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Spectacle, camp and glamour were NOT on the agenda in Lugano, Switzerland on 24th May, 1956: the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast mostly on the radio, and featured a whistling duo as its interval act. Who had to perform twice.\nVoting controversy, however, was enshrined in the institution right from the outset - as Judges were permitted to award points to their own nations, and vote in absentia.\nIn this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion reveal which countries have most consistently scored the famous \u2018nul points\u2019; consider why the future of the contest seems to lie Eastwards, and revisit Israel\u2019s entry from 1999, \u2018Happy Birthday\u2019...\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 Lys Assia wins the first Eurovision for Switzerland:\xa0\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyqIPvOkiRk\n\u2022 Facts and Figures from the 1956 contest at the official Eurovision website:\nhttps://eurovision.tv/event/lugano-1956\n\u2022 Full list of 1956 voting and points from Eurovisionworld:\nhttps://eurovisionworld.com/eurovision/1956\nFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors\nWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors\n\xa0\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.\n#50s #Arts #Music\n\xa0\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices