Iittle did Marcel Baison of France know what he was starting. Inspired by the success of Italy's San Remo song festival, Baison came up with the idea for a song competition that would bring the nations of Europe closer together in the first decade after World War II. Produced by the then -new European Broadcasting Union, the first Eurovision Song Contest had only seven countries competing when it took place May 24, 1956, in Lugano, Switzerland. More than 40 years later, the annual A8BAEurovìsìon:In '74, The Song contest draws a television audience of 300 million viewers from all over Europe, and more than 30 countries, includ- 25th anniversary ing many from Eastern Europe, are eligible to compete. Contest Met Its In its four -decade history, Eurovision has yielded a num- ber of worldwide hits. The most successful group to ever come out of the contest is Abba, who parlayed its 1974 win "Waterloo" with "Waterloo" into global success. FIRST "VOLARE," THEN "WATERLOO" "At that time, it was the one and only vehicle to reach out- side Sweden," explains Björn Ulvaeus. `Because there was no way anyone in England or America would listen to anything coming from this obscure country. You could send them your tapes, knowing they threw them away immediately. So the only chance was to enter Eurovision with a song, and that had B-r;ghtov such an impact in Europe at that time." Other well -known names have also competed. Celine Dion, Julio Iglesias, Nana Mouskouri, Olivia Newton John and Cliff Richard have all been Eurovision contestants. Of i9 19gg those five, only Dion has won the competition. She was a 19- - year -old unknown when her 1988 entry for Switzerland, "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi," beat the U.K. entry by one point in a cliffhanging vote. 9pM Lonbon/Luxemóo A song doesn't have to win the Eurovision Song Contest Pira to be an international hit. In 1958, Italy's Domenico Modungo placed third with "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu," Ayvt.steYCavvw.ster aww which came to be known as "Volare." Nine years later, Vicki , 1 11 Leandros represented Luxembourg with " L'Amour Est . ( o Bleu." It placed fourth, but was more successful when recorded as an instrumental by Paul Mauriat under the title G ` 197 .14 1974 Brighton "Love Is Blue." And, in 1996, Australian singer Gina G went -- - to bat for the U.K. with "Ooh Aah...Just A Little Bit." The juries voted it eighth, but the public had its own say. The Gorevtba9en/Bri9hton single topped the British chart and became the most suc- \c) \,esAet- -to-° cessful British entry in Hot 100 history, peaking at No. 12 in S, the U.S. 1\` 0 7 Hague/Br us G . 1a 6 Dr go / S7 sels TRANSSEXUAL VAMP `A1 Dvtgin The modernization of Eurovision can be traced to the /9 9 U.K.'s 1995 entry, suggests Tip Sheet publisher Jonathan ,1 i9I 1998 -Birnih9hcr King, who oversees the Great British Song Contest as the e yo - music executive for the BBC. Britain sent a melodic rap Ah S eationaL song by Love City Groove in '95. Since then, there has been U vienna a boy band from Hungary, a rapper from Denmark, a neo- G at modern dance act from Iceland and a transsexual singer Gwtlti9no 1990 1961 Zoto - ZggYe6 from Israel who has become an icon in the international gay 00 community. \\,-/ a Eurovision has become more contemporary in S` LOOM other '6\e' ways, too. The system of small juries in each country decid- 1 - 1971 - Dublin . ,a SeY Laa ing the outcome has gone by the wayside; the winner is 0 3' .. DubÍin ANt9g6 determined by televoting, with people all over Europe hav- aa ing five minutes to cast their vote by telephone. And the YA 1-198._199g-Birnri 1999 contest will be the first in 25 years to have a "free lan- ytiaa"' guage" rule, where countries can enter songs in any lan- guage they wish. It will be the first time since Abba won by singing "Waterloo" in English that entrants can opt for this choice. The 1999 contest will be held in Jerusalem on May 29, fol- lowing the tradition where the winning country becomes host the following year. This year promises to be another contemporary competition, with a teen trio from Malta, a boy band from Israel and a 17- year -old female singer from Austria among those looking for an entry to the world stage. -EB. The r!irOp9af a casting Union is proud to have showcased ABBA and mawA ' er fine performers in the Eurovision Song Contest, watched' e by tens of millions every year. CSAbba's contribution to popular music is more than just a catalog of outstanding songs and performances on record. They were the first in the rock -music era to show that a world- wide impact upon contemporary music does not have to originate from the United States or Great European Broadcasting Union EBU TV Department Britain. Their great hit songs sound even better Ancienne Route 17A Christine Marchal - Ortiz now than they did when they were first popular; CH -1218 Grand -Saconnex / Geneva Fax +41 22 717 2810 the theatrical works that Björn and Benny have Switzerland e-mail [email protected] subsequently produced have more than matched up to the phenomenal standards they established EUROVISION in their Abba days." -Tim Rice 30 ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT BILLBOARD APRIL 3. 1999 www.americanradiohistory.com.