Final 24 May 1956 Conductor Fernando Paggi Executive supervisor Rolf Liebermann | Presenter(s) Lohengrin Filipello Director Franco Marazzi | |
 | ||
Venue Teatro Kursaal
Lugano, Switzerland | ||
The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was the debut edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland on Thursday 24 May. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union, the pan-European music competition was inspired by the Italian Sanremo Music Festival. Lohengrin Filipello hosted the first contest which lasted approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes. Seven countries participated, with each of them performing two songs. Two jury members from all participating countries cast their votes in secret, based on which song was their favourite.
Contents
- History
- Location
- Format
- Voting controversy
- Lost tapes
- Participating countries
- Conductors
- Results
- International broadcasts
- References
This first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest included several procedures that were not repeated in any subsequent edition: Two songs for each country, secret voting, double voting of one country on behalf of another, optional inclusion of the jury members' own represented country in their voting, only "Grand Prix" title reception for the winner, and a single male presenter to host the show. The other Contests include: One song for each country, scoreboard display, jury panel from each country, disqualification of the juries' own country from their voting, material award, and female presenters or a group of male presenters.
History
During a meeting in Monaco in 1955, members of the European Broadcasting Union discussed ideas to organise a pan-European music competition, taking inspiration from the Italian Sanremo Music Festival. From that meeting, the concept of the Eurovision Song Contest was born. A decision was reached to hold the first ever contest in the Swiss resort of Lugano the following year.
Location
The chosen venue for the contest was the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, a city in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy. The event was also inspired by the Italian music festival, as well as that the contest was hosted in Italian.
Format
The programme was hosted by Lohengrin Filipello, making it the only Eurovision Song Contest to have a solo male presenter and up until the 2017 edition with a male trio, the only edition without a female presenter. The programme lasted approximately one hour and 40 minutes. Although it was mainly a radio programme, there were cameras in the studio for the benefit of the few Europeans who possessed a television.
Only solo artists were allowed to enter the contest, and their songs were not to exceed three and a half minutes in length, and were accompanied by a 24-musician orchestra, which was led by Fernando Paggi. The interval act, whistling by the Joyeux Rossignols, had to be extended due to a delay in the voting procedure. It had been strongly recommended that each participating country have a preliminary national song contest.
Voting controversy
Two jury members from all participating countries travelled to Lugano to cast their vote on the songs in secret, although the jury members from Luxembourg were unable to make it to Lugano. The voting system at this Contest allowed juries to vote for any competing song, including those of their own country. Additionally, the Swiss jury was allowed by the EBU to vote also on behalf of the Luxembourg delegation. Some even think that the Swiss entry won because of this rule. This system was never repeated.
Lost tapes
While the contest was shown and recorded for television broadcasting in certain European countries (as television sets were somewhat uncommon still at this time), no copies have survived, with the exception of Lys Assia's repeat performance at the end of the contest. It is one of only two contests to not have survived completely, along with the 1964 contest (of which the tapes were destroyed in a fire).
Participating countries
Seven countries participated in the first ever contest, each were represented with two songs. Two more countries, Austria, and Denmark were also expected to take part in the contest, but they missed the submission deadline and therefore could not take part. Although it was thought that the United Kingdom had also missed the participation deadline, it was later revealed by the EBU in January 2017 that it was a mythical fact created by fans of the contest. The EBU further went on to explain that the "Festival of British Popular Song", a contest created by the BBC for the United Kingdom, was the inspiration that brought in changes to the contest format from 1957.
Conductors
Each performance had a maestro who conducted the orchestra. The conductors listed conducted both performances for the indicated countries.
Results
Except for the winning song, the results have never been published. Simon Barclay's book The Complete and Independent Guide to the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 includes a table with what appears to be the rankings, but the author does not give a source. Under the chart he writes that "the votes awarded have never been disclosed." According to writer Jan Feddersen, "Im Wartesaal zum großen Glück" was probably voted No. 2 behind Lys Assia.
International broadcasts
The participating national broadcasters sent commentators to the contest, in order to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language. Details of the commentators and the broadcasting station that they represented are shown in the table below.