THE
HISTORY OF THE
EUROVISION
SONG
CONTEST
Caffé Latté looks back on
the key moments of Europe’s annual competition.
1973
Eurovision made the bold move to reach out beyond Europe for the 1973 contest. As a member of the European Broadcasting Union, Israel was eligible to participate. Making its debut that year, the Israeli entry "Ey-Sham" finished in 4th position: a strong first splash. The song was performed by female soloist Ilanit. It is worth noting that Israel's 1st appearance at the ESC was less than a year after the tragic events affecting Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympic Games. The additional security ensured Israel was able to participate safely in host city Luxembourg.
1973 also saw a change in the rules. Countries would now be free to sing in any language they wished. Sweden and Finland decided to enter a song sung in English. This move would prove to be increasingly more popular after 1974.
At the end of the night, Luxembourg emerged victorious for the 2nd consecutive year. When the winning nation opted not to host again, the United Kingdom offered Brighton as host city for 1974 where Eurovision was to change forever.
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