Who was Marcel Bezençon, when did he come up with the Eurovision Song Contest and what’s the EBU?
EUROVISION is one of the most iconic song contests in Europe.
Here's all you need to know about the Eurovision Song Contest creator Marcel Bezençon.
Who is Marcel Bezençon?
Marcel Bezençon was born May 1 1907 in Orbe.
He passed away aged 73 on February 17, 1981 in Lausanne.
He was a Swiss entrepreneur and the director of the European Broadcasting Union until 1970.
In 1955, he came up with the idea for the Eurovision Song Contest, and based the competition on the existing Sanremo Music Festival held in Italy.
The contest was seen as a technological experiment in live television.
At the point in history, it was a very ambitious project to attempt to join so many countries together in a wide-area international network.
In 2002, the Marcel Bezençon Awards were founded by Christer Björkman and Richard Herrey.
What is the EBU?
Marcel was President of the EBU.
The European Broadcasting Union is an alliance of public service media organisations, established on February 12, 1950.
The EBU is comprised of 73 Members in 56 countries and 34 Associate Members from a further 20 countries.
It is best known for producing the Eurovision Song Contest which was established in 1956.
It has also hosted debates between candidates for the European Commission presidency for the 2014 parliamentary elections but is unrelated to the institution itself.
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When is Eurovision 2022?
Eurovision returned on Tuesday May 10, 2022 at 8pm.
It is Italy's turn to host the big event after they won the show in 2021 with rock band Måneskin.
The Eurovision 2022 final will be held on Saturday, May 14, 2022.
It will take place at Italy's PalaOlimpico Arena in Turin.
The event will air live from 8pm on BBC One and .
Graham Norton will return to commentate for the BBC.
Mika, Laura Pausini, and Alessandro Cattelan will appear as the presenters on the night.