For nearly 70 years, Eurovision has put on an incredible live music extravaganza that allows countries from all corners of Europe (and beyond) to showcase their vocal talents. A diverse and eclectic mix of musical styles are often performed during the song contest, which enables viewers to get a taste of the countless cultures that can be found across the continent.
This year's Eurovision final will be taking place on Saturday, May 14 in Turin, Italy, and will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 8pm BST. This year's UK entry is Sam Ryder, an Essex TikTok sensation who hopes to wow the crowd and bring home the Eurovision trophy with his song 'Space Man'.
Over the years, Eurovision has been a great source of entertainment, simultaneously making viewers laugh, cry, and gasp at the musical delights that the contest provides. There have been some truly groundbreaking moments, from performers who represent the underrepresented, to unforgettable dance routines. In celebration of this weekend's final, here are just seven of Eurovision's most memorable moments and contestants.
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Bucks Fizz's iconic skirt rip
Nowadays, the UK is notorious for its Eurovision fails, with the nation often scoring very low on the leaderboard. But since the UK joined Eurovision in 1957, in the contest's second year, we have won five times, with the most notable victory happening back in 1981.
Bucks Fizz was formed specifically for the 1981 song contest, and was comprised of four vocalists - Bobby G, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan, and Jay Aston. As the group belted out their Eurovision entry, 'Make Up Your Mind', Bobby and Mike ripped the skirts off Jay and Cheryl, the two female members of the group, to reveal much shorter mini-skirts beneath. The group won Eurovision by a margin of four points, beating Germany, who came second.
ABBA breaks convention
Now an international sensation, ABBA introduced their smash-hit Waterloo to the world via the 1974 Eurovision song contest. The song was written specifically for Eurovision.
After performing Waterloo in Swedish at Melodifestivalen 1974, the Swedish national selection for Eurovision, and winning, ABBA then advanced to Eurovision, where they won their country its first trophy. The song also broke convention, as the group sang it in English for the song contest and became the first entry to win with a song not sang in their native language.
Dana International paves the way to the future
In 1998, Israeli entrant Dana International made Eurovision history as the first ever transgender person to win the song contest. Dana, real name Sharon Cohen, encountered a few issues after being selected to perform, as some transphobes tried to stop her from participating in the contest.
But Dana came out on top when she won the Birmingham-based competition with 'Diva', winning with 172 points. After her victory, Dana said she forgave her critics, and told them: "Try to accept me and the kind of life I lead."
Russia's seemingly random 2012 entry with a sweet meaning
It may have happened a whole decade ago now, but Russia's entry back in 2012 has stuck in the minds of lots of viewers. Pop band Buranovskiye Babushki showed with their completely eccentric performance that, when it comes to Eurovision, viewers must expect the unexpected.
Donning traditional Russian village attire, the eight elderly female members of Buranovskiye Babushki sang along to the upbeat track 'Party For Everybody' and danced as an oven rotated on the stage behind them. Although the joyful performance may seem random to viewers who don't speak Russian, the song is all about the members of Buranovskiye Babushki cooking for their grandchildren, and getting excited for a family reunion.
Conchita rocks the world
Bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst wowed the crowd back in 2014 when she graced the Eurovision stage with her presence and sang operatic pop song, Rise Like A Phoenix. Despite Eurovision having a number of LGBTQ+ contestants before Conchita performed, the New Statesman described her appearance as 'the most genderqueer yet'.
The Austrian drag queen did face criticism prior to taking part in Eurovision, with a Facebook group called 'Anti-Wurst' receiving 31,000 likes. However, Conchita proved popular with many, and won.
Gina G changes school discos forever
Australian singer Gina G made waves with her infectious track, 'Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit', which many 90s and 00s kids may remember from their school disco days. Although she finished eighth in the Eurovision song contest, Gina shot to stardom, and the song became an unforgettable hit.
'Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit' reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart and remains the last UK Eurovision entry to top the UK charts. Stateside, Gina G's song reached the US Top 20 in 1997, and was even nominated for a Grammy at the 1998 Grammy Awards for Best Dance Recording.
Scooch fly the flag for the UK
Up with Bucks Fizz's 1981 skirt-ripping sensation, Scooch's 2007 Eurovision entry Flying The Flag (For You) is arguably one of the most iconic UK Eurovision entries. Taking to the stage in Helsink, Scooch performed the innuendo-infested song whilst dressed as patriotic flight attendants.
Scooch came 23rd in the 2007 competition, after scoring just 19 points; twelve from Malta, and seven from Ireland. The Sunday Mirror claimed that the upbeat song made the UK 'the laughing stock of Europe', whilst The Sunday Times said that the song 'wasn't a disaster - more of a crash landing'.
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