Eurovision comes full circle, showing changing times

The 2025 edition on May 17 in Basel will draw an expected TV audience of around 160 million, with viewers worldwide casting their votes. Here is a look back at how Switzerland staged the 1956 and 1989 editions, illustrating how the competition has evolved: Lugano 1956 The Eurovision Song Contest started as a technical experiment: a live, simultaneous, transnational television broadcast. Switzerland's centrality in Europe made it a natural choice for transmitter purposes. The inaugural Eurovision was held in Lugano...