Consecutive Eurovision Winners

It takes something special to win the Eurovision Song Contest, especially in the modern age when it seems that the wackier the performance, the better. But to win it two consecutive years is even more impressive.

Credit – Shutterstock.com

There are four countries who have won the contest back to back, and if you believe Israel can do it this year, then check out https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/special-bets/market/1.150883218 and back Kobi Marimi.

Let’s take a look at the four occasions a country has won the Eurovision Song Content on consecutive occasions.

Spain

The 1968 Eurovision Song Contest was held in London, following Sandie Shaw’s 1967 win with “Puppet on a String”. 17 countries competed to win the contest and the United Kingdom’s entrant – Cliff Richard – who sang “Congratulations”, finished in second place, just one point behind Spain’s Massiel with “La, la, la”.

Madrid was the host city the following year as Spain looked to defend their crown. Salomé represented the Mediterranean country with her song “Vivo cantando”, finishing in top spot with 18 points. Things weren’t quite so straight forward though, as although Spain technically defended their crown, they did share the 1969 title with France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, as all four nations finished on 18 points.

Luxembourg

A country with a population of around 600,000 people produced two fantastic performances to win consecutive Eurovision Song Contests. Three years after Spain’s semi-successful defence, little Luxembourg claimed victory with Vicky Leandros singing “Après toi”. She received 128 points and won by 14 points ahead of the UK.

Anne-Marie David represented Luxembourg for the defence of their Eurovision title, with the song “Tu te reconnaîtras” and although she managed to beat her predecessor’s score by one point, her margin of victory was much smaller, beating second place Spain by four points.

Israel

This year’s hosts of the competition have history in winning it, having first tasted success in the 1978 competition, when Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta won with “A-Ba-Ni-Bi”. Their score of 157 left them 32 points clear of second place Belgium, and provided them with their first Eurovision win.

The Israeli city of Jerusalem played host to the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest and it was Gali Atari and Milk and Honey who secured Israel’s second victory. Their song “Hallelujah” secured 125 points from the other members and saw them beat second placed Spain by nine points. Israel’s win last year was their fourth in the competition, having also won it in 1998.

Ireland

The most successful country to have competed in the Eurovision Song Contest, Ireland have won it an incredible seven times. It was in 1992, their fourth victory, that was the start of their consecutive wins. Sweden were the hosts, and Ireland’s entrant – Linda Martin – won with “Why Me?” The song secured 155 points and finished 16 points ahead of the UK’s entry.

Millstreet, in County Cork, is the smallest ever host town of the competition, with a population of just 1,500. Niamh Kavanagh sang “In Your Eyes” and was given 187 points by the other countries and once again defeated the UK, this time by 23 points.

But the Irish weren’t done there, as they became the first – and to date  only – country to have won three in a row when they won the 1994 competition. Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan finished an incredible 60 points clear of Poland thanks to the song “Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids”. For the 1994 competition, Ireland hosted the competition in Dublin.