17 fun things you never knew about the Eurovision Song Contest

Liverpool will be hosting the biggest party in Europe (and Australia) on behalf of Ukraine following Kalush Orchestra’s win last year, and it’s expected to be one of the biggest shows yet.

Ireland’s entry Wild Youth will be hoping to break our run of bad luck and qualify for the grand final for the first time since 2018, while Sweden and Finland are favourites to emerge victorious.

In preparation for the campest night in telly, brush up on your Song Contest trivia with some fun facts about all things Eurovision.

1. No Eurovision entry can be longer than three minutes

It may not feel like it on the night, but no Eurovision entry can be longer than three minutes. That’s why many studio versions announced as a country’s entry end up getting a ‘Eurovision version’ to fit the rules of the contest.

The three-minute rule came into effect after 1957, when the Italian entry disregarded the general advice that a song should be under 3:30 and performed for 5:09 minutes.

And thank God it did — can you imagine how long the final would be without this rule?

2. No entry can have more than six people on stage for their performance

Another strict rule is that no act can have more than six people on stage — that includes dancers and band members.

While this might not seem too restrictive, for bigger bands entering Eurovision, it leads to some difficult decisions.

In 2012, the trombone player for Romanian act Mandinga was forced to sit in the green room while his six bandmates performed on stage.

Also, if you think you can pad out the stage with some furry friends, sorry — live animals are banned too. Probably for the best.

3. There’s no live instruments at Eurovision

Italian rock act Maneskin may have won in 2021 with their guitar solos, but it turns out all that shredding was for show, as the rules state that no instruments can be plugged in on stage.

This is because the turnaround between acts is so tight that setting up live instruments would be pretty much impossible.

However, lead singers must sing live, although since 2020, pre-recorded backing vocals have been allowed.

4. There’s been 66 Eurovision Song Contests, but 69 winners

In 1969, four countries were declared the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest — the United Kingdom (Lulu with Boom Bang-a-Bang), Spain (Vivo Cantando by Salomé), the Netherlands (Lenny Kuhr with De Troubadour) and France (Un Jour, Un Enfant by Frida Boccara).

All four countries received 18 points (it was a different voting system and a different time), and there had been no rules put in place for a tie. So everybody won.

Now, in the highly unlikely situation that two countries end up tied, whoever received more points in the televote wins, and if that total is tied, then whoever ranked higher with the juries will win.

5. Nel Blu, Dipinto Di Bluis the most covered Eurovision song

You may be thinking, ‘huh?’, but if we tell you what the song is more commonly known as, you’ll get it.

In 1958, Domenico Modugno represented Italy with Nel Blu, Dipinto Di Blu, more commonly known as Volare. Yep, Volare is a Eurovision song, and even weirder is that it didn’t even win — it came third.

However, it won two Grammys for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, is the basis for many a football chant, and has been covered by many artists, including Dean Martin, David Bowie, Gipsy Kings, Bobby Rydell, Al Martino, Marino Marini and Vitamin C.

6. The UK has stepped in to host five times

This year’s Eurovision is being held in Liverpool due to 2022 champions Ukraine being unable to host due to the ongoing conflict there.

This is the ninth time the UK has hosted the contest and the fifth time it has done so on behalf of another country.

They hosted in 1960 when the Netherlands declined due to the expense, in 1963 when France, Monaco and Luxembourg all declined, in 1972 when Monaco was unable to find a suitable venue, and in 1974 when Luxembourg declined due to expense.

7. Ireland is the last act to be lucky on home soil

No country has won Eurovision while their own country was hosting since Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan clinched Ireland’s third win on the trot in Dublin in 1994. Happy memories, eh?

8. Johnny Logan and Ireland still hold Eurovision records

Johnny Logan is still the only act to win Eurovision twice, after winning with What’s Another Year in 1980 and Hold Me Now in 1987.

Having written Linda Martin’s 1992 winner Why Me?, he is also the only person to have three victories to his name.

And despite our extremely bad run of luck this millennium, Ireland still holds the record for most wins, with seven (1970, 80, 87, 92, 93, 94 and 96).

9... but Loreen and Sweden could be on her way to match him and us

This year could be when we lose our bragging rights. After winning in 2012 with possibly the most popular and influential Eurovision track ever, Euphoria, Loreen is back to represent Sweden with her song Tattoo, and is the bookies’ favourite to take the crystal microphone.

If Loreen does win, she will also take Sweden’s win tally to seven, tying with Ireland. We still hold the record as the only country to ever win three times in a row, so let’s hold on to that, shall we?

10. This year, the audience has the power in the semi-finals

There is a brand new rule this year, and it bodes well for fan favourites. Every country bar the ‘Big Five’ (UK, France, Spain, Germany and Italy — aka the biggest funders) and reigning champions Ukraine will compete in two semi-finals on May 9 and 11 to nab a place in the grand final.

Previously, their points were split between juries and televote, like the final. But this year, the decision is 100pc down to the audience, and it’s not just limited to the countries competing anymore.

Non-participating countries can vote online, with the “rest of world” votes tallied and given the same weight as one country, so expect some shocks this year in the semis.

11. The juries don’t vote on the night

We all know the drill by now — jury votes are announced by spokespeople around Europe (and Australia) before the audience vote is announced separately.

But the juries aren’t watching exactly what we saw. The national juries, made up of experts, actually cast their votes the night before the final after watching an identical run-through of the show.

Good news for anyone who hits a bum note on the night.

12. Graham Norton is going to have a very busy night

As he has since 2009, Graham Norton will be Marty Whelan’s counterpart for the BBC, providing commentary for the final. However, he’s also a host this year, alongside singer Alesha Dixon, Ted Lasso actress Hannah Waddingham and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina.

Instead of losing his commentary job, Graham will be on stage as a presenter, and then running back to his box to fondly mock various entries.

For the parts where he’s on stage or sprinting across the arena, former Great British Bake Off host Mel Giedroyc will be commentating. Sounds like a totally smooth plan with absolutely no room for chaos.

13. Wild Youth’s drummer had to postpone his wedding to compete

Eurovision is a huge deal, and one of the biggest nights of any participating musician’s career — potentially even bigger than a wedding.

So Wild Youth’s Cal McAdam had quite the decision to make when he realised that he and his fiancée Katie had booked their big day on May 12 — the day before the Eurovision final.

Thankfully, Katie was extremely understanding, and the couple postponed their wedding so Wild Youth can represent Ireland with their song We Are One. Guys, it’s not too late to book a Liverpool registry office.

14. Croatia’s 2023 entry has quite a reputation for live shows

Every contest has at least one wildcard act that has the potential to cause chaos and this year, it’s Croatian entry Let 3.

In 2006, the rock band was taken to court after performing an open-air concert completely naked.

Their defence? They weren’t actually completely naked because they had corks in their bums.

Sadly, this didn’t convince a judge and they were fined. Good luck, BBC.

15. Ukraine’s entry was chosen in a bomb shelter

Ukraine is sending duo Tvorchi to defend their title in Liverpool with their song Heart Of Steel, which was chosen in the national selection competition Vidbir.

Shining a light on the hardship of the country, as well as the resilience, this year’s Vidbirwas held in a bomb shelter.

The Maidan Nezalezhnosti Metro Station in Kyiv, an underground station which has been operating as a bomb shelter since last February, was transformed into a TV studio for the televised contest.

16. The UK’s act has a link to last year’s contest

Hoping to one-up Sam Ryder’s second place finish last year is Mae Muller, who is representing the UK with her song, er, I Wrote A Song.

But despite being a Eurovision newbie, she does have a link to the 2022 show, namely one of the 2022 hosts, Mika.

Mae was the little girl who starred alongside Mika in the video for his 2007 number one hit Grace Kelly. And if that isn’t enough to make you feel ancient, Mae was born in 1997 — the last time the UK won Eurovision, with Katrina And The Waves.

17. One song is about being possessed by Edgar Allan Poe

Last year, we had a critique of the Serbian healthcare system that name-checked Meghan Markle, and this year we have a song about being possessed by the spirit of Edgar Allan Poe.

Austria’s entry, Who The Hell Is Edgar? by Teya and Selena, is one of this year’s quirkier numbers, charting the protagonist’s hopes for fame and riches as Edgar possesses her to write music.

However, it’s actually a pretty clever critique of the modern music industry, commenting that even music written by a literary genius makes 0.03 cents a stream.

But let’s face it, it’s the possession part that will be the main takeaway.