As we build into Dami Im’s eagerly-awaited Grand Final performance in Sweden on May 15, here are five handy trivia facts to help you come up to speed, courtesy of Guinness World Records.
1. Most successful Eurovision country
Even though they were knocked out at the semi-final stage of the 2015 contest, the Irish can hold their heads up high for being the nation to have won the contest the most times. The Emerald Isle has been victorious on seven occasions. Perhaps 2016 will see the luck of the Irish extend to an eighth win. The country’s first win came in 1970 with Dana singing All Kinds of Everything and most recently, Eimear Quinn came first in 1996 performing The Voice.
2. Oldest male Eurovision Song Contest entrant
Back in 2012, the UK’s hopes were pinned on veteran singer Engelbert Humperdinck. At the age of 76 years 24 days, Engelbert, who is most fondly remembered for his million-selling 1967 single Release Me, set a record for being the oldest male Eurovision Song Contest entrant. Sadly for Engelbert, his song Love Will Set You Free finished someway off the pace from that year’s winner Sweden’s Loreen and her track Euphoria.
3. Largest gathering of ABBA impersonators
The contest provided the launchpad for ABBA , one of the most commercially successful pop groups of all time, after the band won the 1974 event by a narrow six-point margin with the classic hit, Waterloo. The largest gathering of ABBA impersonators is 368 individuals, or 92 bands, and took place at Kew Primary School in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was in celebration of Guinness World Records Day back in November 2011.
4. Highest paid dancer
The contest’s interval, which takes place while votes are deliberated and counted, has become something of a platform for new talent from different performing arts. The act that has made the biggest impact during the interval throughout the contest’s history was Riverdance in 1994. This was the first time Riverdance was performed. Led by dancer Michael Flatley, the seven-minute performance received a standing ovation at the Point Theatre, Dublin and went on to become an international phenomenon. Following its success, Michael went on to set a record as the world’s highest paid dancer earning $1.6 million (£1 million) a week for his show Lord of the Dance at the peak of the show’s success.
5. Highest annual earnings ever for a female pop star
Another huge star who had their career kick-started by Eurovision was Celine Dion. Singing for Switzerland, the then shy 20-year-old blew the roof off the Point Venue in Dublin back in 1988 with the song Ne partez pas sans moi. Celine went on to set a record for highest annual earnings ever for a female pop star after making an estimated $56 million (£33.5 million) back in 1998.
You can catch Dami in the final of this year’s competition live on SBS, Sunday, May 15, from 5.30am. To watch her stunning semi-final performance, click here.
