The
Eurovision Song Contest is one of the most popular tv programs and the
greatest mainstream cultural phenomena across Europe. This edition – the 66th –
is held in Italy and millions of Europeans will tune in to enjoy kitschy
performances, extravagant presenters, brilliant and less brilliant musicians. Who
gets douze points?
The Eurovision
Song Contest 2022 is the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It is
taking place in Turin, Italy, following the country's victory at the 2021
contest with the song "Zitti e buoni" by MÃ¥neskin.
Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI), the contest is being held at the PalaOlimpico, and consists of two semi-finals on 10 and 12 May, and a final on 14 May 2022. The three live shows are hosted by Italian television presenter Alessandro Cattelan, singer Laura Pausini and Lebanese-British singer Mika.
Origins and
history
The Eurovision Song
Contest's founding stemmed from a desire to promote cooperation between
European countries in the years following the Second World War through
cross-border television broadcasts, which gave rise to the founding of the
European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in 1950. The word "Eurovision" was
first used by British journalist George Campey in the London Evening Standard
in 1951, when he referred to a BBC programme being relayed by Dutch television.
Following several events broadcast internationally via the Eurovision
transmission network in the early 1950s, including the Coronation of Elizabeth
II in 1953, an EBU committee, headed by Marcel Bezençon, was formed in January
1955 to investigate new initiatives for cooperation between broadcasters, which
approved for further study a European song competition from an idea initially
proposed by Sergio Pugliese. The EBU's general assembly agreed to the
organising of the song contest in October 1955, under the initial title of the
European Grand Prix, and accepted a proposal by the Swiss delegation to host
the event in Lugano in the spring of 1956. The Italian Sanremo Music Festival,
held since 1951, was used as a basis for the initial planning of the contest,
with several amendments and additions given its international nature.
The Netherlands in
Eurovision
The Netherlands
debuted as one of the original competing countries at the very first Eurovision
Song Contest in 1956 and has competed in all but four editions since, missing
the contest in 1985, 1991, 1995 and 2002. The nation has been victorious at the
competition five times, making them one of the most successful countries in the
contest.
The Netherlands
has won the contest five times, with Corry Brokken (1957), Teddy Scholten
(1959), Lenny Kuhr in a four-way tie (1969), Teach-In (1975) and Duncan
Laurence (2019). The country's other top five results are Sandra & Andres
fourth (1972), Mouth & MacNeal third (1974), Maggie MacNeal fifth (1980),
Marcha fifth (1987), Edsilia Rombley fourth (1998), and second with The Common
Linnets (2014). The Netherlands finished last in 1958, 1962, 1963, 1968, and in
the semi-final in 2011.
Dutch Eurovision
entry S10
The Dutch entry for
this year’s Eurovision Song Festival can be heard in the first semi-final in
Turin on Tuesday evening, in which 17 countries will battle it out for a place
in Saturday’s final. Dutch singer S10 is representing the Netherlands this
year, with Dutch language song, De Diepte (the deep). The singer says she has
struggled with mental health issues for years and told the Eurovision website
that the festival stage is a perfect platform to highlight the range of
emotions that artists can bring into their music.
‘A sad song can
belong here, also a protest song, a song about being gay, a song about love, a
party song,’ she said. ‘I just want to let the audience see a little bit of my soul
and let them feel my emotion. I want them to feel my story, and I want them to
feel their own story, too.’
Dutch entry S10
qualifies for Eurovision final
Some 2.2 million
people in the Netherlands watched Dutch entry S10 qualify for Saturday’s
Eurovision Song Contest final with her song De Diepte.