Europe’s beloved song contest, Eurovision was first broadcast in 1956 and it has been sharing its unique blend of ballads and big hair, politics, patriotism and Europop every year since. That makes it one of the longest-running TV shows in the world — and with estimated annual audiences of 180 million, arguably one of the best loved. If you have been living off-planet and don’t know Eurovision, just imagine American Idol backcombed its hair, put on some silver spandex and flung open its doors to entrants from half the world. Recent contestants have included a troupe of tuneless Russian grannies and some chesty Polish milkmaids who provocatively churned their way into the imaginations of a generation of middle-aged men.
