Eurovision is a pan-European television

telecommunications network A telecommunications network is a group of nodes interconnected by telecommunications links that are used to exchange messages between the nodes. The links may use a variety of technologies based on the methodologies of circuit switching, mes ...

owned and operated by the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who are members of the C ...

(EBU). It was founded 1954 in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

, Switzerland, and its first official transmission took place on 6 June 1954. Major television broadcasts are distributed live through the Eurovision network to EBU members. Members share breaking news footage through the daily Eurovision news exchange (EVN). They also exchange television programmes through the network. The EBU has also owned and operated a

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

counterpart, Euroradio, since 1989.

Background

The name "Eurovision" was originally coined by British journalist George Campey when writing for the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', and was adopted by the EBU for its network. The first official Eurovision transmission took place on 6 June 1954. It broadcast the Narcissus Festival in

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approxima ...

, Switzerland, followed by an evening program from Rome, including a tour of the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

, an address from

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

and an

apostolic blessing The apostolic blessing or papal blessing is a blessing imparted by the pope, either directly or by delegation through others. Bishops are empowered to grant it three times a year and any priest can do so for the dying. The apostolic blessing is not ...

. Eurovision is managed by the European Broadcasting Union’s Eurovision Operations Department and offers permanent coverage of Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, North Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as ad-hoc coverage of the African continent and the Pacific Rim. Not confined only to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the EBU currently encompasses 75 television broadcasting organizations located in 56 countries of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Furthermore, there are 61 associated broadcasting organizations in Europe, Africa, America, Asia, and Oceania.

Events

The EBU in co-operation with the respective host broadcaster, organises competitions and events in which its Members can participate, if they wish to do so. These include:

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest () is an annual international song competition that was first held in

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label= Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Lugano has a populat ...

, Switzerland, on 24 May 1956. Seven countries participated – each submitting two songs, for a total of 14. This was the only contest in which more than one song per country was performed: since 1957 all contests have allowed one entry per country. The was won by the host nation, Switzerland. In this competition, only countries that are members of the EBU can participate. The first winner was .

Let the Peoples Sing

Let the Peoples Sing is a biennial choir competition, the participants of which are chosen from radio recordings entered by EBU radio members. The final, encompassing three categories and around ten choirs, is offered as a live broadcast to all EBU members. The overall winner is awarded the ''Silver Rose Bowl''.

Jeux sans frontières

Jeux sans frontières ( en, Games Without Frontiers, or Games Without Borders) was a Europe-wide television game show. In its original conception, it was broadcast from 1965 to 1999 under the auspices of the EBU. The original series run ended in 1982 but was revived in 1988 with a different complexion of nations and was hosted by smaller broadcasters.

Eurovision Young Musicians

Eurovision Young Musicians is a competition for European musicians that are younger than 19 years old. It is organised by the EBU and is a member of EMCY. The first competition was held in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

, United Kingdom on 11 May 1982. The televised competition is held every two years, with some countries holding national heats. Since its foundation in 1982, the Eurovision Young Musicians competition has become one of the most important music competitions on an international level.

Eurovision Young Dancers

The Eurovision Young Dancers was a biennial dance showcase broadcast on television throughout Europe. The first competition was held in

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abo ...

, Italy, on 16 June 1985. It uses a format similar to the Eurovision Song Contest, every country that is a member of the EBU has had the opportunity to send a dance act to compete for the title of "Eurovision Young Dancer". The act can be either a solo act or a dance couple, and all contestants must be between the ages of 16 and 21 years and not professionally engaged.

Junior Eurovision Song Contest

Junior Eurovision Song Contest (), is an annual international song competition, that was first held in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

, Denmark, on 15 November 2003. Sixteen countries participated in the inaugural edition – each submitting one song, for a total of 16 entries. The 2003 contest was won by

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Eurovision Dance Contest

The Eurovision Dance Contest (not to be confused with the '' Eurovision Young Dancers Competition'') was an international dancing competition that was held for the first time in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, United Kingdom on 1 September 2007. The competition was repeated in 2008 when it was held in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, United Kingdom, but has not been held since.

Eurovision Magic Circus Show

The Eurovision Magic Circus Show was an entertainment show organised by the EBU, which began in 2010 and ended in 2012. Children aged between 7-14, representing countries within the EBU, performed a variety of circus acts at the Geneva Christmas Circus (french: Cirque de Noël Genève, link=no). The main show was also accompanied by the Magic Circus Show Orchestra.

Eurovision Choir

Eurovision Choir (formerly Eurovision Choir of the Year) is a new event launched by the EBU, and the latest event to be launched since the

Eurovision Magic Circus Show The ''Magic Circus Show'' was an entertainment show organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), which took place in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Children aged between seven and fourteen represen ...

. The event consists of non-professional choirs who are members of the EBU, with the inaugural contest taking place on 22 July 2017, hosted by the Latvian broadcaster

Latvijas Televīzija Latvijas Televīzija (''Latvian Television'', LTV) is the state-owned public service television broadcaster in Latvia. LTV operates two channels, LTV1 in Latvian and LTV7 (previously called LTV2) in Latvian with selected programming in Russia ...

(LTV), coinciding with the closing ceremony of the European Choir Games 2017. The contest returned for a second edition in 2019 staged in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, Sweden. In June 2021, Interkultur announced the cancellation of the contest. A broadcaster for the planned 2021 event had not been selected before the announcement.

European Sports Championships

The European Sports Championships is a multi-sport event involving some of the leading sports in Europe. The European Governing Bodies for athletics, swimming, cycling, rowing and triathlon, will co-ordinate their individual championships as part of the

first edition The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants. First edition According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a b ...

in the summer of 2018, hosted by the cities of Berlin (already chosen as the host for the

2018 European Athletics Championships The 2018 European Athletics Championships were held in Berlin, Germany, from 6 to 12 August 2018. The championships were part of the first European Championships with other events happening in the United Kingdom. For the second Championships in ...

) and

(already chosen as the host for the

2018 European Aquatics Championships The 2018 European Aquatics Championships took place in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Luss in the central belt of Scotland, from 3 to 12 August 2018. The championships were part of the first European Championships with other events happening in Sco ...

, and which will now also host the events of the other sports).

Eurovision Asia Song Contest

The Eurovision Asia Song Contest was a proposed Asia-Pacific counterpart of the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

. The inaugural contest was set to consist of only one show. However, in 2021, SBS Commissioning Editor Josh Martin confirmed that the contest would not take place despite earlier plans.

Other events

Routine transmissions of sport and culture events amount to over 15,000 transmission hours per year. High-profile Eurovision events include: *

The Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

* Eastertime

papal The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

blessing ''

Urbi et Orbi ''Urbi et Orbi'' ('to the city f Romeand to the world') denotes a papal address and apostolic blessing given by the pope on certain solemn occasions. Etymology The term ''Urbi et Orbi'' evolved from the consciousness of the ancient Roman Empir ...

'' * ''

Euroclassic Notturno ''Euroclassic Notturno'' is a six-hour radio sequence of classical music recordings assembled by BBC Radio from material supplied by members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and distributed, via the EBU's Euroradio satellite network, to ...

'' *

Palio Palio is the name given in Italy to an annual athletic contest, very often of a historical character, pitting the neighbourhoods of a town or the hamlets of a '' comune'' against each other. Typically, they are fought in costume and commemorate s ...

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

Rose d'Or The Rose d'Or ('Golden Rose') is an international awards festival in entertainment broadcasting and programming. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) first acquired the Rose d’Or in 1961, when it was created by Swiss Television in the lakes ...

* ''

Musikantenstadl Musikantenstadl is a live television entertainment program broadcast in the German language throughout Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. It features Austrian, Swiss, and German popular folk music ( Schlager, Volkstümliche Musik), international ...

'' * '' Stadlshow'' * Vienna New Year's Concert * Summer Night Concert Schönbrunn * '' Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest'' * '' Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits'' * Eurosonic Noorderslag *

European Border Breakers Award The European Border Breakers Award (EBBA) was an annual prize awarded to recognise the success of ten emerging artists or groups who reached audiences outside their own countries with their first internationally released album in the past year. ...

* Euroradio Folk Festival * * ''

Eurovision Debate The Eurovision Debate is a live televised debate between the lead political candidates (“Spitzenkandidaten”) running to be the next President of the European Commission. Produced by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and broadcast across Eu ...

'' * '' Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light'' *

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annua ...

News

Member broadcasting organisations also provide each other with news

footage In filmmaking and video production, footage is raw, unedited material as originally filmed by a movie camera or recorded by a ( often special) video camera, which typically must be edited to create a motion picture, video clip, television show or ...

(over 30,000 separate news items per year) within the framework of the daily Eurovision News Exchanges (EVN). Eurovision also sponsors the annual broadcast news industry conference, News Xchange. Despite the similarity in name this has no direct connection with Eurovision News Exchanges.

Eurovision Sports

Eurovision has offered free internet streaming of major sports events such as the

London 2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

on its website, under the name Eurovision Sports. Eurovision Sports is also offering all

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

coverage for

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and

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

, and is providing coverage of the 2021 FINA World Swimming Championships.Sutherland, James (14 December 2021)
"British Swimming Teams Up With Eurovision For SC Worlds Live Stream"
''

SwimSwam ''SwimSwam'' news is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012 and quickly became the most-read swimming website in the world. ...

''. Retrieved 14 December 2021.

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

was created in 1989 by the EBU as a method of exploiting the member stations' sports rights.

Transmission ident

Eurovision television transmissions may be recognised by the Eurovision ident and the opening theme of

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...

's "

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Ch ...

" which appears before and after the programme to indicate to viewers they are connected and watching via the Eurovision network. The most famous and well known times for this to occur is before and after the

, although most contributed items, such as international relays of sports events, including the Olympics, are not thus credited and the general public is therefore mostly unaware of Eurovision's involvement.

References

External links

*
Eurovision Active Member List

(in French)
Eurovision Sports Live Streaming
{{Portal bar, Radio, Television Television networks in Switzerland Radio networks 1954 establishments in Switzerland European Broadcasting Union