Last week, my long-suffering husband took me to see an ABBA tribute band in Savannah. I have written before about my love of ABBA music and as the group never perform live together anymore, tribute bands such as Mania which we saw and, of course, the Mamma Mia musical and movies, keep the music alive. ABBA’s final public performance was in 1982 on British TV, although in 2022 ABBA reunited for the first time in London, England for the opening night of their Voyage “live show”. The show features projected avatar versions of the band members as holograms play alongside a live band. I am determined to find time to get tickets to this when in the UK visiting family and friends!

I have a very clear memory of the beginning of my love affair with ABBA’s music when this band won the Eurovision Song Contest by performing Waterloo in Brighton, England in 1974. I was eight years old and thrillingly allowed to stay up and watch this iconic contest on TV.

It is a little difficult to explain the significance of the Eurovision Song Contest in the UK to Americans, especially back when I was a child and there were only three TV channels, and the whole nation tuned in at the same time. If you combine the Super Bowl, the Olympics, and American Idol - and then throw in the eccentricity of the British - you start to get the idea. This annual international song competition is still one of the world’s most-watched non-sporting events, and every May it is a major topic of conversation in European schools, offices and pubs. Most of the USA has never really understood or got into the Eurovision Song Contest although it was first broadcast here on PBS in 1971. Many Americans became more familiar with the competition after watching Will Ferrell’s 2020 comedy movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, ironically the only year since its inception almost 70 years ago that it did not take place due to COVID. After that, various streaming services have broadcast the annual competition although I have got out of the habit of watching it since I moved here.

So how did it all start? The Eurovision Song Contest began as a great technical experiment in live international TV broadcasting with the first contest taking place in Switzerland on May 24, 1956. Only eleven years after the end of World War II, which decimated much of Europe, this contest was designed to be a non-political entertainment event that brought audiences and countries together. The inaugural proceedings featured solo artists (duos were admitted in 1957, but groups would not be allowed to compete until 1971) from just seven countries. That number would more than double by the time the 1961 contest was held in France. ‘Eurovision’, as it is referred to in the land of my birth, is organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and is now one of the longest- running television programs in the world. The contest has had many famous winners in addition to ABBA including Céline Dion and Julio Iglesias.

National pride is very important to Eurovision competitors and audiences alike and there are strict rules about performances as European countries judge each other’s selected performers. Contestants were originally evaluated by a “jury” of representatives from different countries, who awarded points for each performance. The early 21st century saw the addition of a popular vote that allowed viewers to participate via telephone or text. Judges cannot vote for their own country’s representative but there is often a bias towards culturally similar countries supporting the other’s music – such as the Nordic countries. As the French and British have centuries of rivalry between them, the UK expects the French to give their singers “nil points” (a score of zero), and vice versa.

There are strict rules around the competition as all vocals must be performed live and no more than six people can take part in the performance. The song must also be new and not previously have been performed in public or via any media.

The winner earns widespread recognition and a glass award in the shape of a microphone and the victor’s homeland is honored by becoming the host country for next year’s contest. This year the 69th Eurovision Song Contest will take place in May in Basel, Switzerland, following the country’s victory at the 2024 contest with the song “The Code” by Nemo. In the land of my birth, I expect people are already planning their annual Eurovision viewing parties with themed food, decorations and costumes!

While the competition is sometimes fierce, there is an over-riding sense of fun and good natured “ribbing” of competing countries.

There is a lot more information at www.britannica. com and www.abbathemuseum. com .

I will leave you with an anonymous quote on YouTube explaining the contest to a novice “It’s like all your talent shows, but instead of laughing at a contestant, we get to laugh at an entire country” God bless America!

Lesley grew up in London, England and made Georgia her home in 2009.

She can be contacted at lesley@francis.com or via her full-service marketing agency at www.lesleyfrancispr.com