Eurovision Time Capsule: 2019
60 years ago: The Netherlands get their second win in 3 editions with "Een beetje" by Teddy Scholten, and Willy van Hemert becomes the first to have composed 2 winning songs, a group that today now comprises of 5 members. The United Kingdom records the first of 15 second-place finishes, and starts the longest uninterrupted participation streak in contest history.
55 years ago: 16-year-old Gigliola Cinquetti charms the audience in Copenhagen with "Non ho l'età". Due to a studio fire at Danish broadcaster DR, no video copy of this contest is available.
50 years ago: It's chaos in Madrid as 4 countries tie for the win: France, United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Spain. This results in tiebreaker rules being established for future contests
45 years ago: At the contest in Brighton, Sweden's ABBA storms to victory with "Waterloo". It becomes their launchpad to international superstardom, and in 2005 the song is named the greatest song of Eurovision's first 50 years.
40 years ago: The contest is staged for the first time in the Middle East. Israel successfully defends their title on home ground with "Hallelujah", which remains a classic to this day (ironically Spain, who was leading by 1 point, caused its own defeat by giving its 10 points to Israel as it was last in the running order).
35 years ago: At 19, Desirée Nosbusch becomes the youngest person ever to host the contest when it is staged in Luxembourg. Sweden wins for the second time with "Diggi-Loo, Diggi-Ley" by Herreys.
30 years ago: Yugoslavian band Riva takes everyone by surprise by winning in Lausanne with the song "Rock Me". It was the only victory for the former Yugoslavia, and would be the last new winning country until 2001.
25 years ago: 7 new countries - Poland, Romania, Estonia, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia and Russia - make their debuts in Dublin, and satellite hookups during the voting are used for the first time. While the host country wins for the record-breaking 6th time, it is overshadowed by the success of the interval act which would go on to become a worldwide phenomenon.... Riverdance.
20 years ago: Sweden wins for the fourth time (and second time in the 90s) with "Take Me To Your Heaven" by Charlotte Nilsson. As a tribute to the victims of the Balkan War, all of the artists perform the 1979 winner "Hallelujah"
15 years ago: The semifinal round is introduced to the contest in Istanbul as Monaco makes its return after a long absence, and Andorra, Belarus, Albania and Serbia and Montenegro make their debuts. Switzerland becomes the first country to record “nul points” in the semifinal round. In only its second appearance, Ukraine takes the victory with "Wild Dances" by Ruslana. She immediately becomes a national heroine in her country
10 years ago: It's a "Fairytale" in Moscow as Alexander Rybak gives Norway its third win, crushes his competition and records at that time the highest-recorded score in contest history. Iceland ties its best result, while the United Kingdom registers its second top-5 finish of the decade. Juries return as a new 50:50 voting system is introduced for the grand final. Meanwhile, in the commentary booth, Graham Norton takes over for the United Kingdom from Terry Wogan, and Australia is represented for the first time by Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang.
5 years ago: The contest returns to Copenhagen where Montenegro (as an independent nation) and San Marino qualify for the final for the first time ever while fan favorites Ireland and Israel fall at the semifinal hurdle. In its first qualification since 2011, Austria ends a 48-year wait between wins as Conchita Wurst triumphantly takes "Rise Like a Phoenix" to victory.
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