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What is the best Eurovision Song Contest winning performance of all time?

By YPB Team

From ABBA's Waterloo to Maneskin's rock revolution, Eurovision has delivered legendary winning performances across six decades — which entry delivered the greatest moment in the contest's history?

  1. Waterloo – ABBA — ranked #11
    Waterloo – ABBA
    The 1974 Swedish entry that launched ABBA onto the world stage and remains the most voted Eurovision winner in the contest's history.
  2. Euphoria – Loreen — ranked #22
    Euphoria – Loreen
    Loreen's 2012 electrifying stadium anthem that broke Eurovision voting records and became a global nightclub smash.
  3. Fairytale – Alexander Rybak — ranked #33
    Fairytale – Alexander Rybak
    Norway's 2009 record-breaking folk-pop gem, delivered by a violin-playing showman who still holds one of the contest's highest scores.
  4. Ne partez pas sans moi – Céline Dion — ranked #44
    Ne partez pas sans moi – Céline Dion
    A powerful ballad performed by a pre-fame Céline Dion for Switzerland in 1988 that launched one of the greatest careers in pop history.
  5. Rise Like a Phoenix – Conchita Wurst — ranked #55
    Rise Like a Phoenix – Conchita Wurst
    Austria's 2014 anthem of self-acceptance that made global headlines and became an enduring symbol of LGBTQ+ pride.
  6. Arcade – Duncan Laurence — ranked #66
    Arcade – Duncan Laurence
    An intimate indie-pop ballad for the Netherlands in 2019 that became the highest-charting Eurovision winner in years and reached mainstream radio worldwide.
  7. Wild Dances – Ruslana — ranked #77
    Wild Dances – Ruslana
    Ukraine's explosive 2004 fusion of folk, rock, and Hutsul culture that placed Ukrainian music on the international map.
  8. Hard Rock Hallelujah – Lordi — ranked #88
    Hard Rock Hallelujah – Lordi
    Finland's monster-costumed 2006 heavy metal act that changed Eurovision forever by winning by the widest margin of the post-televote era.
  9. Heroes – Mans Zelmerlow — ranked #99
    Heroes – Mans Zelmerlow
    Sweden's slick 2015 pop performance with innovative shadow-figure animation that captivated all of Europe and set a new staging benchmark.
  10. Amar pelos dois – Salvador Sobral — ranked #1010
    Amar pelos dois – Salvador Sobral
    Portugal's 2017 winner: the most unusual modern champion — a quiet, jazz-influenced ballad performed with extraordinary raw vulnerability.
  11. Toy – Netta — ranked #1111
    Toy – Netta
    Israel's quirky 2018 feminist anthem using loop station technology that dominated Eurovision and went globally viral online.
  12. 1944 – Jamala — ranked #1212
    1944 – Jamala
    Ukraine's 2016 shattering political art song about the Soviet deportation of Crimean Tatars, performed with devastating emotional intensity.
  13. Satellite – Lena — ranked #1313
    Satellite – Lena
    Germany's 2010 winner — a catchy, sunny pop song performed by teenage Lena Meyer-Landrut that swept Europe and topped charts nationwide.
  14. Zitti e buoni – Maneskin — ranked #1414
    Zitti e buoni – Maneskin
    Italy's explosive 2021 rock winner that launched Måneskin from Eurovision unknowns to one of the world's biggest rock bands.
  15. Tattoo – Loreen — ranked #1515
    Tattoo – Loreen
    Loreen became the first female artist to win Eurovision twice in 2023 with this intense dance-pop masterpiece.
  16. Bangaranga – Margarita Georgieva — ranked #1616
    Bangaranga – Margarita Georgieva
    Bulgaria's first-ever Eurovision win in 2026, an infectious Balkan-pop fusion that captivated voters across Europe.
  17. Save Your Kisses for Me – Brotherhood of Man — ranked #1717
    Save Your Kisses for Me – Brotherhood of Man
    The UK's 1976 pop smash that topped charts across Europe and became one of the best-selling Eurovision winners of all time.
  18. Diva – Dana International — ranked #1818
    Diva – Dana International
    Israel's pioneering 1998 disco-pop victory for transgender rights that caused both controversy and worldwide celebration.
  19. Puppet on a String – Sandie Shaw — ranked #1919
    Puppet on a String – Sandie Shaw
    The barefoot British pop star made history in 1967 as the UK's first Eurovision winner with this irresistibly chipper singalong.
  20. Stefania – Kalush Orchestra — ranked #2020
    Stefania – Kalush Orchestra
    Ukraine's 2022 winner, a hip-hop meets folk fusion that took on even greater emotional weight amid the ongoing war.
  21. The Code – Nemo — ranked #2121
    The Code – Nemo
    Switzerland's 2024 non-binary winner, a genre-blending operatic pop spectacle that sparked major rule discussions across Europe.

Comments 1

Three of these 21 winners are Ukrainian: Ruslana in 2004, Jamala in 2016 and Kalush Orchestra in 2022. Ukraine elsewhere: https://youpick.best/articles/ukraine-ranked-many-ways

YP
ypb-team
3 days ago