The Eurovision Song Contest, sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union, featuring participants representing primarily European countries. Each participating country submits an original song to be performed on live television and radio, transmitted to national broadcasters via the EBU's Eurovision and Euroradio networks, with competing countries then casting votes for the other countries' songs to determine a winner. Based on the Sanremo Music Festival held in Italy since 1951, Eurovision has been held annually since 1956, making it the longest-running annual international televised music competition and one of the world's longest-running television programmes. Active members of the EBU, as well as invited associate members, are eligible to compete, and as of 2021, 52 countries have participated at least once.
Genre | Music competition |
Created by | European Broadcasting Union |
Based on | Sanremo Music Festival |
Presented by | Various presenters |
Theme music composer | Marc-Antoine Charpentier |
Opening theme | Prelude to Te Deum, H. 146 |
Country of origin | Various participating countries |
Original language(s) | English and French |
No. of episodes | 65 contests, 94 live shows |
Location(s) | Various host cities, (in 2022, Italy) |
Running time | ~2 hours (semi-finals), ~4 hours (finals) |
Production company(s) | European Broadcasting Union, Various national broadcasters (in 2022, RAI) |
Distributor | Eurovision |
Picture format | 4:3 576i (SDTV) (1956–2004), 16:9 576i (SDTV) (2005–present), 1080i (HDTV) (2007–present) |
Related shows | Eurovision Young Musicians, Junior Eurovision Song Contest, Eurovision Choir, American Song Contest |
About Eurovision Song Contest
International TV song contest created by Marcel Bezencon where each participating country elects one artist's song to represent them each year.
Achievement of Eurovision Song Contest
It is one of the longest running TV programs in the world and is viewed by over 100 million people each year.
Top Facts You Did Not Know About Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest Category.. Eurovision events.. Music television series.. Song contests.. Pop music festivals.
Latest information about Eurovision Song Contest updated on July 28 2021.