Alesia Michelle and Eurovision
Alesia Michelle has been following the EBU’s Eurovision Song Contest since 2010. She began writing about the contest as a freelance journalist and launched her YouTube channel in 2015. With her subscriber list growing each and every year, her unique perspective has been featured in international press regularly.
Offering her unique perspective as a former performer, radio personality, and American she can offer a distinct perspective on the longstanding song contest.
Subscribe to Alesia’s YouTube channel for more of her take on the Eurovision Song Contest.
Get some facts and stats about the contest here.
What is the Eurovision Song Contest?
The history of the Eurovision Song Contest began as the brainchild of Marcel Bezençon of the EBU. The Contest was based on Italy’s Sanremo Music Festival and was designed to test the limits of live television broadcast technology.
The first Contest was held on 24 May 1956, when seven nations participated. With a live orchestra, the norm in the early years, and simple sing-along songs on every radio station, the Contest grew into a true pan-European tradition.
The end of the Cold War in the early 1990s led to a sudden increase in numbers, with many former Eastern Bloc countries queuing up to compete for the first time. This process has continued to this day with more and more countries joining. For this reason, in 2004 the Semi-Final format was introduced by the EBU which turned into two Semi-Finals for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008. Now all countries, except the ‘Big Five’ – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom – together with the host country, must be in a Semi-Final top-10 to qualify for the Final.
Continue Reading, via Eurovision.TV