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Eurovision Song Contest - General Information
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Status: Break - Between Seasons
Premiere: May, 1956
Classification: Variety
Genre: Music | Competition
Network: EBU ( Europe)
Airs: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
Runtime: 180 Minutes
3 Episodes/Parts Per Year
Season 2012 -- Completed
22-May-12 -- 57th Eurovision Song Contest (First Semi-Final)
24-May-12 -- 57th Eurovision Song Contest (Second Semi-Final)
26-May-12 -- 57th Eurovision Song Contest (The Grand Final)
Season 2011 -- Completed
May 10, 2011 -- 56th Eurovision Song Contest (First Semi-Final)
May 12, 2011 -- 56th Eurovision Song Contest (Second Semi-Final)
May 14, 2011 -- 56th Eurovision Song Contest ( The Grand Final)
Season 2010 -- Completed
May 25, 2010 -- 55th Eurovision Song Contest (First Semi-Final)
May 27, 2010 -- 55th Eurovision Song Contest (Second Semi-Final)
May 29, 2010 -- 55th Eurovision Song Contest (The Grand Final)
Season 2009 -- Completed
May 12, 2009 -- 54th Eurovision Song Contest (First Semi-Final)
May 14, 2009 -- 54th Eurovision Song Contest (Second Semi-Final)
May 16, 2009 -- 54th Eurovision Song Contest (The Grand Final)
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About the show
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The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition. The contest has been broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1956 and is one of the longest-running television programmes in the world. It is also one of the most watched non-sporting events in the world, with audience figures having been quoted in recent years as anything between 100 million and 600 million internationally. Eurovision has also been broadcast outside Europe to such places as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, Uruguay and Venezuela despite the fact that that they do not compete. Since 2000, the contest has also been broadcast over the Internet, with more than 74,000 people in almost 140 countries having watched the 2006 edition online.
Artists whose international careers were directly launched into the spotlight following their participation and victory at Eurovision include Domenico Modugno who won third place with song "Nel blu dipinto di blu" in 1958, ABBA, who won the contest for Sweden in 1974 with their song "Waterloo", and Celine Dion, who won the contest for Switzerland in 1988 with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi".
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Date of last review or update: May 29, 2012
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