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Eurovision Song Contest
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You may have heard of this massive annual song contest that sees entries from all over Europe take part called the 'Eurovision Song Contest'. Well, in 1997, Ronan was one of the hosts of this major event and what a great job he did! Read on to find out more about this event and Ro's part!
On 3rd May 1997, the 'Eurovision Song Contest' was held at The Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, following the win of Eimear Quinn with 'The Voice' when she represented Ireland in the previous year. The presenters were Ronan Keating and Carrie Crowley (pictured left). The contest in its 42nd year saw 25 countries take part. The winning song was 'Love Shine A Light' for the UK sung by Katrina & The Waves. At the contest, Ronan had the opportunity to perform alongside his mates at Boyzone for 'Let The Message Run Free' which received a real round of applause. |
| So what's the event all about? Here's how it all started. It began in May 1956 and derived from the popular San Remo music festival in Italy. It started out small with seven countries taking part each with two entries. Whichever country won the contest would be the host for next year's event.
But the Eurovision Song Contest has changed since then...now there are about 23 countries which are eligible to take part and there are a few rules in the contest, one being that a song can be no longer more than 3 minutes long plus the lowest scoring five countries that take part will be relegated from the next year's contest! There are some exceptions to those countries that put money to the event including Germany and the UK. Until recently, has any country been allowed to sing their songs in English - this started from 1999. |
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