Since the first Eurovision Song Contest, held in 1956 some countries have proved more successful in winning than others. With a few countries still to score their first win, other countries have excelled and produced winning pop songs on more than one occasion.
7 Wins
Ireland has an unmatched track record in the competition, with 7 wins to its name it is the contest’s single most successful country. Ireland’s first win came in 1970 with Dana performing “All Kinds of Everything”. The competition was hosted by the previous joint winners, The Netherlands in Amsterdam after they were unusually selected by ballot. Ireland’s entry scored 32 points, though they were far from favourite and the result came as a surprise to the United Kingdom who were tipped to win. Ireland have competed in 54 contests to date. Ireland’s next two wins in 1980 and 1987 preceded their unmatched consecutive winning streak lasting 3 years from 1992 through to 1994. Winning again in 1996 brings their total to 7 wins. Competition is fierce in Eurovision and time will tell if Ireland will win again soon.
6 Wins
Sweden is only one win behind Ireland, with 6 previous wins Sweden is always one to watch. Their first success was at the 1974 contest where they won with their entry, Waterloo performed by Abba who would go on to find international success. Sweden have competed in 61 Eurovisions since their first entry in 1958. Their next victory came in 1984 when the song “Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley” was performed by Herr Eys to great effect. Sung in Swedish it was the first winning entry in the country’s native language as the previous entry, Waterloo by Abba had been sung in English. Achieving success again in 1991, 1999, 2012, and 2015, Sweden are seasoned repeat winners of the competition.
5 Wins
The United Kingdom stands alongside Luxembourg, France, and the Netherlands, having each won the competition 5 times.
The United Kingdom opened its trophy cabinet for the first time in 1967 when Puppet On A String sung by Sandy Shaw brought victory to the country.
- The UK achieved further wins in 1969, 1976, 1981 and 1997.
- Luxembourg has victories to its name in 1961, 1965, 1972, 1973, and 1983.
- France takes the wins in 1958, 1960, 1962, 1969, and 1977.
- The Netherlands’ victories have been in 1957, 1959, 1969, 1975, and 2019.
4 Wins
Israel has won the competition 4 times, the first win was in 1978, winning the following year and then again in 1998. Their most recent win was in 2018.
Of course, there are still plenty of countries that have entered the competition and have yet to win, or have only won once. That doesn’t stop the fun and excitement of competing though and no doubt next year the same countries will be perfecting their entries in the hope of coming out on top when the leader board results are announced.