovision Song Contest took place in the same city for two years in a row. In 1994, the European Broadcasting Union decreased the number of participants to 23 to make sure that the song contest would not last longer than three hours. All of the five relegated countries from the preceding year - Turkey, Slovenia, Israel, Denmark and Belgium - returned to the contest. In contrast, the bottom seven countries of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest were relegated: Lithuania, Estonia, the Netherlands, Finland, Romania, Slovakia and Switzerland.

#4 - Eurovision Song Contest 1984 (Luxembourg)

Season 1984 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/5/1984

After having held the contest last in 1973, Luxembourg played the host for the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest. The total number of participants was 19, one country less than in the preceding year as Greece decided not to enter a song. The contest also clashed with Israel's Remembrance Day, so the country wasn't present in Luxembourg either. Ireland returned to the contest though, finishing second.

#5 - Eurovision Song Contest 1974 (United Kingdom)

Season 1974 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/6/1974

1974 saw the first participation of Greece who sent their national star Marinella. France was to enter the song contest with the entry La Vie A Vingt-cinq Ans by Dani, but the French singer never got the chance to perform though as the French president, Georges Pompidou, died in the week of the contest and France withdrew.

#6 - Eurovision Song Contest 1973 (Luxembourg)

Season 1973 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/7/1973

For the third time in the 18-year-old history of the Eurovision Song Contest, Luxembourg had the honour of hosting the event with 17 nations present. After ending up in last position two years in a row, Malta decided to withdraw from the contest. Austria decided not to participate either. Instead, a new country joined the song contest, Israel. It was the first non-European country to enter the contest. Israel was allowed to do so because the country was already a member of the European Broadcasting Union.

#7 - Eurovision Song Contest 1986 (Norway)

Season 1986 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/3/1986

For the first time, Norway had the honour of hosting the 31st Eurovision Song Contest. Just like in Munich three years earlier, 20 countries participated in the contest. The Netherlands and Yugoslavia returned, Italy and Greece withdrew from the from the contest and Iceland made its debut.

#8 - Eurovision Song Contest 1972 (United Kingdom)

Season 1972 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/25/1972

The BBC stepped in to host the Eurovision Song Contest in 1972 and chose a venue outside of London for the first time. The contest was broadcast live to Asia for the first time with viewers in Japan, Taiwan, The Philippines, Hong Kong and Thailand, all able to watch the show. It also was the first year that a video wall was used to present song titles and artists.

#9 - Eurovision Song Contest 1987 (Belgium)

Season 1987 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/9/1987

Belgium had the honour of hosting the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in the country's history. The highest number of participants ever, 22, entered the contest in 1987. Greece and Italy returned to the contest after a year of absence. The 1986 contest was won by a Walloon entry, but in 1987 the Flemish broadcaster, BRT, was responsible for the Belgian entry. BRT also wanted to co-organise the contest, but the Walloon broadcaster, RTBF decided to organise the event on its own. The presenter of the 3-hour-show was the successful Belgian artist Viktor Laszlo who opened the contest presenting her latest song Breathless.

#10 - Eurovision Song Contest 1988 (Ireland)

Season 1988 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/30/1988

The 1988 Eurovision Song Contest was hosted in Dublin for the third time, 21 countries competed for the trophy. Host broadcaster RTE introduced a modern set, at that point the largest in the history of the contest. Two giant video walls and a computerised scoreboard were also unveiled. At the time, it was a ground breaking production and set the standard for future editions of the contest.

#11 - Eurovision Song Contest 1971 (Ireland)

Season 1971 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/3/1971

For the first time in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, Ireland hosted the event at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. Compared to 1970, the number of participants rose to 18 as Finland, Norway, Sweden and Portugal all returned to the contest after a year of absence. Malta also made its debut. The contest was broadcast in 29 countries.

#12 - Eurovision Song Contest 1970 (Netherlands)

Season 1970 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/21/1970

There were plenty of host countries to choose from as a result of the four-way tie in 1969; the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France and Spain. Eventually, Amsterdam was chosen to host the fifteenth Eurovision Song Contest by the drawing of lots. For the second year in a row, the number of participants went down.

#13 - Eurovision Song Contest 1989 (Switzerland)

Season 1989 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/6/1989

Switzerland hosted the very first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956 but did not host again until 1989. Céline Dion opened the show with a shortened reprise of her winning song from 1988, Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi and also performed her new English language single, Where Does My Heart Beat Now. The song would go on to be her first major hit in the United States.

#14 - Eurovision Song Contest 1969 (Spain)

Season 1969 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/29/1969

For the first time in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, the outcome of the voting resulted in a tie for first place. Four countries gained 18 points each: France, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. Since there was no solution for this situation, all four countries were declared winners.

#15 - Eurovision Song Contest 1990 (Yugoslavia)

Season 1990 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/5/1990

22 countries participated in the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest, the same line up as in 1989. Many of the songs reflected the wider political developments that were taking place in Europe.

#16 - Eurovision Song Contest 1968 (United Kingdom)

Season 1968 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/6/1968

France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom broadcast the 1968 contest in colour despite the fact that very few TV-viewers at home owned a colour TV set. However, colour was here to stay and all song contests since then have been broadcast primarily in colour.

#17 - Eurovision Song Contest 1991 (Italy)

Season 1991 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/4/1991

The 1991 Eurovision Song Contest was supposed to be held in the seaside resort San Remo which is known for its annual festival of Italian music, but host broadcaster RAI moved it to Rome at a very late stage due to ongoing instability in the Balkan region. For the second time since the very first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, the Netherlands decided to withdraw from the contest due to the country's Remembrance Day. Malta took the open spot which meant that the country was back for the first time since 1975.

#18 - Eurovision Song Contest 1993 (Ireland)

Season 1993 - Episode 2 - Aired 5/15/1993

The 1993 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Millstreet, a small town in South West Ireland, home to 1500 people, was an ambitious production for national broadcaster RTE. The 1993 contest is to date, the only competition in Ireland that has been held outside of the capital Dublin.

#19 - Eurovision Song Contest 1994 (Ireland)

Season 1994 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/30/1994

In 1994 seven countries joined the Eurovision Song Contest in what was the biggest single expansion in participants since the contest began in 1956. Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia and Slovakia all competed in the 39th Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin. Poland's debut at the Eurovision Song Contest was very successful when their representative Edyta Gorniak finished second with 166 points. The interval act in 1994 was the then unknown Riverdance, an act which combined traditional Irish folk music with modern dance. Riverdance became a global phenomenon, with the exception of participating artists, it is arguably the biggest money-spinner ever created by Eurovision. Lithuania scored zero points with its first ever entry.

#20 - Eurovision Song Contest 2009: 1st Semi-Final (Russia)

Season 2009 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/12/2009

This year there are 42 entries to the Eurovision Song Contest, with San Marino withdrawing due to financial difficulties and Georgia being forced out of the contest as their song breached the rules of the contest, while Slovakia makes a return to the contest after an 11 year absence. The 54th Eurovision Song Contest is being hosted by Moscow, Russia, following Dima Bilan's win for Russia in the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest. The Contest will take place in Moscow's Olympic Indoor Arena.

#21 - Eurovision Song Contest 2017: 1st Semi-Final (Ukraine)

Season 2017 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/9/2017

The first Semi-Final features participants from 18 countries. 10 will qualify for the Grand Final. 01. Robin Bengtsson (Sweden) - "I Can’t Go On" 02. Tako Gachechiladze (Georgia) - "Keep the Faith" 03. Isaiah Firebrace (Australia) - "Don't Come Easy" 04. Lindita (Albania) - "World" 05. Blanche (Belgium) - "City Lights" 06. Slavko Kalezic (Montenegro) - "Space 07. Norma John (Finland) - "Blackbird" 08. Dihaj (Azerbaijan) - "Skeletons" 09. Salvador Sobral (Portugal) - "Amar pelos dois" 10. Demy (Greece) - "This is Love" 11. Kasia Mos (Poland) - "Flashlight" 12. SunStroke Project (Moldova) - "Hey Mamma" 13. Svala (Iceland) - "Paper" 14. Martina Barta (Czech Republic) - "My Turn" 15. Hovig (Cyprus) - "Gravity" 16. Artsvik (Armenia) - "Fly With Me" 17. Omar Naber (Slovenia) - "On My Way" 18. Triana Park (Latvia) - "Line"

#22 - Preselection for Millstreet (Slovenia)

Season 1993 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/3/1993

Following the fall of the Iron Curtain and the dislocation of Yugoslavia, the number of countries wishing to participate in the contest grew strongly. For the second consecutive year, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) expanded the maximum number of participating countries from twenty-three to twenty-five. As Yugoslavia was excluded, only the twenty-two other countries that participated in the 1992 edition of the competition immediately won a place in the final. The EBU decided that the last three places would be awarded through a preselection, which would be organized by Slovenian public television

#23 - Europe Shine A Light

Season 2020 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/16/2020

Following the cancellation of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, the EBU and its Dutch Members NPO, NOS and AVROTROS are producing a new show, 'Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light', to air in place of the Grand Final on Saturday 16 May at 21:00 CEST. Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light will be aired by 46 broadcasters. The show will honour all 41 songs, in a non-competitive format, as well as providing plenty of surprises for fans and viewers at home. The show also intends to bring together 2020’s artists, from their locations across Europe, in a unifying performance of Eurovision 1997's Love Shine A Light by Katrina And The Waves.

#24 - Eurovision Song Contest 2019: 2nd Semi-Final (Israel)

Season 2019 - Episode 2 - Aired 5/16/2019

#25 - Eurovision Song Contest 2019: 1st Semi-Final (Israel)

Season 2019 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/14/2019