Many contestants have participated in Eurovision and returned to compete in the contest multiple times, with some even winning once or twice. With criticisms against singers returning for a second participation, does this give them an advantage? Should singers be limited to only one participation? Opinion

The Eurovision Song Contest has been held annually since 1956 (with one exception in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Many artists have graced the Eurovision stage, representing their countries and competing for the coveted first place. Most participated only once, while some returned; some won Eurovision and never came back, others returned to defend their title, and some won only on their second (or later) attempt. There are also two special cases of winners who conquered Europe twice.

With numerous criticisms arising against the repeated participation of past contestants and winners, let’s examine various cases from the competition’s long history. We’ll explore whether there’s truly an advantage for singers returning to the contest, especially for previous winners, what arguments exist for and against limiting contestants from returning, and whether such a restriction is necessary.

Returning Contestants and Winners – A Brief Overview

Returning to the competition is not a new phenomenon at all. The first instance occurred in the contest’s early years – in the second Eurovision in history, in 1957, when the first Eurovision winner, Lys Assia, returned to represent Switzerland again, as did the 1957 Eurovision winner, Corry Brokken, who had represented the Netherlands a year earlier. Since then, various countries have acted similarly and sent former representatives and winners back to the competition.

Since 1956, there have been different contestants who won in their first competition and returned, and those who managed to win only after returning to Eurovision. Notable winners who returned after vicorty include:

• Anne-Marie David – Eurovision 1979 winner and 3rd place in Eurovision 1979 – Luxembourg.
• Dana International – Eurovision 1998 winner and 15th place in the semi-final of Eurovision 2011 – Israel.
• Alexander Rybak – Eurovision 2009 winner and 15th place in Eurovision 2018 – Norway.
• Lena – Eurovision 2010 winner and 9th place in Eurovision 2011 – Germany.

Additionally, notable contestants who returned to the competition and won in the second attemp include:

• Carola – 3rd place in Eurovision 1983 and Eurovision 1991 winner – Sweden.
• Dima Bilan – 2nd place in Eurovision 2006 and Eurovision 2008 winner – Russia.
• Helena Paparizou – 3rd place in Eurovision 2001 (as part of a band) and Eurovision 2005 winner – Greece.

Only two people have managed to win more than one Eurovision so far:

• Johnny Logan – Eurovision 1980 and 1987 winner – Ireland.
• Loreen – Eurovision 2012 and 2023 winner – Sweden.

Johnny Logan – Eurovision 1980 and 1987 winner

Arguments Supporting Restrictions on Returning Artists

One argument among those supporting restrictions on additional participation of former contestants or winners relates to the advantage issue – people known among Eurovision fans may enjoy an advantage and almost guaranteed voting, as they are already known and loved. Contestants who won the audience vote or popular winners will receive more attention just because of their name, and even if they don’t win, they may enjoy a few extra points that will advance them in the table.

Additionally, these people see Eurovision as a springboard for anonymous or new singers to the international music industry – Eurovision exposes contestants to an audience of nearly 200 million viewers annually from around the world, in Europe and beyond, and various singers have used the Eurovision stage to launch international careers. Therefore, those supporting one-time participation believe that sending an artist who has competed in the past “takes up” a spot in the competition for another artist who could have benefited from this exposure.

Another argument for limiting return to the competition concerns musical diversity – although the average number of returnees in Eurovision competitions is not particularly high, some people see this phenomenon as a negative factor reducing diversity in different competitions, as artists usually send a similar style in their second participation. Thus, instead of enjoying different styles and genres, we’ll get the same thing over and over again.

Arguments Against Restricting Returning Artists

On the other hand, those who refuse to limit past artists and winners argue that the Eurovision Song Contest is a music competition where the best song is chosen, and if a former participant or winner returns to the competition with a worthy song, there’s no reason to give up on them, and they deserve to compete again, or win. In fact, Eurovision can be compared to the Olympic Games – just as athletes who won an Olympic medal are allowed to return to compete in an attempt to defend their title as champions or improve achievements, so should Eurovision singers be allowed to send more songs in an attempt to achieve a better result or achieve a victory, first or additional.

Furthermore, the argument arises that even if a country wins the competition many times relative to others, it still doesn’t mean that contestants should be limited, as it’s a violation of that country’s chances of winning if they are forbidden from sending a successful artist just because they have participated in the past. As in any competition, we examine who is the best contestant, and don’t try to achieve equality in the number of victories for all countries in Eurovision. With only two people over about 70 years who managed to win twice, there’s no need to worry in any case that a country will choose any winner again and again in order to win every year.

Moreover, if we want musical diversity in the competition, it’s possible that fewer restrictions are actually what will lead to this – if we limit contestants from returning to Eurovision, the selection from which countries can choose representatives will decrease over the years, which is problematic for smaller countries. In general, artists can send songs in different competitions that will be in a similar style, but they can also send something different, thus maintaining diversity, for example, the 2010 Eurovision winner from Germany, Lena, who won with an upbeat song, “Satellite”, and a year later, in Eurovision 2011, brought a completely different style song and finished in tenth place.

Is Such a Restriction Necessary?

In my personal opinion, there is no place for such a restriction in the Eurovision Song Contest, but rather to maintain the freedom of choice for countries to choose their representatives in whatever format they want – internal selection or national finals – and to choose an anonymous artist who has not yet been to Eurovision, a famous artist who wants to try his luck in the competition, or a representative who has already competed in the past, whether he won or not.

I see the Eurovision Song Contest as equivalent to any other competition where the goal is to be the best, and I see the determination of some artists in Europe to try to send a better song than their previous attempt to the competition as one of the important factors in maintaining the motivation of countries to invest, and not compromise on quality. Additionally, if we limit artists to one-time participation, we will effectively limit many artists who will be afraid to come to the competition because they will want to participate only if they have the “perfect” song, and they will be afraid to try to be chosen for the competition.

Eurovision 2025: The 69th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Basel, Switzerland, on May 13, 15, and 17, 2025. The St. Jakobshalle arena, which will host the competition, is expected to accommodate about 12,000 spectators for each show. The contest will take place in Switzerland following the country’s third historical win with the song “The Code”, performed by singer Nemo. This will be the third time the competition has been hosted in Switzerland, after the contest was held there in 1956 and 1989..