Unfortunately for us this year we didn’t get to enjoy the much loved spectacle that is Eurovision. However, the BBC put on Eurovision: Come Together with a look back on some of the best moments in the competition. So, in celebration we look back at the best moments of Eurovision’s history.
For us Brits, and mainly for us who were born post-2000, we have never actually seen the United Kingdom win Eurovision. All we seem to be familiar with is the host saying that dreaded “null points” as we go another year without a successful Eurovision contestant, and who is most likely never to be heard of again…
However, this has never dampened our spirits as we have always enjoyed watching Eurovision for the wackiness it has always provided us. Not only that, there are still some classic Eurovision bops we still dance to that weren’t even our own entries.
We look back on the top five Eurovision entries of all time that weren’t only great performances by the artists at the time, but they are the songs that remain in our playlists today and something we can belt out a tune to.
5. Making Your Mind Up – Bucks Fizz, 1981. United Kingdom
One of the United Kingdoms most memorable winners, Bucks Fizz surprised audiences (especially British viewers) with their classic “Making your mind up” all the way back in 1981. However, it wasn’t the song that surprised the viewers and made the performance stand out, it was when all of a sudden the two male members of the group Bobby G and Mike Nolan ripped off the skirts to reveal shorter ones of the female members Jay Aston and Cheryl Baker. From that year we won (hard to believe we did win) with 136 points.
4. Rise Like a Phoenix – Conchita Wurst, 2014. Austria
The Bucks Fizz performance in 1981 wasn’t only the song that made Austria’s 2014 entry memorable but this time it was the performer. Conchita Wurst surprised viewers as she was a woman in a stunning dress, but still had the beard only a male could grow. This performance was controversial to many, but Conchita did it as a way to highlight the regional divide between Eastern and Western Austria when it comes to sexuality.
After her performance, Conchita became a gay icon to many and performed at various pride parades. That year, her performance won with 290 points.
3. Heroes – Mans Zelmerlow, 2015. Sweden
Sweden has always seemed to have done well in Eurovision as they have won many of these competitions over the years and still triumphed during the 21st century. Mans Zelmerlow’s 2015 entry of the song “Heroes” was the catchy electropop single people were waiting for and proved popular as it won with 365 points that year.
However, this wasn’t Zelmerlow’s first time trying to win Eurovision for his country as this was his third time in the competition and it just proves that third time lucky worked out for him with this hit.
2. Euphoria – Loreen, 2012. Sweden
Three years prior to Zelmerlow, Loreen stunned audiences with her performance of Sweden’s 2012 entry, “Euphoria”. This entry broke Eurovision records as it received the highest number of maximum points as eighteen countries gave the song that desired twelve points. Not only that, but this song comfortably existed without Eurovision rocketing it to stardom. Here in the UK, it reached number three in the charts which was a rare site for a Eurovision in recent years leading up to this entry.
From that year, Sweden won the competition with 372 points.
1. Waterloo – Abba, 1974. Sweden
Sweden have always proved to be icons of Eurovision and the countries entry all the way back in 1974 was by a small band (who you may or may not have heard of) named Abba, with their song “Waterloo” that went on to win the competition for them that year.
This entry has been named the UK’s favourite Eurovision performance and it is deserving of the prize as “Waterloo” is a song that everyone still loves to belt out a tune to anytime, anywhere. If you do not know every word to this song, forwards and backwards then have you been living under a rock?!
Eurovision catapulted Abba to stardom as they went on to have a very, very successful career around the world and provided us with even more classic hits including “Mamma Mia”, “Dancing Queen”, “Super Trooper” and many more. They were that good they even went to have a musical full of their music!
From the year Abba won, they received 24 points as the points system was different then.
Even though we all missed out on Eurovision this year, such as the crazy performances, songs and costumes. We still have all these memories and highlights of Eurovision to look back on that shows just how great the competition is and makes us look forward to the future of the competition to all the performances yet to come…
By Katie Green
Feature image: Twitter.com