When Celine Dion won Eurovision and other notable champions from over the years

The Grand Final of Eurovision will kick off in Liverpool at 8pm tonight (May 13) as 26 performers look to take the crown. Since beginning in 1956, the annual event has featured some iconic artists such as Celine Dion.

The first Eurovision Song Contest was held in Lugano, Switzerland. It was won by Switzerland's entrant for the tournament, Lys Assia.

Then, in 1974, legendary Swedish group ABBA found international fame by winning the competition with Waterloo. It was then the turn of Canadian power-ballad vocalist Celine in 1988.

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She performed Ne Partez Pas San Moi for Switzerland - sung in her native French - to win the competition in Dublin by a single point over the UK's Scott Fitzgerald. Celine then went on to sign with Epic Records in the United States before releasing her debut English album Unison in 1990.

Among the iconic winners of the Eurovision Song Contest, the UK has won the competition five times. Our most recent victory came in 1997, when Katrina & The Waves performed Love Shine A Light.

In 1967, Sandie Shaw won the trophy for the UK with Puppet On A String. Then, in 1981, Bucks Fizz reigned triumphant singing Making Up Your Mind.

Full list of Eurovision winners

1956: Lys Assia – Refrain (Switzerland)

1957: Corry Brokken – Net Als Toen (Netherlands)

1958: Andre Claveau – Dors, Mon Amour (France)

1959: Teddy Scholten – Een Beetje (Netherlands)

1960: Jacqueline Boyer – Tom Pillibi (France)

1961: Jean-Claude Pascal – Nous Les Amoureux (Luxembourg)

1962: Isabelle Aubret – Un Premier Amour (France)

1963: Grethe and Jorgen Ingmann – Dansevise (Denmark)

1964: Gigliola Cinquetti – Non Ho L’Eta (Italy)

1965: France Gall – Poupee De Cire, Poupee De Son (Luxembourg)

1966: Udo Jurgens – Merci, Cherie (Austria)

1967: Sandie Shaw – Puppet On A String (UK)

1968: Massiel – La, La, La (Spain)

1969: Frida Boccara – Un Jour, Un Enfant (France); Lenny Kuhr – De Troubadour (Netherlands); Salome – Vivo Cantando (Spain); Lulu – Boom Bang-A-Bang (UK)

1970: Dana – All Kinds Of Everything (Ireland)

1971: Severine – Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue (Monaco)

1972: Vicky Leandros – Apres Toi (Luxembourg)

1973: Anne-Marie David – Tu Te Reconnaitras (Luxembourg)

1974: ABBA – Waterloo (Sweden)

ABBA at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest (BBC)

1975: Teach-In – Ding-A-Dong (Netherlands)

1976: Brotherhood of Man – Save Your Kisses For Me (UK)

1977: Marie Myriam – L’Oiseau et L’Enfant (France)

1978: Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta – A-Ba-Ni-Bi (Israel)

1979: Milk and Honey – Hallelujah (Israel)

1980: Johnny Logan – What’s Another Year (Ireland)

1981: Bucks Fizz – Making Your Mind Up (UK)

1982: Nicole - Ein Bißchen Frieden (Germany)

1983: Corinne Hermes – Si La Vie Est Cadeau (Luxembourg)

1984: Herreys – Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley (Sweden)

1985: Bobbysocks! – La Det Swinge (Norway)

1986: Sandra Kim – J’Aime La Vie (Belgium)

1987: Johnny Logan – Hold Me Now (Ireland)

1988: Celine Dion – Ne Partez Pas San Moi (Switzerland)

1989: Riva – Rock Me (Yugoslavia)

1990: Toto Cutugno – Insieme

1991: Carola – Fangad Av En Stormvind (Sweden)

1992: Linda Martin – Why Me (Ireland)

1993: Niamh Kavanagh – In Your Eyes (Ireland)

1994: Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan – Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids (Ireland)

1995: Secret Garden – Nocturne (Norway)

1996: Eimear Quinn – The Voice (Ireland)

1997: Katrina and the Waves – Love Shine A Light (UK)

1998: Dana International – Diva (Israel)

1999: Charlotte Nilsson – Take Me To Your Heaven (Sweden)

2000: Olsen Brothers – Fly on the Wings of Love (Denmark)

2001: Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL – Everybody (Estonia)

2002: Marie N – I Wanna (Latvia)

2003: Sertab Erener – Everyway That I Can (Turkey)

2004: Ruslana – Wild Dances (Ukraine)

2005: Helena Paparizou – My Number One (Greece)

2006: Lordi – Hard Rock Hallelujah (Finland)

Finnish group Lordi celebrate after their victory in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

2007: Marija Serifovic – Molitva (Serbia)

2008: Dima Bilan – Believe (Russia)

2009: Alexander Rybak – Fairytale (Norway)

2010: Lena – Satellite (Germany)

2011: Ell and Nikki – Running Scared (Azerbaijan)

2012: Loreen – Euphoria (Sweden)

2013: Emmelie de Forest – Only Teardrops (Denmark)

2014: Conchita Wurst – Rise Like A Phoenix (Austria)

2015: Mans Zelmerlow – Heroes (Sweden)

2016: Jamala – 1944 (Ukraine)

2017: Salvador Sobral – Amar Pelos Dois (Portugal)

2018: Netta – Toy (Israel)

2019: Duncan Laurence – Arcade (Netherlands)

2020: Cancelled due to Covid-19

2021: Måneskin - Zitti e Buoni (Italy)

2022: Kalush Orchestra - Stefania (Ukraine)

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