Eurovision Song Contest Statistics 2012

Following Sweden's fifth win this year, I've analysed the participating countries for the entire history of the Eurovision Song Contest. Some interesting statistics have emerged from this. You may click on one of the links below to jump to a particular section, or alternatively you may wish to read the whole document start to finish.

Thirteen Years Of Different Winners
Years Taken To First Win Eurovision Song Contest
Still Waiting For A First Win
When Will They Win Again?
Gaps Between Wins
How Many Wins?

Thirteen Years Of Different Winners

Firstly, it's interesting to see that since 2000, a different country has won each year.

2000 Denmark (2nd)
2001 Estonia (1st)
2002 Latvia (1st)
2003 Turkey (1st)
2004 Ukraine (1st)
2005 Greece (1st)
2006 Finland (1st)
2007 Serbia (1st)
2008 Russia (1st)
2009 Norway (3rd)
2010 Germany (2nd)
2011 Azerbaijan (1st)
2012 Sweden (5th)

That means that from 2000 to 2012 inclusive, there has been a 13 year run of different winners. Note also there was an eight year run of first-time winners from 2001 to 2008 inclusive.

Figures in brackets indicate the cumulative win for that country, e.g. in 2000 Denmark won for the 2nd time.

The longest ever run of different winners in the Eurovision Song Contest history is 16 years, from 1996 to 2011 inclusive, as shown below. Again, the following includes an eight year run of first-time winners from 2001 to 2008 inclusive.

1996 Ireland (7th)
1997 United Kingdom (5th)
1998 Israel (3rd)
1999 Sweden (4th)
2000 Denmark (2nd)
2001 Estonia (1st)
2002 Latvia (1st)
2003 Turkey (1st)
2004 Ukraine (1st)
2005 Greece (1st)
2006 Finland (1st)
2007 Serbia (1st)
2008 Russia (1st)
2009 Norway (3rd)
2010 Germany (2nd)
2011 Azerbaijan (1st)

How much longer will this trend of a different winner each year continue?

Thus Sweden's 2012 win cut the 16 year run (1996 to 2011) to a 13 year run (2000 to 2012). It will now take three years of different winners not in the 2000 to 2012 run to bring the current run back to 16 years of different winners (2000 to 2015), and four years of different winners to beat the previous 16-year record. As you will see in the next few posts that could well happen.

Can the eight year run of first-time winners be beaten? It can, although it will take until 2021 to happen. Further interesting trivia follows in the next few sections.

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Years Taken To First Win Eurovision Song Contest

Here are all the 26 countries that have won the Eurovision Song Contest at least once. Notice the number of years from first ever entry to first win varies considerably. Finland currently holds the record for longest wait for a first win: 45 years, i.e. they first won in 2006, 45 years after their first ever song in 1961. Serbia currently holds the record for shortest wait for a first win (see footnote for more though). The most recent first-time winner Azerbaijan (2011) had a short wait: 3 years after their debut entry in 2008.

Country	First Entry	First Win	Years After First Entry
Finland	1961	2006	45
Greece	1974	2005	31
Belgium	1956	1986	30
Yugoslavia	1961	1989	28
Turkey	1975	2003	28
Germany	1956	1982	26
Norway	1960	1985	25
Sweden	1958	1974	16
Russia	1994	2008	14
Monaco	1959	1971	12
United Kingdom	1957	1967	10
Austria	1957	1966	9
Italy	1956	1964	8
Spain	1961	1968	7
Estonia	1994	2001	7
Denmark	1957	1963	6
Luxembourg	1956	1961	5
Ireland	1965	1970	5
Israel	1973	1978	5
Azerbaijan	2008	2011	3
France	1956	1958	2
Latvia	2000	2002	2
Netherlands	1956	1957	1
Ukraine	2003	2004	1
Switzerland[1]	1956	1956	0
Serbia	2007	2007	0

[1] The debut Eurovision Song Contest was the only year each country was able to enter two songs.  Switzerland's second song of the night "Refrain" won the 1956 Contest, therefore their first ever song did not win. Consequently, from 1956 to 2006, no country won with its first ever song.

Serbia thus became the first country to win with its first ever song (as an independent nation), which is why they had a shorter wait for their first win than Switzerland. It could be argued that Serbia previously participated as part of Serbia and Montenegro (2004), and part of Yugoslavia (1974, 1982, 1991, 1992). However on those occasions, the songs represented the whole of Serbia and Montenegro / Yugoslavia, not just Serbia itself. 2007 was the first year that Serbia's song just represented Serbia.

If Liechtenstein were to enter, and win with its first ever song, it could be said to have an even shorter wait for a first win having not previously entered as part of a larger country which no longer exists.

It's worth bearing in mind that the above list ignores the fact that some countries missed a few years in their history. For example, Finland first won in 2006, 45 years after its first entry in 1961. However it missed the Contests of 1970, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003.

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Still Waiting For A First Win

Now for the countries which have yet to achieve their first win:

N.B. Each country's debut year is shown after its name. Estonia, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia entered the 1993 qualifying round Kvalifikacija za Millstreet in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 3 April 1993, but didn't qualify for the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest, and thus their debut year is recognised as 1994. FYR Macedonia entered the audio qualifier for the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest, but failed to qualify, and thus their debut year is recognised as 1998. However since the advent of semi-finals in 2004, the debut year is the year they first appeared in the semi-final, whether or not they qualified to the final.

Long Time Runners (10 years or more)

Country	First Entry	Years Since First Entry
Portugal	1964	48
Malta	1971	41
Morocco	1980	32
Cyprus	1981	31
Iceland	1986	26
Slovenia	1993	19
Bosnia-Herzegovina	1993	19
Croatia	1993	19
Romania	1994	18
Slovakia	1994	18
Lithuania	1994	18
Hungary	1994	18
Poland	1994	18
FYR Macedonia	1998	14

That's 14 countries altogether. One significant subset is the seven who debuted in 1994; Estonia won in 2001 and Russia won in 2008, therefore 5 of the 7 who debuted in 1994 have yet to achieve a first win. Another interesting group are the three ex-Yugoslav countries which debuted in 1993; 19 years on and none of those three have won yet. If one of each of the above countries wins every year, it will take 14 years for them all to win once (if Morocco ever makes a comeback).

If Portugal wins next year, it will have taken 49 years to achieve its first win, which will snatch the record for longest wait for a first win from Finland (45 years). My advice to Portugal, try singing in English; it might then stand a chance.

Will Morocco ever return to the Eurovision Song Contest? If they enter, reach the final and win next year, they will have the second longest wait for a first win: 33 years (1980 - 2013). However they will also have the longest gap between entries: 33 years. Bizarrely though, they will have won on only their second attempt (just like Ukraine in 2004)!

Recent Newcomers (since 2004)

Since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004, 13 new countries have entered Eurovision Song Contest from 2004 onwards. The most recent were Azerbaijan and San Marino in 2008. Of the 13 which debuted since 2004, Serbia won in 2007 (the first time it entered as Serbia) and Azerbaijan won in 2011 (3 years after first entering in 2008). The other 11 countries from this group are still waiting for their first win:

Country	First Entry	Years Since First Entry
Belarus	2004	8
Andorra[2]	2004	8
Albania	2004	8
Serbia-Montenegro[3]	2004	8
Moldova	2005	7
Bulgaria	2005	7
Armenia	2006	6
Georgia	2007	5
Montenegro[2]	2007	5
Czech Republic[2]	2007	5
San Marino[2]	2008	4

[2] never qualified to final

[3] no longer exists as a nation

How long will it be before any of the countries in this group have their first win? Now that Serbia-Montenegro no longer exists as a joint country, that leaves 10 countries in this group, and thus it will take at least 10 years for them to win once each.

Taking the two groups together, that's 24 countries still waiting for their first ever win. So you see, it's quite possible for the eight year run of first-time winners (2001 to 2008) to be beaten (2013 to 2021 and beyond). Furthermore, first time wins for each of these countries during forthcoming years will continue the trend of a different winner each year since 1996.

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When Will They Win Again?

As I've already explained, Sweden's 2012 win means there is currently a 13 year run of a different country winning each year 2000 to 2012 inclusive. To determine the old-timers that haven't won in ages, you need to go back to 1998 (the year before Sweden last won in 1999) and work backwards. Altogether, I've found 13 countries that last won in 1998 or earlier still waiting to win again. Note that one of them no longer exists, so that leaves 12 countries.

Country	Last Win	Years Since Last Win
Austria	1966	46
Spain	1969	43
Monaco	1971	41
Netherlands	1975	37
France	1977	35
Luxembourg	1983	29
Belgium	1986	26
Switzerland	1988	24
Yugoslavia[4]	1989	23
Italy	1990	22
Ireland	1996	16
United Kingdom	1997	15
Israel	1998	14

[4] no longer exists as a nation.

According to Wikipedia, Austria will be in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. If it reaches the final and wins, it will have had 47 years gap between wins, the longest in the history of the ESC (currently Denmark holds the record for longest gap between wins, 37 years 1963 to 2000).

After a long absence, Italy appeared in the 2011 and 2012 Contests. If it comes back and wins next year, it will have had 23 years gap between wins.

Luxembourg last entered in 1993. Will they ever return?

Monaco was absent from Eurovision from 1980 to 2003 inclusive. 2004 to 2006 inclusive it failed to qualify from the semi-finals. Since 2007 it has been absent again. Will it return in 2013, and if so will it qualify to the final for the first time since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004?

If any one of these wins next year, it will extend the current run of a different country winning each year by one year, i.e. 2000 to 2013 inclusive. With 12 countries which haven't won for at least 14 years (1998 or earlier), plus 24 countries still waiting for their first ever win, the current trend of a different winner each year (since 2000) is likely to continue for several years to come.

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Gaps Between Wins

Sweden won the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. That means a 13 year gap between their previous win in 1999 and their latest win in 2012, their longest gap between wins to-date, and currently the eighth longest gap between wins in the history of the Contest.

Country	Gap Between Wins	Year Range
Denmark	37 years	1963 - 2000
Switzerland	32 years	1956 - 1988
Germany	28 years	1982 - 2010
Italy	26 years	1964 - 1990
Israel	19 years	1979 - 1998
United Kingdom	16 years	1981 - 1997
Norway	14 years	1995 - 2009
Sweden	13 years	1999 - 2012
Ireland	10 years	1970 - 1980
Luxembourg	10 years	1973 - 1983
Netherlands	10 years	1959 - 1969
Norway	10 years	1985 - 1995
Sweden	10 years	1974 - 1984
France	8 years	1969 - 1977
Sweden	8 years	1991 - 1999
France	7 years	1962 - 1969
Ireland	7 years	1980 - 1987
Luxembourg	7 years	1965 - 1972
Sweden	7 years	1984 - 1991
United Kingdom	7 years	1969 - 1976
Netherlands	6 years	1969 - 1975
Ireland	5 years	1987 - 1992
United Kingdom	5 years	1976 - 1981
Luxembourg	4 years	1961 - 1965
France	2 years	1958 - 1960
France	2 years	1960 - 1962
Ireland	2 years	1994 - 1996
Netherlands	2 years	1957 - 1959
United Kingdom	2 years	1967 - 1969
Ireland	1 year	1992 - 1993
Ireland	1 year	1993 - 1994
Israel	1 year	1978 - 1979
Luxembourg	1 year	1972 - 1973
Spain	1 year	1968 - 1969

If any of the following four countries win next year, they will take the record for longest gap between wins:
Austria 47 years (1966 - 2013)
Spain 44 years (1969 - 2013)
Monaco 42 years (1971 - 2013) (that is, if Monaco returns next year)
Netherlands 38 years (1975 - 2013)

If France wins next year, it will have the second longest gap between wins: 36 years (1977 - 2013).

Again, this list ignores the fact that some countries missed one or more years between wins. Denmark currently holds the record for longest gap between wins (37 years). Between its wins in 1963 and 2000, it had a long absence 1967 to 1977 inclusive, and missed a few more years (1994, 1996, 1998) in the relegation era.

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How Many Wins?

Finally here is a table showing how many times each country has ever won the Eurovision Song Contest from 1956 to 2012 inclusive.

Country	Number Of Wins
Albania	0
Andorra	0
Armenia	0
Austria	1
Azerbaijan	1
Belarus	0
Belgium	1
Bosnia-Herzegovina	0
Bulgaria	0
Croatia	0
Cyprus	0
Czech Republic	0
Denmark	2
Estonia	1
Finland	1
France	5
FYR Macedonia	0
Georgia	0
Germany	2
Greece	1
Hungary	0
Iceland	0
Ireland	7
Israel	3
Italy	2
Latvia	1
Lithuania	0
Luxembourg	5
Malta	0
Moldova	0
Monaco	1
Montenegro	0
Morocco	0
Netherlands	4
Norway	3
Poland	0
Portugal	0
Romania	0
Russia	1
San Marino	0
Serbia	1
Serbia-Montenegro	0
Slovakia	0
Slovenia	0
Spain	2
Sweden	5
Switzerland	2
Turkey	1
Ukraine	1
United Kingdom	5
Yugoslavia	1

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