The Barbara Dex Award was a fan-voted accolade awarded annually to the worst-dressed contestant in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

. The award was created by the

fansite A fansite, fan site, fan blog or fan page is a website created and maintained by a fan of or devotee to a celebrity, thing, or particular cultural phenomenon. Fansites may offer specialized information on the subject (e.g., episode listings, ...

The House of Eurovision in 1997, which hosted it until the site's closure in 2016. Songfestival.be presented the award from 2017 onwards, changing its criterion to the "most striking look" in 2019. Ahead of the

Eurovision Song Contest 2022 The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Turin, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Måneskin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and h ...

, the award was succeeded by the You're a Vision Award, which was intended to carry a more positive connotation.

History

The Barbara Dex Award created by Edwin van Thillo and Rob Paardekam, the founders of the Dutch Eurovision fansite The House of Eurovision, in 1997. It was named after Belgian singer Barbara Dex, who represented Belgium in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1993 The Eurovision Song Contest 1993 was the 38th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 15 May 1993 at the Green Glens Arena in Millstreet, Ireland. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (RTÉ), and pr ...

wearing a self-made, semi-transparent dress, which William Lee Adams of ''

Wiwibloggs Wiwibloggs is a fansite and YouTube channel focusing on the Eurovision Song Contest, launched in 2009 by journalist William Lee Adams. History In April 2015, Wiwibloggs won the Arts & Culture category at the UK Blog Awards. Adams has judged ...

'' described her "looking like a

lampshade A lampshade is a fixture that envelops the light bulb to redirect the light it emits. The shade is often affixed onto a light fixture to reduce the intensity of the light to observers, shield the light from a harsh environment, or for decorati ...

". The Barbara Dex Award was initially awarded to the worst-dressed contestants. Malta's

Eurovision Song Contest 1997 The Eurovision Song Contest 1997 was the 42nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 3 May 1997 at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (RTÉ) and presented by C ...

entrant, Debbie Scerri, was the first recipient. After two years of deciding the recipient internally, The House of Eurovision opened the award to public voting in 1999. The House of Eurovision shut down after the

Eurovision Song Contest 2016 The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the 61st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Heroes (Måns Zelmerlöw song), Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw. Organis ...

and handed the Barbara Dex Award to the Belgian website Songfestival.be and its founder, Jasper van Biesen. Van Biesen hoped that this transition would broaden the award's reach. Starting with the

Eurovision Song Contest 2019 The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...

, the award criterion was changed to the "most notable outfit", refined to "most striking look" for the . Songfestival.be noted that "this prize for the most striking outfit does not intend to say what is ugly and what is not and does not want to place the Song Contest in a bad light". On 13 March 2022, Songfestival.be announced that it would be ending the Barbara Dex Award, citing the negative connotation associated with it. Instead, the website would organise a new, replacement award for the "most notable outfit". Following an online vote, Songfestival.be announced on 29 April that the new award would be named the " You're a Vision Award", adding that the new name would serve the purpose of promoting creativity, diversity and positivity in Eurovision onstage fashion. Australia's

entrant, Sheldon Riley, was the first recipient of the new award.

Reception

In a January 2006 interview with ''ESCToday'', Dex stated that there was "nothing wrong" with the Barbara Dex Award. A 2015 poll by ''Wiwibloggs'' found Guildo Horn, Germany's 1998 Eurovision act, to be considered the worst-dressed of the previous award recipients.

Award winners

Overview

House of Eurovision Songfestival.be

By country

References

External links

* {{Eurovision Song Contest Awards established in 1997 Awards disestablished in 2022 European music awards Eurovision Song Contest Fashion awards Ironic and humorous awards