The Eurovision Song Contest, often dubbed the “Olympics of singing,” stands as a dazzling annual spectacle that captivates millions across Europe and beyond. Since its inception in 1956, this prestigious competition has not only showcased incredible musical talent but has also launched the careers of numerous global superstars. Becoming a Euro Contest Winner at Eurovision is a monumental achievement, instantly elevating artists onto an international stage and etching their names into music history. The coveted title of euro contest winner is more than just a trophy; it’s a powerful springboard to fame and lasting recognition in the competitive music industry.
Eurovision Song Contest is often referred to as the Olympics of singing, highlighting its competitive and prestigious nature for European musicians.
The Eurovision Song Contest winner is determined through a captivating blend of jury and public votes, representing countries across Europe and beyond. The grand prize is a symbolic glass microphone trophy awarded to the winning performer, with additional accolades for the songwriters behind the winning entry. Perhaps even more significantly, the country that produces the euro contest winner earns the honor of hosting the subsequent year’s contest, further amplifying national pride and cultural exchange.
The impact of being named a Eurovision Song Contest winner is undeniable. History is filled with examples of artists whose careers were propelled to extraordinary heights after their Eurovision victory. Icons like ABBA (1974), Céline Dion (1988, representing Switzerland), and more recently, Måneskin (2021), all leveraged their euro contest winner status to achieve global superstardom. These success stories underscore the immense platform Eurovision provides, turning talented performers into household names overnight.
Below is a comprehensive list detailing every euro contest winner from the Eurovision Song Contest’s inaugural year to the present day. This table highlights the winning song, the talented songwriters, the performer who brought the song to life, and the country they proudly represented. This historical overview celebrates the rich tapestry of music and artistry that defines the legacy of the Eurovision Song Contest and the enduring allure of the euro contest winner.
| year | song, songwriter | performer | country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | “Refrain,” Émile Gardaz, Géo Voumard | Lys Assia | Switzerland |
| 1957 | “Net als toen,” Willy van Hemert, Guus Jansen | Corry Brokken | Netherlands |
| 1958 | “Dors mon amour,” Pierre Delanoë, Hubert Giraud | André Claveau | France |
| 1959 | “Een beetje,” Willy van Hemert, Dick Schallies | Teddy Scholten | Netherlands |
| 1960 | “Tom Pillibi,” Pierre Cour, André Popp | Jacqueline Boyer | France |
| 1961 | “Nous les amoureux,” Jacques Datin, Maurice Vidalin | Jean-Claude Pascal | Luxembourg |
| 1962 | “Un Premier Amour,” Rolande Valade, Claude Henri Vic | Isabelle Aubret | France |
| 1963 | “Dansevise,” Sejr Volmer-Sørensen, Otto Francker | Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann | Denmark |
| 1964 | “Non ho l’età,” Nicola Salerno | Gigliola Cinquetti | Italy |
| 1965 | “Poupée de cire, poupée de son,” Serge Gainsbourg | France Gall | Luxembourg |
| 1966 | “Merci chérie,” Udo Jürgens, Thomas Hörbiger | Udo Jürgens | Austria |
| 1967 | “Puppet on a String,” Bill Martin, Phil Coulter | Sandie Shaw | United Kingdom |
| 1968 | “La, la, la,” Ramón Arcusa, Manuel de la Calva | Massiel | Spain |
| 1969 | “Vivo cantando,” Aniano Alcalde, María José de Cerato | Salomé | Spain |
| “Boom Bang-a-Bang,” Peter Warne, Alan Moorhouse | Lulu | United Kingdom | |
| “De troubadour,” Lenny Kuhr, David Hartsena | Lenny Kuhr | Netherlands | |
| “Un Jour, un enfant,” Eddy Marnay, Emile Stern | Frida Boccara | France | |
| 1970 | “All Kinds of Everything,” Derry Lindsay, Jackie Smith | Dana | Ireland |
| 1971 | “Un Banc, un arbre, une rue,” Yves Dessca, Jean-Pierre Bourtayre | Séverine | Monaco |
| 1972 | “Après toi,” Klaus Munro, Yves Dessca, Mario Panas | Vicky Leandros | Luxembourg |
| 1973 | “Tu te reconnaîtras,” Vline Buggy, Claude Morgan | Anne-Marie David | Luxembourg |
| 1974 | “Waterloo,” Stikkan Anderson, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus | ABBA | Sweden |
| 1975 | “Ding-a-Dong,” Will Luikinga, Eddy Ouwens, Dick Bakker | Teach-In | Netherlands |
| 1976 | “Save Your Kisses for Me,” Tony Hiller, Lee Sheriden, Martin Lee | Brotherhood of Man | United Kingdom |
| 1977 | “L’Oiseau et l’enfant,” José Gracy, Jean-Paul Cara | Marie Myriam | France |
| 1978 | “A-Ba-Ni-Bi,” Ehud Manor, Nurit Hirsh | Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta | Israel |
| 1979 | “Hallelujah,” Shimrit Orr, Kobi Oshrat | Gali Atari and Milk and Honey | Israel |
| 1980 | “What’s Another Year,” Shay Healy | Johnny Logan | Ireland |
| 1981 | “Making Your Mind Up,” Andy Hill, John Danter | Bucks Fizz | United Kingdom |
| 1982 | “Ein bisschen Frieden,” Bernd Meinunger, Ralph Siegel | Nicole | West Germany |
| 1983 | “Si la vie est cadeau,” Alain Garcia, Jean-Pierre Millers | Corinne Hermès | Luxembourg |
| 1984 | “Diggi-loo diggi-ley,” Britt Lindeborg, Torgny Söderberg | Herrey’s | Sweden |
| 1985 | “La det swinge,” Rolf Løvland | Bobbysocks | Norway |
| 1986 | “J’aime la vie,” Marino Atria, Jean-Pierre Furnémont, Angelo Crisci | Sandra Kim | Belgium |
| 1987 | “Hold Me Now,” Sean Sherrard | Johnny Logan | Ireland |
| 1988 | “Ne partez pas sans moi,” Nella Martinetti, Atilla Sereftug | Céline Dion | Switzerland |
| 1989 | “Rock Me,” Stevo Cvikich, Rajko Dujmich | Riva | Yugoslavia |
| 1990 | “Insieme: 1992,” Toto Cutugno | Toto Cutugno | Italy |
| 1991 | “Fångad av en stormvind,” Stephan Berg | Carola | Sweden |
| 1992 | “Why Me,” Sean Sherrard | Linda Martin | Ireland |
| 1993 | “In Your Eyes,” Jimmy Walsh | Niamh Kavanagh | Ireland |
| 1994 | “Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids,” Brendan Graham | Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan | Ireland |
| 1995 | “Nocturne,” Petter Skavlan, Rolf Løvland | Secret Garden | Norway |
| 1996 | “The Voice,” Brendan Graham | Eimear Quinn | Ireland |
| 1997 | “Love Shine a Light,” Kimberley Rew | Katrina and the Waves | United Kingdom |
| 1998 | “Diva,” Yoav Ginay | Dana International | Israel |
| 1999 | “Take Me to Your Heaven,” Gert Lengstrand | Charlotte Nilsson | Sweden |
| 2000 | “Fly on the Wings of Love,” Jørgen Olsen | Olsen Brothers | Denmark |
| 2001 | “Everybody,” Maian-Anna Kärmas, Ivar Must | Tanel Padar, Dave Benton, and 2XL | Estonia |
| 2002 | “I Wanna,” Marija Naumova, Marats Samauskis | Marie N | Latvia |
| 2003 | “Every Way That I Can,” Demir Demirkan, Sertab Erener | Sertab Erener | Turkey |
| 2004 | “Wild Dances,” Ruslana Lyzhichko, Aleksandr Ksenofontov | Ruslana | Ukraine |
| 2005 | “My Number One,” Christos Dantis, Natalia Germanou | Helena Paparizou | Greece |
| 2006 | “Hard Rock Hallelujah,” LORDI | LORDI | Finland |
| 2007 | “Molitva,” Vladimir Graić, Saša Milošević Mare | Marija Šerifović | Serbia |
| 2008 | “Believe,” Dima Bilan, Jim Beanz | Dima Bilan | Russia |
| 2009 | “Fairytale,” Alexander Rybak | Alexander Rybak | Norway |
| 2010 | “Satellite,” Julie Frost, John Gordon | Lena | Germany |
| 2011 | “Running Scared,” Stefan Örn, Sandra Bjurman, Iain Farquharson | Ell/Nikki | Azerbaijan |
| 2012 | “Euphoria,” Thomas G:son, Peter Boström | Loreen | Sweden |
| 2013 | “Only Teardrops,” Lise Cabble, Julia Fabrin Jakobsen, Thomas Stengaard | Emmelie de Forest | Denmark |
| 2014 | “Rise like a Phoenix,” Charly Mason, Joey Patulka, Ali Zuckowski, Julian Maas | Conchita Wurst | Austria |
| 2015 | “Heroes,” Linnea Deb, Joy Deb, Anton Hård af Segerstad | Måns Zelmerlöw | Sweden |
| 2016 | “1944,” Susana (“Jamala”) Jamaladinova | Susana (“Jamala”) Jamaladinova | Ukraine |
| 2017 | “For the Both of Us,” Luisa Sobral | Salvador Sobral | Portugal |
| 2018 | “Toy,” Doron Medalie, Stav Beger | Netta | Israel |
| 2019 | “Arcade,” Duncan Laurence, Joel Sjöö, Wouter Hardy | Duncan Laurence | Netherlands |
| 2020 | Not held because of the COVID-19 pandemic. | ||
| 2021 | “Zitti e buoni,” Damiano David, Victoria De Angelis, Thomas Raggi, Ethan Torchio | Måneskin | Italy |
| 2022 | “Stefania,” Ivan Klymenko, Oleh Psiuk, Ihor Didenchuk, Tymofii Muzychuk, Vitalii Duzhyk | Kalush Orchestra | Ukraine |
| 2023 | “Tattoo,” Jimmy Jansson, Jimmy Joker, Loreen, Moa Carlebecker, Peter Boström, Thomas G:son | Loreen | Sweden |
| 2024 | “The Code,” Benjamin Alasu, Lasse Midtsian Nymann, Linda Dale, Nemo Mettler | Nemo | Switzerland |
In conclusion, the title of euro contest winner at the Eurovision Song Contest is a hallmark of musical excellence and a powerful catalyst for career growth. From ABBA to Måneskin, the list of past winners represents a diverse and influential group of artists who have left an indelible mark on the global music scene. The Eurovision Song Contest continues to be a vital platform for emerging talent and a celebrated tradition for millions of viewers worldwide, all eager to witness who will next claim the coveted title of euro contest winner.
