Commentary
Everyone knows the song “Waterloo” by the pop band ABBA. The tune is captivating, and it is pleasant to listen to the melodious music. Most people would also have enjoyed the song in Mama Mia, the musical based on ABBA’s music. But few people would remember that ABBA, representing Sweden, won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 with their rendition of Waterloo.
The Eurovision Song Contest was held for the first time on May 24, 1956, when seven nations participated. It began as the brainchild of Marcel Bezençon who chaired the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
The contest was an attempt to bring national broadcasters together in a pan-European effort to facilitate a wave of lasting peace between nations that had emerged from a devastating war in Europe—the Second World War….