Douze Points! These are the most incredible (and UNBELIVEABLE) moments from the Eurovision Song Contest...

Since 1956, we have been amazed, enthralled and sometimes confused by the Eurovision Song Contest. Regularly pulling in television audiences of upwards of 600 million viewers it is a night of entertainment like no other. Over the decades Eurovision has introduced us to ABBA, Bucks Fizz, Celine Dion, Dana International, Conchita Wurst and Maneskin among many other artists and provided so many jaw-dropping moments. Read on to find out what they were...

The year is 1974 and Sweden is about to achieve a milestone in its cultural history. ABBA - comprised of Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad - triumphed to take the prize home back to the Scandinavian country with their pop classic ‘Waterloo’. The track went onto become not one of just the most recognisable songs in Eurovison history but in the history of pop! The group went onto achieve massive global success with hits such as ‘Dancing Queen’, 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!' and ‘Does Your Mother Know’ going onto cement the group to legend status.

In 2018, Greek-born Eleni Foureira took to the stage to represent neighbouring country Cyprus after Greece rejected her on a number of occasions. And what a mistake that was! The Mediterranean’s answer to Beyonce wowed with a killer performance of her track, ‘Feugo’, which took her all the way to second place in the contest. With 436 points, it was the best result Cyprus had received in the contest. Her success allowed her to become only the second Greek to sign an international deal with a major record label after securing a contract with Sony Music.

The year was 1981 when the UK won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time. Bucks Fizz took home the trophy thanks to their song ‘Making Your Mind Up’. It was the first of five wins for the UK but viewers will most likely remember the group’s brightly coloured Velcro outfits and singers Cheryl Baker and Jay Aston lost their skirts mid-performance. Thanks to its first place ranking, the tune went onto sell over four million copies.

In 2015, Sweden rightfully scooped the crown once again when ‘Idol’ winner Mans Zelmerlow secured a victory with his hit track, ‘Heroes’. Mans was already an established artist and TV personality in his hometown but his visually impressive performance stunned viewers and secured his claim to the top of the leader board thanks to the use of a range of different computer animations. He later went onto present the contest the following year as well as hosting the UK’s talent search for their 2018 representative.

It certainly won’t be her track ‘Storm' that UK entrant SuRie will be remembered for in the Eurovision books. Instead it will be the shocking stage invasion during her performance instead. When taking to the stage in 2018, her performance was disrupted by an unknown individual who grabbed her microphone before shouting: “Modern Nazis of the UK media, we demand freedom, war is not peace”.

In 2014, drag queen Conchita Wurst was victorious for Austria with the track, ‘Rise Like a Phoenix’ and Conchita certainly did just that! The performance created controversy in some Eastern European nations and highlighted Europe’s east/west divide on homosexuality. However, Conchita won the contest and took the opportunity to speak out on human rights declaring upon the win: “We are unity and we are unstoppable."

In 2009, Jade Ewen was the winner of ‘Eurovision: Your Country Needs You’, meaning she would represent the UK at the competition. Jade got to perform the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Diane Warren penned track, ‘It’s My Time’ and she helped the UK to receive one of its highest rankings since the turn of the millennium when she placed fifth. During her performance at the ceremony, Jade was accidentally hit by one of her violinist’s arms as she walked down the stairs but Jade remained calm and ever the professional and carried on, wowing the audience. Following her success in the contest, she joined the final incarnation pop group The Sugababes.

Ukranian singer-and-comedian Verka will always be remembered for his outlandish performance at the 2007 contest in Helsinki. His track ‘Dancing Lasha Tumbai’ was sung in English and German with a few made up words included as well. Before he headed to Eurovision, a radio station in Ukraine protested against him representing the country and some members of the Ukrainian Parliament also expressed their disapproval that he would sing on behalf of the country, However, Verka's song and performance proved to be very popular and he came second with 235 points.

With ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ being at the forefront of everyone’s minds in 2008 it seemed only right that one country would attempt to knock it off for a Eurovision performance and that country was Latvia. It was a costume party on the stage as dance track, ‘Wolves of the Sea’, boomed through the arena. The track only managed to place 12th – I wonder if they made anyone walk the plank for that?!

After the COVID-19 pandemic robbed us of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2020, it was back with a bang in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 2021. The trophy went back to Italy after rock band Maneskin triumphed with their song 'Zitti e buoni'. On the night, the band's singer Damiano David caused a social media storm after viewers claimed they spotted him on the TV broadcast sniffing something suspicious at his table. The group issued a statement the day after their win denying the accusation. It read: "We are really shocked about what some people are saying about Damiano doing drugs. We really are AGAINST drugs ... We are ready to get tested, cause we got nothing to hide.”