EUROVISION'S TOP 40 RUNNERS-UP. This post: #15-11. Continues tomorrow.

Caffé Latté presents:

#2

EUROVISION’S

GREATEST

RUNNERS-UP

Each year, the Eurovision Song Contest pits nations against each other, vying for a victory. Since 1956, the ESC has thrown up several unforgettable winning entries, but what about the songs that came close but finished in second place? Caffé Latté ranks 40 of the past 62 runners-up that still deserve special recognition.

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15 /

ALL OUT OF LUCK

SELMA

ICELAND / 1999

Twice, Iceland has come close to a win at Eurovision. Selma was beaten in 1999 by another Scandinavian country: Sweden. She gave it another shot in 2005, but "If I Had Your Love" -despite being a strong entry- failed to qualify for the Grand Final.

14 /

T'EN VA PAS

ESTHER OFARIM

SWITZERLAND / 1963

Esther Ofarim was an international entertainer which no doubt helped buoy the overall performance of the Swiss entry in 1963. "T'en Va Pas" was performed in French. The song lost by only 2 points to the Danish entry "Dansevise".

13 /

I BELONG

KATHY KIRBY

UNITED KINGDOM / 1965

Kathy Kirby could not compete against the modern French pop of "Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son".

 

12 /

HOLD ME

FARID MAMMADOV

AZERBAIJAN / 2013

Azerbaijan has served a series of quality entries at Eurovision since its debut in 2008. "Running Scared" had won just 2 years prior. "Hold Me" came close to giving Azerbaijan a second victory.

11 /

ANGEL

CHIARA

MALTA / 2005

Chiara first represented Malta with "The One That I Love:" in 1998. That song finished third. She returned 7 years later with the sweeping ballad "Angel" and fared even better. This runner-up remains the best performing Maltese entry.

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