Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest was a television programme organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to commemorate the Eurovision Song Contest's fiftieth anniversary and to determine the contest's most popular entrant of its fifty years. Hosted by Katrina Leskanich and Renārs Kaupers, the event took place at Forum, in Copenhagen on 22 October 2005. The host was Danish broadcaster DR. Fourteen songs from the contest's first half-century, chosen through an internet poll and by a jury, contested the event.
| Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest | |
|---|---|
| Dates | |
| Air date | 22 October 2005 |
| Host | |
| Venue | Forum Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Presenter(s) |
|
| Musical director | Michael Bojesen |
| Directed by | Lars Hammer |
| Executive supervisor |
|
| Executive producer | Jan Frifelt |
| Host broadcaster | EBU, DR |
| Vote | |
| Voting system | Each country awarded 1–8, 10, and 12 points to ten songs; the five songs with the most points progressed to a second round of voting, where each country awarded 6–8, 10, and 12 points. |
| Winning song | "Waterloo" by ABBA |
Thirty-one EBU-member countries broadcast the concert (although notably France, Italy and the United Kingdom did not) and televoting and juries in these countries decided the winner. A total of 2.5 million votes were cast during the live broadcast. The event was won by Swedish group ABBA, who did not attend, with the song "Waterloo"; the band had originally won the Contest for Sweden in 1974.
To coincide with the event, the EBU released two double album CDs featuring Eurovision songs from the previous fifty years. Two DVDs with original Eurovision performances of these songs were also released.