Eurovision’s Greatest Hits, Told Country By Country

From bringing Europe together after world war two to being one of the biggest career-launching platforms in the world, producing some of the best superstars of our time, the Eurovision song contest has undoubtedly been a blessing since its inception. 

What’s more, the contest has given us some of the greatest hits in the world’s music industry and will hopefully produce more in the coming Eurovision song contest. That being said, we have compiled some of the biggest songs that came out of the yearly event. You’ll certainly appreciate just how amazing Eurovision has been since 1956. So, here you go, Eurovision’s greatest hits, told country by country.

United Kingdom: 1968-Cliff Richards

Cliff Richards, an amazing pop artist and UK’s entry for the 1968 Eurovision contest, brilliantly sang “Congratulations,” earning him the favourite “seat” in the audience’s heart. The song was one of the greatest hits of the Eurovision song contest as it was later chosen as the title of the 2005 gala used to celebrate 50 years of Eurovision. It was also chosen as one of the best songs of the contest alongside 14 other hit songs. 

It’s still shocking how Cliff Richards didn’t win that night. That said, we’ve realised that musical contests almost always have at least one controversy where a fantastic participant would be unlucky or altogether robbed of their deserved glory. 

According to one of the studies conducted by Betway Online Casino of the yearly event, this might have been the case with Cliff Richard, citing an alleged vote-buying. 

Cliff was just inches away from victory, but somehow, the pop artist came in second behind Spain’s Massiel, falling short of one point. Nail-biting right? It was alleged that Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator fixed the vote, putting “La, la, la” ahead of “Congratulation.”

Sweden: 1974- ABBA

1974 was when Eurovision became more than just a contest that brought nations together yearly. The 1974’s stage pushed ABBA, a band that was not very known, into the spotlight and the world stage. They became international superstars after the event, where they sang “Waterloo.” It was a brilliant performance with no controversy that they were the winner.

Israel: 1998- Dana International

Dana did not only deliver one of the greatest hits on the Eurovision stage, but she also broke boundaries being transgender, which did not sit too well with conservatives from her home country Israel. Even in the UK, there was the need for heavy police/security escorts when she came to perform after the Eurovision contest.

Norway: 2009- Alexander Rybak

Rybak was the Norwegian artist who wrote and sang “Fairytale.” The song scored the highest score of all time. What’s more, the song was a hit all over Europe, finding itself in the UK top 10 the same year.

Austria: 2014- Conchita Wurst

It was a long wait for Austria after winning Eurovision in 1966. Conchita Wurst helped Austria end the 50-year wait with the song, “Rise like a Phoenix.” Though her win was termed controversial being a drag queen, it did not stop her from becoming an icon, attracting performing invites from parades, the European Parliament, and even the UN office in Vienna. 

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