The Euro Yard is rescoring old Eurovision contests – again. Eurovision 1956 through 1964 are back under our scrutiny.
Why? We released a new scoring rubric for 2025 and beyond which accounts for more areas in our evaluation, and we feel it will help us identify the best songs in Eurovision history and place all 1,700-plus where they truly belong.
Our critiques of each song from their respective articles and videos are still valid; only final scores and placements have changed. Each original piece is linked throughout this article. Videos and articles from 1965 through the present will use the new scoring system.
Eurovision 1956 Rescoring
The winning song in this contest was one of Switzerland’s two entries, “Refrain” by Lys Assia. See our prior evaluation of each song here. Please note: We list the song titles along with the countries as it is the only way to differentiate the entries.
| Placement | Previous Rubric | New Rubric |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland (“Refrain”) | Switzerland (“Refrain”) |
| 2 | Switzerland (“Das alte Karussell”) | Italy (“Aprite le finestre”) |
| 3 | Italy (“Aprite le finestre”) | Switzerland (“Das alte Karussell”) |
| 4 | France (“Le temps perdu”) | The Netherlands (“Voorgoed voorbij”) |
| 5 | The Netherlands (“Voorgoed voorbij”) | France (“Le temps perdu”) |
| 6 | Italy (“Amami se vuoi”) | Luxembourg (“Ne crois pas”) |
| 7 | Luxembourg (“Ne crois pas”) | Germany (“So geht das jede nacht”) |
| 8 | Germany (“So geht das jede nacht”) | Belgium (“Le plus beau jour de ma vie”) |
| 9 | Belgium (“Le plus beau jour de ma vie”) | Italy (“Amami se vuoi”) |
| 10 | The Netherlands (“De vogels van Holland”) | France (“Il est là”) |
| 11 | France (“Il est là”) | The Netherlands (“De vogels van Holland”) |
| 12 | Luxembourg (“Les amants de minuit”) | Belgium (“Messieurs les noyés de la Seine”) |
| 13 | Belgium (“Messieurs les noyés de la Seine”) | Luxembourg (“Les amants de minuit”) |
| 14 | Germany (“Im Wartesaal zum großen Glück”) | Germany (“Im Wartesaal zum großen Glück”) |
Lys Assia remains number one with the first winning song ever at Eurovision, “Refrain.” Quite the lovely number, I must say. Switzerland, however, dropped from getting 22 points in the first contest to 20, as Italy broke up the two Swiss entries under the new scoring system.
| Country | New Total Score | Change from Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 20 | -2 |
| Italy | 12 | -1 |
| France | 7 | — |
| The Netherlands | 7 | — |
| Luxembourg | 5 | +1 |
| Germany | 4 | +1 |
| Belgium | 3 | +1 |
Eurovision 1957 Rescoring
1957’s winning entry was “Net als toen,” sung by returning performer Corry Brokken. This is the link to our prior scoring and evaluation of the 1957 contest.
| Placement | Previous Rubric | New Rubric |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Netherlands | The Netherlands |
| 2 | Luxembourg | Italy |
| 3 | Switzerland | Switzerland |
| 4 | Italy | France |
| 5 | Denmark | Denmark |
| 6 | France | United Kingdom |
| 7 | United Kingdom | Germany |
| 8 | Germany | Austria |
| 9 | Austria | Luxembourg |
| 10 | Belgium | Belgium |
Why did Luxembourg plummet? – The song received the worst marks in the contest with regard to staging and the on-stage experience (it was a strange choice for her to be smiling while she sang about her endless pain), and it did not fare well in our redone composition category.
| Country | New Total Score | Change from Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 28 | -2 |
| Italy | 22 | +2 |
| The Netherlands | 19 | — |
| France | 14 | +2 |
| Germany | 8 | +2 |
| Luxembourg | 7 | -7 |
| Denmark | 6 | — |
| United Kingdom | 5 | +1 |
| Belgium | 4 | +1 |
| Austria | 3 | +1 |
Eurovision 1958 Rescoring
In 1958, France earned its first victory with “Dors mon amour,” performed by André Claveau. Our prior evaluation from this contest can be found here.
| Placement | Previous Rubric | New Rubric |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | Italy |
| 2 | Switzerland | Switzerland |
| 3 | Denmark | The Netherlands |
| 4 | The Netherlands | Denmark |
| 5 | Germany | Belgium |
| 6 | France | France |
| 7 | Belgium | Germany |
| 8 | Sweden | Sweden |
| 9 | Austria | Luxembourg |
| 10 | Luxembourg | Austria |
No major changes to the scoring in 1958, as the top two remained the same as previously established.
| Country | New Total Score | Change from Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 38 | -2 |
| Italy | 34 | +2 |
| The Netherlands | 27 | +1 |
| France | 19 | +2 |
| Denmark | 13 | -1 |
| Germany | 12 | — |
| Belgium | 10 | +3 |
| Luxembourg | 9 | -6 |
| United Kingdom | 5 | +1 |
| Austria | 4 | — |
| Sweden | 3 | — |
Eurovision 1959 Rescoring
The Netherlands became the first country to win Eurovision twice back in 1959, taking the title with “Een beetje” by Teddy Scholten. Our 1959 review article with the previous scoring can be found here.
| Placement | Previous Rubric | New Rubric |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | United Kingdom |
| 2 | Italy | Italy |
| 3 | Germany | The Netherlands |
| 4 | The Netherlands | Germany |
| 5 | Austria | Switzerland |
| 6 | Switzerland | Austria |
| 7 | Belgium | Monaco |
| 8 | Sweden | Sweden |
| 9 | Denmark | Denmark |
| 10 | France | France |
| 11 | Monaco | Belgium |
Belgium and Monaco swapped places, going down and up four, respectively; otherwise, no large movements. The winning song moved up to third, receiving eight points.
| Country | New Total Score | Change from Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 44 | -1 |
| Italy | 44 | +2 |
| The Netherlands | 35 | +2 |
| France | 20 | +2 |
| Germany | 19 | -1 |
| United Kingdom | 17 | +1 |
| Denmark | 15 | -1 |
| Belgium | 10 | -1 |
| Luxembourg | 9 | -6 |
| Austria | 9 | -1 |
| Sweden | 6 | — |
| Monaco | 4 | +4 |
Eurovision 1960 Rescoring
France joined the Dutch in the two-winners club in 1960, thanks to “Tom Pillibi” by Jacqueline Boyer. The text article for that contest can be found here.
| Placement | Previous Rubric | New Rubric |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | United Kingdom |
| 2 | United Kingdom | France |
| 3 | France | Switzerland |
| 4 | Norway | Monaco |
| 5 | Monaco | Norway |
| 6 | Denmark | Sweden |
| 7 | Germany | Germany |
| 8 | Austria | Belgium |
| 9 | Belgium | Denmark |
| 10 | Sweden | Luxembourg |
| 11 | Luxembourg | Italy |
| 12 | Italy | Austria |
| 13 | The Netherlands | The Netherlands |
The United Kingdom replaced Switzerland as our douze points song for 1960, while the well-performed, winning French entry moved up into second position.
| Country | New Total Score | Change from Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 52 | -5 |
| Italy | 44 | +2 |
| The Netherlands | 35 | +2 |
| France | 30 | +4 |
| United Kingdom | 29 | +3 |
| Germany | 23 | -1 |
| Denmark | 17 | -4 |
| Belgium | 13 | — |
| Sweden | 11 | +4 |
| Monaco | 11 | +5 |
| Luxembourg | 10 | -5 |
| Austria | 9 | -4 |
| Norway | 6 | -1 |
Eurovision 1961 Rescoring
Luxembourg won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 1961 with Jean-Claude Pascal’s song “Nous les amoureux.” We broke down the 1961 contest with this video and article here.
| Placement | Previous Rubric | New Rubric |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | Italy |
| 2 | Denmark | United Kingdom |
| 3 | United Kingdom | Denmark |
| 4 | Switzerland | Luxembourg |
| 5 | Luxembourg | Switzerland |
| 6 | Norway | Yugoslavia |
| 7 | Yugoslavia | Spain |
| 8 | Finland | Norway |
| 9 | Belgium | Monaco |
| 10 | The Netherlands | The Netherlands |
| 11 | Monaco | Finland |
| 12 | Spain | France |
| 13 | Sweden | Belgium |
| 14 | France | Sweden |
| 15 | Austria | Austria |
| 16 | Germany | Germany |
Italy held on to its top placement from the last time we did this, and their song is rated as one of their best on our current list. The winning song from Luxembourg moved up to fourth.
| Country | New Total Score | Change from Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 58 | -6 |
| Italy | 56 | +2 |
| United Kingdom | 39 | +5 |
| The Netherlands | 36 | +2 |
| France | 30 | +4 |
| Denmark | 25 | -6 |
| Germany | 23 | -1 |
| Luxembourg | 17 | -4 |
| Belgium | 13 | -2 |
| Monaco | 13 | +7 |
| Sweden | 11 | +4 |
| Austria | 9 | -4 |
| Norway | 9 | -3 |
| Yugoslavia | 5 | +1 |
| Spain | 4 | +4 |
| Finland | 0 | -3 |
Eurovision 1962 Rescoring
France became the first country to win Eurovision three times back in 1962, as Isabelle Aubret’s “Un premier amour” brought home another trophy. This is where you can see the original video and article on the 1962 contest.
| Placement | Previous Rubric | New Rubric |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | France |
| 2 | France | Italy |
| 3 | United Kingdom | Monaco |
| 4 | Monaco | Yugoslavia |
| 5 | Yugoslavia | United Kingdom |
| 6 | Norway | Norway |
| 7 | Belgium | Sweden |
| 8 | Austria | Austria |
| 9 | Switzerland | Belgium |
| 10 | Sweden | Switzerland |
| 11 | Luxembourg | Germany |
| 12 | Germany | Luxembourg |
| 13 | Denmark | Spain |
| 14 | Spain | Denmark |
| 15 | The Netherlands | The Netherlands |
| 16 | Finland | Finland |
France and Italy swapped places in the new scoring rubric, with France earning its first douze points from us.
| Country | New Total Score | Change from Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Italy | 66 | — |
| Switzerland | 59 | -7 |
| United Kingdom | 45 | +3 |
| France | 42 | +6 |
| The Netherlands | 36 | +2 |
| Denmark | 25 | -6 |
| Germany | 23 | -1 |
| Monaco | 21 | +8 |
| Luxembourg | 17 | -4 |
| Belgium | 15 | -4 |
| Sweden | 15 | +7 |
| Norway | 14 | -3 |
| Austria | 12 | -4 |
| Yugoslavia | 12 | +2 |
| Spain | 4 | +4 |
| Finland | 0 | -3 |
Eurovision 1963 Rescoring
For the first time, a Nordic country won Eurovision in 1963: The winner was Denmark with the song “Dansevise.” It was performed by Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann. You can see our article and original video about 1963 here.
| Placement | Previous Rubric | New Rubric |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luxembourg | Switzerland |
| 2 | Switzerland | Luxembourg |
| 3 | Austria | Denmark |
| 4 | United Kingdom | Austria |
| 5 | Denmark | United Kingdom |
| 6 | Yugoslavia | Yugoslavia |
| 7 | Belgium | Norway |
| 8 | The Netherlands | Italy |
| 9 | Italy | Belgium |
| 10 | Norway | The Netherlands |
| 11 | Germany | Finland |
| 12 | Spain | Spain |
| 13 | Finland | Germany |
| 14 | Sweden | Sweden |
| 15 | France | Monaco |
| 16 | Monaco | France |
Switzerland overtakes Luxembourg for the top spot in the new rankings, while the winning Danish song moves up into third position. The Belgian song has dropped in almost every re-watch since the first.
| Country | New Total Score | Change from Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 71 | -5 |
| Italy | 69 | +1 |
| United Kingdom | 51 | +2 |
| France | 42 | +6 |
| The Netherlands | 37 | — |
| Denmark | 33 | -4 |
| Luxembourg | 27 | -6 |
| Germany | 23 | -1 |
| Monaco | 21 | +8 |
| Austria | 19 | -5 |
| Norway | 18 | — |
| Belgium | 17 | -6 |
| Yugoslavia | 17 | +2 |
| Sweden | 15 | +7 |
| Spain | 4 | +4 |
| Finland | 0 | -3 |
Eurovision 1964 Rescoring
Italy won Eurovision for the first time in 1964, thanks to Gigliola Cinquetti’s song, “Non ho l’età.” We did both a video and an article on the 1964 contest here.
| Placement | Previous Rubric | New Rubric |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | France |
| 2 | Austria | United Kingdom |
| 3 | United Kingdom | Austria |
| 4 | Switzerland | Italy |
| 5 | Italy | Switzerland |
| 6 | Luxembourg | Luxembourg |
| 7 | Portugal | The Netherlands |
| 8 | The Netherlands | Portugal |
| 9 | Yugoslavia | Spain |
| 10 | Norway | Finland |
| 11 | Spain | Yugoslavia |
| 12 | Denmark | Monaco |
| 13 | Monaco | Norway |
| 14 | Belgium | Denmark |
| 15 | Germany | Germany |
| 16 | Finland | Belgium |
France was under some threat here, but held onto its douze points against a competitive top four.
| Country | New Total Score | Change from Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 77 | -6 |
| Italy | 76 | +2 |
| United Kingdom | 61 | +4 |
| France | 54 | +6 |
| The Netherlands | 41 | +1 |
| Denmark | 33 | -4 |
| Luxembourg | 32 | -6 |
| Germany | 23 | -1 |
| Monaco | 21 | +8 |
| Austria | 27 | -7 |
| Norway | 18 | -1 |
| Belgium | 17 | -6 |
| Yugoslavia | 17 | — |
| Sweden | 15 | +7 |
| Spain | 6 | +6 |
| Portugal | 3 | -1 |
| Finland | 1 | -2 |
