50 free Eurovision Song Contest trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Eurovision Song Contest trivia quiz covers seventy years of the world's longest-running televised music competition, from Lys Assia winning the first contest in Lugano in 1956 to the recent wins for Loreen, Nemo and JJ. It goes far beyond naming winners: expect questions on how the contest was invented, the Sanremo Festival that inspired it, the Charpentier fanfare that opens every broadcast, the year four countries tied for first, why the Big Five skip the semi-finals, which countries have scored nul points most often, and how Australia ended up taking part. There are questions on the acts who went global — ABBA, Céline Dion, Måneskin, Duncan Laurence — the novelty and drama moments (Bucks Fizz's skirts, Lordi's monster masks, Conchita Wurst, Dana International), the records set by Alexander Rybak, Salvador Sobral and Johnny Logan, and the interval act that became Riverdance. No lyrics are quoted, so it is safe for a pub quiz round. Every answer has been checked against Wikipedia and each question carries a citation to the page it came from.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which organisation has run the Eurovision Song Contest since 1956?
The European Broadcasting Union
The word 'Eurovision' was coined by British journalist George Campey in the Evening Standard in 1951.
Q 02Eurovision was modelled on an Italian song competition held since 1951 in which town?
Sanremo
The idea was first proposed by RAI manager Sergio Pugliese.
Q 03In which Swiss city was the first Eurovision Song Contest held in 1956?
Lugano
Only seven countries took part, each with two songs — the only time multiple entries per country were allowed.
Q 04Who won the very first Eurovision in 1956, singing 'Refrain' for the host country?
Lys Assia
The voting was held behind closed doors, and only the winner was announced.
Q 05How many countries competed in the first contest in 1956?
Seven
By the 1960s between 16 and 18 countries were taking part every year.
Q 06Which two countries were tied on a record seven Eurovision wins each at the end of 2025?
Ireland and Sweden
France, Luxembourg, the UK and the Netherlands followed with five each.
Q 07Which country has competed in Eurovision more times than any other, missing only one edition?
Germany
It has only won twice, in 1982 and 2010.
Q 08The theme played over the EBU ident before every Eurovision broadcast is the prelude to which piece?
Charpentier's Te Deum
It is the network logo ident, not the contest's own logo.
Q 09How long may a competing Eurovision song last?
Three minutes or less
A maximum of six people are allowed on stage, and no live animals.
Q 10What is the maximum number of performers allowed on stage for a Eurovision entry?
Six
Groups were only allowed at all from 1971; the first contest permitted solo singers only.
Q 11Under the points system, what is the maximum score one country can award another?
12
The famous 'douze points' is announced in French as well as English.
Q 12In which year was the contest cancelled for the only time in its history?
2020
A non-competitive special, Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light, was broadcast instead.
Q 13Which five countries automatically qualify for the final as the contest's biggest financial contributors?
France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK
The host country also skips the semi-finals.
Q 21Which winning song holds the record for sales, over six million singles?
'Save Your Kisses for Me' by Brotherhood of Man
'Waterloo' sold over five million.
Q 22Which is the only Eurovision entry ever to win a Grammy Award?
'Nel blu, dipinto di blu' (Volare)
It won the first-ever Grammys for Record and Song of the Year and topped the Billboard Hot 100.
Q 23Who was the first performer to win Eurovision twice, in 1980 and 1987?
Johnny Logan
He also wrote Linda Martin's 1992 winner 'Why Me?', giving him three wins in all.
Q 14Which country qualified for every Eurovision final it entered from 2004 through 2025?
Ukraine
Ukraine won on only its second appearance, in 2004.
Q 15In which year did semi-finals first appear at Eurovision?
2004
In the 1990s the overflow was handled by relegating the worst-performing countries.
Q 16In which year did four countries tie for first place and were all declared winners?
1969
Spain, the UK, the Netherlands and France shared the win in Madrid.
Q 17Which of these was one of the four joint winners in 1969?
Lulu with 'Boom Bang-a-Bang'
Austria stayed away that year, reportedly refusing to compete in Franco's Spain.
Q 18ABBA won Eurovision for Sweden in 1974 in which English seaside town?
Brighton
The song's title uses the 1815 battle as a metaphor for surrender.
Q 19Céline Dion won Eurovision in 1988 representing which country?
Switzerland
The winning song was 'Ne partez pas sans moi'.
Q 20Which future superstar came fourth for Spain in 1970?
Julio Iglesias
Olivia Newton-John also placed fourth, for the UK in 1974, the year ABBA won.
Q 24Loreen became the first woman to win Eurovision twice. Which two songs did she win with?
'Euphoria' and 'Tattoo'
'Euphoria' became the most downloaded Eurovision song of its era.
Q 25Which country had finished last a record 12 times by the end of Eurovision 2025?
Norway
Norway shares four 'nul points' finishes with Austria, and has also won three times, most recently with Alexander Rybak in 2009.
Q 26Which country had finished second a record 16 times by the end of Eurovision 2025?
United Kingdom
The UK's five wins came in 1967, 1969, 1976, 1981 and 1997.
Q 27Which is the only country to have won Eurovision three years in a row?
Ireland
Ireland then won again in 1996, four wins in five years.
Q 28Riverdance began life as what at the 1994 contest in Dublin?
The interval act
The seven-minute piece was later expanded into a full stage show.
Q 29Which country was the first to win on its debut appearance as an independent nation, in 2007?
Serbia
Marija Šerifović won with 'Molitva'.
Q 30Portugal waited a record 53 years for its first win, which came in 2017 with which singer?
Salvador Sobral
His 758 points remain the highest total ever for a winner; the song was written by his sister Luísa.