The Eurovision Song Contest has been taking place for over 60 years – with good voices, but also shrill curiosities. Can you still remember these performances?
In 1956, countries competed in the Grand Prix d’Eurovision in Switzerland for the first time. At that time, the host himself made the race. But a lot has changed in recent years: Whether it’s laser shows, elaborate costumes or curious lyrics – the performances have become a lot more entertaining.
Deutschland: Stefan Raab – “Have You Ever Ducked?”
With platform shoes and gold-white flared pants, the then “TV Total” presenter Stefan Raab stormed the ESC stage in Stockholm. “Wadde hadde dudde da?”, which is a trivialized form of “What have you got there?” should be, won the preliminary round in 2000 and was the German entry in the final. Today’s TV mogul still managed fifth place – almost unimaginable today.
Ukraine: Verka Serduchka – “Dancing Body”
Ukrainian drag figure Verka Serduchka and her backing dancers in silver overalls stuck in the minds of many viewers of the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2007, the Ukrainian entry featured babble to turbo-folk music. The quirky entry took second place in Helsinki.
Tricky: “Lasha Tumbai” was interpreted by many as “Russia Goodbye”. The song was intended to be a subliminal reference to the Orange Revolution – although political statements are forbidden in the competition.
Finland: Lordi – “Hard Rock Hallelujah”
The audience was amazed when the rockers of the band Lordi entered the stage in full scary gear. In 2006, the finale took place in the Greek capital of Athens, where the masked artists performed the song “Hard Rock Hallelujah”.
The scary tactic worked: Lordi won the competition. Especially funny: the little Finland hat on the head of front singer Mr. Lordi.
Austria: Conchita Wurst – “Rise Like a Phoenix”
In itself, the ballad by Conchita Wurst was anything but strange – the appearance of the travesty artist was more bizarre. The singer, whose real name is Thomas Neuwirth, entered the ESC stage in Copenhagen as a “diva with a full beard”.
The title “Rise Like a Phoenix” made it to the top of the rankings in 2014 and brought the artist the Grand Prix.
Russland: Buranovskiye Babushki – “Party For Everybody”
Grandmas from Russia enchanted the audience in the 2012 Eurovision final. The singing group had an average age of 66 at the time of the event in Baku.
The ladies sang in Udmurt and English. “Party For Everybody” narrowly missed out on victory and finished second in Azerbaijan.
