In the beginning, Eurovision participation belonged to just seven countries, as the contest’s organizers hoped for a grand spectacle in the future.
I doubt they would believe how big the Eurovision Song Contest would become, and is today. As of 2024, over 50 different countries have participated, and there has been a contest each year since 1956, with the exception of 2020.
We organized the Eurovision participation of each country graphically, to help visitors visualize just how long each country has been doing this. There are people in the United Kingdom and Spain, for example, who have seen their homeland at Eurovision for their entire lives. Others, like in the former Yugoslavia, have seen their countries become independent and participate at the contest for 30 years on their own. There is a great deal of European history wrapped up in these decades.
Eurovision Participation Timelines by Country, 1956-2024
In our video contained above, we go through the participation of each and every country – though yes, we combined Serbia and Serbia & Montenegro onto one line. What may also interest you are the gaps in participation: For example, Luxembourg sat out the contest for 31 years, and Italy, another one of its original seven participants, had a 14-year absence.
Participation Highs and Lows
- Most Eurovision appearances: Germany, 67
- Fewest Eurovision appearances: Morocco, 1 (1980)
- Longest unbroken streak of appearances: Spain (since 1961)
- Newest participant: Australia (since 2015)
- Longest gap between appearances: Luxembourg, 31 years (1993-2024)
Other Participation Facts
Inactive members of the contest include Andorra, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Hungary, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, and Turkey. Several of them participated in the 2020s, but not in 2024.
Belarus and Russia are also inactive, but considered ineligible – both countries were expelled from the European Broadcasting Union, and therefore cannot participate.
Two countries, Serbia & Montenegro and Yugoslavia, no longer exist. Serbia is an active member on its own, while Montenegro last participated in 2022. Yugoslavia’s last Eurovision participation was in 1992.
