Looking back on Eurovision: from the glamorous to the ghoulish

Love it or loathe it, it’s a key event in the nation’s calendar and, even though we often end up with ‘nul points’, no doubt many will be glued to their TVs.
Traditionally held in the country which won the preceding year, the contest provides an opportunity to promote the host country and city as a tourist destination.
Thousands of spectators attend each year, along with journalists, who cover all aspects including related events and performances in the host city. Alongside the generic Eurovision logo, a unique theme is typically developed for each competition.
Eurovision ranks among the world’s most watched non-sporting events, with hundreds of millions of viewers globally. Performing in it has often provided artists with a career boost and, in some cases, long-lasting international success. Several of the best-selling music artists in the world have competed in the past, including Abba, Celine Dion, Julio Iglesias, Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John; some of the world’s best-selling singles have received their first international performance on the Eurovision stage.
The contest is known for its flamboyance, and who could forget Scooch, the UK’s 2007 entry? They are shown performing their song, Flying The Flag (For You), for which they dressed as cabin crew.

Above are the ghoulish-looking Finnish band Lordi, who visited London’s Xfm to thank Lauren Laverne and her breakfast show listeners for campaigning for them to win in 2006.

They are also shown performing their song Hard Rock Rallelujah.

When contest organisers invited 16 new countries to join, Cumbrians were asked for their thoughts. Mal Scott, 59, from Carlisle, was unimpressed. He said: “Stupid idea. It’s called the Eurovision Song Contest for a reason - the contestants are from Europe.”

In 2009, disqualified Georgian entry, Stephane and 3G, met Georgian ambassador, Giorgi Badridze, at the Embassy of Georgia in Kensington. The ambassador had shown support for the group after they were banned for a thinly veiled song about Vladimir Putin.

The same year, Andorra’s Susanne Georgi performed in Moscow while Macedonia band Next Time nailed the rockstar look.

The UK was represented by Josh Dubovie in Norway in 2010.

Sadly, he was beaten by Germany’s Lena.