Author: Benjamin Zenner

At a first glance, the above song might seem like a middle-of-the-road ballad, typical of the Eurovision Song Contest, where it was performed in 1973. And yet, sung by a French artist, it led a European audience to give victory to – that’s right: Luxembourg! The ‘Compagnie luxembourgeoise de télédiffusion’ (CLT), which was in charge of the broadcast that evening, had chosen Anne-Marie David to represent Luxembourg that evening.

Organised by broadcasting stations from all over Europe within the framework of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the ESC has seen no shortage of surprising stories. The yearly contest has often been promoted as a rare example of a truly ‘European’ broadcasting event. In reality however, the various national stations have always given a strong national tint to their particular broadcasts.

The CLT – later to become RTL – was a founding member of the EBU and it broadcast the European Song Contest from the first edition in 1956. Did you know that Luxembourg in fact won the ESC no less than five times – and that on each occasion, the singer was not from the Grand-Duchy? While there is nothing wrong with being proud of Luxembourg’s ESC victories, one should keep in mind that the singers and composers were often foreigners – so the Contest is European in more than one sense!

Sources:

_{This was the CLT’s opening sequence to the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place at the ‘Nouveau Théâtre’ in Luxembourg City (©CNA Luxembourg).}

_{The famous Eurovision hymn, traditionally played at the beginning of every ESC broadcast (©CNA Luxembourg).}

Literature:

Plenty of information can be found in the history section of the Eurovision website.

In terms of officially sanctioned publications, the following is also of interest:

John K. O’Connor, The Eurovision Song Contest: 50 Years – The Official History, London: Carlton, 2005.

On the political and cultural context of the Eurovision Song Contest, see:

Gad Yair, “Unite Unite Europe: The Political and Cultural Structures of Europe as Reflected in the Eurovision Song Contest,” Social Networks 17 (1995): 147-161.

On the tension between the national and European dimensions of Eurovision broadcasts, see:

Andreas Fickers, “The  Birth of Eurovision: Transnational Television as a Challenge for Europe and Contemporary Media Historiography,” in: Transnational Television History: A Comparative Approach, edited by Andreas Fickers and Cathy Johnson, New York: Routledge, 2012.