Eurovision Song Contest 1956

Eurovision Song Contest 1956
Presenter(s)	Lohengrin Filipello
Host broadcaster	SSR
Venue	Teatro Kursaal, Lugano, Switzerland
Winning song	"Refrain" Switzerland
Voting system	Each country had 2 jury members who each awarded 1-10 points for each song.
Number of entries	14
Debuting countries	See article
Null points	Unknown
Interval act	Les Joyeux Rossignols & Les Trois Ménestrels

The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was the first Eurovision Song Contest, held in Lugano, Switzerland. This first contest was mainly a radio programme, though there were cameras in the studio for the benefit of the few Europeans who had television. The backdrops behind the singers were, perhaps understandably, not very lavish. Unlike more recent competitions, each country was allowed to enter two songs rather than one. It had been strongly recommended that each participating country have a preliminary national song contest. Austria, Denmark and the United Kingdom were disqualified from the final contest, however, as all of them registered after the official deadline. The BBC's Festival of British Popular Song, which had been intended to choose the United Kingdom entry, was in the end not held until after the Eurovision contest. All participating countries sent two jury members to Lugano, except for Luxembourg who allowed the Swiss jury to vote on their behalf. No video recording of the entire event is known to have survived, although an audio recording does exist. Newsreel footage of Assia's encore performance of "Refrain" appears to be the only known video from the contest.

Voting controversy

The voting system at this Contest allowed juries to vote for any competing song, including those of their own country. This is a system which was not repeated, and is believed by some to be the reason for Assia's win. Additionally, the Swiss jury was allowed to vote on behalf of the Luxembourg delegation, again something which has not been repeated in Contest history. This has also led to some allegations that these proxy votes may have tipped the result in Assia's favour. The scores for this Contest have never been made public, which has also led to a number of rumours about other placings. Assia's other entry was never released commercially, which has caused suggestions that it placed very low. Other suggestions include a possible second place for Germany's Walter Andreas Schwarz (or Freddy Quinn, in some versions of the rumour), thus justifying Germany hosting the second Contest, and a possible third place for one of the Belgian entries. The interval act, whistling by the Joyeux Rossignols, had to be extended due to a delay in the voting procedure.

Results

Draw	Country	Language	Artist	Song	English Translation	Place	Points
1	Netherlands	Dutch	Jetty Pearl	De Vogels Van Holland	The Birds of Holland	n/k	-
2	Switzerland	German	Lys Assia	Das Alte Karussell	The Old Carousel	n/k	-
3	Belgium	French	Fud Leclerc	Messieurs Les Noyés De La Seine	The Drowned Gentlemen of the Seine	n/k	-
4	Germany	German	Walter Andreas Schwarz	Im Wartesaal Zum Großen Glück	The Good Luck Waiting Room	n/k	-
5	France	French	Mathé Altéry	Le Temps Perdu	The Lost Time	n/k	-
6	Luxembourg	French	Michèle Arnaud	Ne Crois Pas	Do Not Believe	n/k	-
7	Italy	Italian	Franca Raimondi	Aprite Le Finestre	Open the Windows	n/k	-
8	Netherlands	Dutch	Corry Brokken	Voorgoed Voorbij	Over Forever	n/k	-
9	Switzerland	French	Lys Assia	Refrain	Refrain	1	-
10	Belgium	French	Mony Marc	Le Plus Beau Jour De Ma Vie	The Most Beautiful Day of my Life	n/k	-
11	Germany	German	Freddy Quinn	So Geht Das Jede Nacht	That's how it is Every Night	n/k	-
12	France	French	Dany Dauberson	Il Est Là	He is Here	n/k	-
13	Luxembourg	French	Michèle Arnaud	Les Amants De Minuit	The Lovers of Midnight	n/k	-
14	Italy	Italian	Tonina Torrielli	Amami Se Vuoi	Love me if you Want	n/k	-

Map

     Participating countries

External links

• Listen to the whole 1956 contest