Eurovisions Greatest Of All Time

By Megane Herrick

It is almost that time of year again – Eurovision is fast approaching, and we could not be more excited. This year it is all kicking off at the grand final in Basel, Switzerland on the 13th of May with some more amazing songs, artists and performances. Before we go forward, it is important – and lots of fun – to look back at all of the wonderful, glorious and hilarious artists that Eurovision has so kindly given us in the past.

Firstly, for probably the most famous band that has ever come out of Eurovision, or maybe the world in general, we are heading back to 1974, in Sweden with the iconic ‘Waterloo’ by ABBA. Made up of singer/songwriters Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, they not only won first place in their Eurovision way back when, but in 2005 they won Best Song in Eurovision History in their 50th Anniversary Competition. They quickly rose to superstardom following their win receiving 8 consecutive UK number ones. They sold 11.3 million singles in the UK alone before 2012 with unbelievable anthems such as ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘Mamma Mia’, ‘Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie’, ‘Does your mother know’ and many many more. ABBA were awarded the Brit Billion Award –celebrating that their music has been streamed over one billion times in the UK in their career. They also surpassed everyone’s expectations by becoming the first musical group from a nonEnglish-speaking country to have consistent and continuous success in the charts in English speaking countries including the UK, USA, Australia and Canada. ABBA has won many accolades such as an induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. The success did cause significant issues in the marriages and friendships within the group, but it did not stop their continued success. Their music has been transformed into one of the most successful stage shows of all time with ‘Mamma Mia’, which subsequently became an award-winning film, followed by an extremely successful sequel ‘Here we go again’. They also have ABBA voyage, a holographic concert and numerous themed nights modelled after the band, the music and the unbelievable costuming making them the ultimate Eurovision act of all time.

For little old Northern Ireland, we have had some amazing people, and one of the best parts of Eurovision is, it doesn’t matter what side of the wall your on, we all claim Ireland and United Kingdom when it comes to voting – especially when we win in either. Ireland holds the title for most Eurovision competitions won (well, tied with Sweden) with 7 wins, whilst the United Kingdom has a respectable 5 wins.

For Ireland it would be rude not to mention Johnny Logan who won twice, once in 1980 with ‘What’s Another Year’ and once in 1987 with ‘Hold me now’. However, Logan bringing home multiple trophies to add to Irelands fast growing collection wasn’t all fun and games – the country that wins the contest hosts it the next year, and anyone that’s been a host knows it gets expensive quick, never mind hosting something as large as Eurovision. Ireland being great performers in the contest actually began to actually hurt their economy – so we sent in Dustin the Turkey, quite literally a puppet, we were actively trying to lose that year clearly – but it was still very iconic and absolutely hilarious.

On the other side, the United Kingdom has sent many an iconic artist and whilst we may have fallen short at times, our winners have been nothing but extraordinary. We have to start our very first Eurovision win with Bucks Fizz in 1981 and the bubble-gum cheesy pop classic ‘Making your mind up’ – which is a song you will still here at pretty much every wedding you go to till this day! Other fantastic UK winners are Sandie Shaw 1967 with ‘Puppet on a String’, Lulu in 1969 with ‘Boom Bang-a-Bang’, Brotherhood of Man in 1976 with ‘Save Your Kisses For Me’ and last but not least ‘Katrina and The Waves in 1997 with ‘Love Shine a Light’.

Whilst the UK and Ireland can’t win all the time, we have had some extremely iconic songs and artists that have performed on our behalf and amazed us. We had Gina G in 1996 with ‘Ooh..Aah Just a Little Bit’ which again, many a wedding, many a night out. More recently we have had Sam Ryder in 2023 with ‘Spaceman’ and Olly Alexander in 2024 with his song ‘Dizzy’ – neither won, but by goodness were we proud to send both! Speaking of pride, we have to talk about the Irish sweethearts, the ever entertaining, more-hyper-than-a-hamster act with their insanely sparkly red jackets – you know them, you might love them (or hate them, bit marmite like), copying ABBA with the names in the names, John and Edward or more commonly known – of course its Jedward!

An insanely famous person that you maybe didn’t know came out of Eurovision is Celine Dion. Back in 1988 she competed for Switzerland with the song ‘Ne partez pas sans moi’ and secured herself a Eurovision win. Whilst it wasn’t one of her most famous songs, it was Switzerland’s second contest under their belt, and still remains the only winning song to be sung in French!

One of the biggest wins in Eurovision for the LGBTQIA+ community was back in 2014 when Conchita Wurst won the contest for Austria with the song that would soon rise to the top of the charts, ‘Rise like a Phoenix’. If you don’t remember Conchita, she was the bearded lady before ‘The Greatest Showman’ made it cool. Not really, but it was a massive step in the right direction.

Thomas Neuwirth – the person behind Conchita’s Drag alter ego is an actor, singer, fashion designer and, of course, drag queen. Conchita has continued to be busy featuring in music, films (such as the Eurovision one), fashion and TV and has continued to fight for LGBTQIA+ rights and representation. While the performance sparked a lot of controversy, it was also a cause for celebration. Both for the win, obviously, but for the fact it sparked conversations and questions around what gender means. There have been more recent examples, but Conchita was a pivotal icon that helped to open the doors of what it means to be gender fluid, what presenting gender can look like, and the fact that you don’t need to conform.

Another Eurovision performance that needs to be mentioned in terms of LGBTQIA+ wins came long before Conchita in 1998 when Dana International graced our screens during the contest with the song ‘Diva’. She made history with her win as she was the first openly transgender artist to win the Eurovision Song Contest. She also decided that that wasn’t enough, and cause quite the gasps when she changed into a stunning feathered Jean-Paul Gaultier in her winning reprise. The representation of the transgender community on live television at this time was sitting about a zero, so for her to compete, win, and then openly bask in the glory and amplify her own inner diva was a fantastic, historic and iconic move.

There isn’t enough time in the world to talk about all of the bangers, icons and legends that Eurovision has given us – but there are a few that couldn’t not be mentioned. One of Sweden’s best known wins (one of many of course) was in 2012 with ‘Euphoria’ by Loreen, which quickly became a club classic. More Eurovision club classics have to include ‘Fly on the Wings of Love’ by the Olsen Brothers (Denmark, 2000) and ‘Heroes’ by Mans Zelmer Low (Sweden, 2015). Two notable mentions that we can’t forget must go to ‘Hallelujah’ sang by Milk and Honey when they competed for Isreal in 1979 and the dancey, boppy cheesy pop that was ‘Toy’ by Netta, also Isreal, but a little more modern in 2018. Last but not least we have to talk about ‘Arcade’ by Duncan Lawrence who competed for the Netherlands in 2019. His win was great moment for Eurovision as the song quickly went viral on TikTok boosting its popularity in younger generations – which will help to keep our beloved Eurovision around for many more years to come.

If you are adding the old bangers and this year’s competitors to your playlist because you simply cannot wait. If you don’t bet on the horses or football but always place a fiver on your favourite Eurovision act – if you simply cannot wait any longer for Eurovision. Firstly, join the club, we are all anxiously waiting. Secondly, you can still get your fix! If you haven’t already, go and watch the Eurovison movie – it is laugh out loud, talk about it 3 days later type funny, it has a ridiculously star-studded cast, including some Eurovision favourites and it has an abundance of Eurovision bangers, plus a few ones you haven’t heard before but will not ever be able to get out of your head (shout-out to ‘Ya Ya Ding Dong’) –and if that still isn’t enough, the storyline is high, lows and completely bonkers from start to finish. If that doesn’t get you in the Eurovision mood, nothing will.