The Song Fest

It's that time of the year again! No, it's not Christmas, but almost: it's Eurovision, Europe's song contest of the year. 43 countries, such as Austria and Germany, are participating in it; each country entering one song in hopes of making it to the semi-finals.

With such a number, it's then narrowed down to 26 of the countries, with six spots already being guaranteed: "The Big Five – Spain, France, Italy, The UK and Germany – and the host nation automatically qualify while everyone else has to battle it out to make it to the big stage" writes RadioTimes, a U.K. entertainment site. There's two semi-finals, by the way, in which the countries compete for the other 20 spots. Each song lasts three minutes, and is as colorful and loud as you'd expect from a music competition.

It's weird and creative, but it's fun and sometimes even fame is gained: the two biggest occasions to have done so are Celiene Dion and ABBA. More often than not, however, the reward isn't money or eternal glory: it's a trophy, and the chance to host the next Eurovision.The Wrap tells that "the lack of stakes for the performers keeps it feeling light and fun rather than a battle for wealth, glory, and continental supremacy." But how do they even win? 

There's a jury to vote and the public votes as well, with (naturally) more points being given to those who get more votes. It's a huge event for so many, taking up much of social media- say, Tumblr. This year in particular was the 62nd one, and- yay- the winner of the festivities was Salvador Sobral, a singer from Portugal.