Hey, music fans! Eurovision's 68th showdown is coming

From May 7th to 11th, the 68th annual Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Malmö, Sweden. The competition has been held since 1956 (with the exception of the canceled 65th edition in 2020), making it the longest-running international television music competition in history. Countries that are active members or associate members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the competition, can participate. They send representatives (1-6 individuals) who must perform an original song live on stage for a maximum of 3 minutes.

Each performance is judged, and the country whose representatives receive the most points wins and earns the right to host the next edition. Eurovision is one of the most-watched events, with past contestants including Céline Dion, Julio Iglesias, Olivia Newton-John, and the group ABBA, whose song “Waterloo” (1974) was declared the best song in the competition’s history in 2005. Throughout the competition’s history, guests such as Madonna, Justin Timberlake, and Rita Ora have performed.