May 24, 1956: The 1st Eurovision Song Contest

Lys Assia

May 24, 1956: The 1st Eurovision Song Contest is held at Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland. It is primarily a radio program at this stage, as few Europeans can afford TV sets. Only 7 countries participated: In alphabetical order, Belgium, France, (West) Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
 
The winner is the Swiss entry, "Refrain," with music by Géo Voumard, lyrics by Émile Gardaz, and sung by Rosa Mina Schärer, under the name Lys Assia. Gardaz died in 2007, Voumard in 2008, Schärer in 2018.

Most Eurovision winners turn out to be forgettable. Indeed, what may be the most famous winner came in 1967, England's entry, "Puppet On a String" by Sandie Shaw. And, presaging American Idol by decades, that wasn't even the most significant entry! A songwriting team from Luxembourg, writing in French, got Greek singer Vicky Leandros to sing their composition, "L'amour est Bleu." It finished 4th. Luxembourg and Leandros won in 1972, with "Après toi."

If you listen to American "oldies" stations, you know "L'amour est Bleu," although you may never have heard its words, in any language: In 1968, French conductor Paul Mauriat would record his orchestra playing it as an instrumental, and use its English title: "Love Is Blue." He hit Number 1 with it.

There was a 4-way tie vote in 1969: Britain, France, Spain and the Netherlands. Sweden won in 1974, with "Waterloo," launching the career of ABBA. Ireland and Sweden have won it the most, 7 times. Britain has won 4 times.

Here are the winners:

Ireland, 7: 1970, 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1996.

Sweden, 6: 1974, 1984, 1991, 1999, 2012 and 2015. (UPDATE: They won again in 2023.)

Luxembourg, despite its small size, 5: 1961, 1965, 1972, 1973 and 1983.

France, 4: 1958, 1960, 1962 and 1977.

Britain, 4: 1967, 1976, 1981 and 1997.

Israel, even though it's in Asia, 4: 1978, 1979, 1998 and 2018.

Netherlands, 4: 1957, 1959, 1975 and 2019.

Denmark, 3: 1963, 2000 and 2013.

Norway, 3: 1985, 1995 and 2009.

Italy, 3: 1964, 1990 and 2021.

Ukraine, 3: 2004, 2016 and 2022.

Switzerland, 2: 1956 and 1988. (UPDATE: They won again in 2024.)

Germany, 2: 1982 (as West Germany) and 2010.

Austria, 2: 1966 and 2014. (UPDATE: They won again in 2025.)

Spain, 1: 1968.

Monaco, 1: 1971.

Belgium, 1: 1986.

Estonia, 1: 2001.

Latvia, 1: 2002.

Turkey, even though most of the country is in Asia, 1: 2003.

Greece, 1: 2005.

Finland, 1: 2006.

Serbia, 1: 2007.

Russia, 1: 2008.

Azerbaijan, even though it's in Asia, 1: 2011.

Portugal, 1: 2017.

(UPDATE: Bulgaria was a first-time winner in 2026.)

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May 24, 1956 was a Thursday. Larry Blackmon, the lead singer of the hip-hop group Cameo, was born.

There were only 2 scores on this day, both in baseball. The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 11-4 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. The ballpark was renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961. Tom Sturdivant was the winning pitcher. It was just another day at the office for Mickey Mantle, as he went 5-for-5, with a home run, a walk, and 3 RBIs. The Bronx Bombers also got home runs from Joe Collins, Eddie Robinson and Andy Carey. Al Kaline went 0-for-3 with a walk.

And the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 6-4 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Robin Roberts outpitched a rookie named Don Drysdale -- and a veteran named Sal Maglie. As the ace of the New York Giants, Maglie was the player Dodger fans had hated the most, but he would turn out to be integral to the Dodgers' National League Pennant win. Roberts got a hit in his own cause. Willie "Puddin' Head" Jones went 3-for-4 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. The Dodgers got home runs from Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider and Carl Furillo.