Eurovision's Greatest Hits - 60 Years Celebration with Petra Mede and Graham Norton in London 2015
Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits (also known as Eurovision's Greatest Hits) was a television concert programme organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to commemorate the Eurovision Song Contest's 60th anniversary. The concert took place on 31 March 2015 at the Eventim Apollo, in Hammersmith, London. Guy Freeman was the executive producer and Geoff Posner the director, both of whom held the same positions as the last time the BBC hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998. Graham Norton and Petra Mede hosted the event, which saw fifteen acts from thirteen countries performing their Eurovision entries from yesteryear. During the televised show, video montages for some of the Eurovision Song Contest archives were shown in-between each live performance. The United Kingdom entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was performed at the concert, but never broadcast on the televised show. Riverdance performed a reprise of their 1994 Eurovision Song Contest interval act as part of the anniversary celebrations. Several countries confirmed that they would air the delayed broadcast of the concert on various dates that suited the broadcasters scheduling, including Australia, who first competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 as a wildcard entry. The host broadcaster, BBC, and Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), simulcast the show on Good Friday, 3 April 2015 across BBC One and RTÉ 2. The Dutch broadcaster, AVROTROS, were the first to announce their decision to not broadcast the event. Other countries also announced their decision to decline broadcasting the event, including Luxembourg, who had an act taking part in the event. The concert was recorded live on 31 March 2015 at the Eventim Apollo, London; allowing participating broadcasters the freedom to air the programme on a date and channel that was convenient for their broadcasting schedules. Fifteen artists, representing thirteen countries, consisting of some of Eurovision's Greatest Hits, took part in the sixtieth anniversary gala event. The first-ever winner of the contest (in 1956), Lys Assia, appeared in the audience as a guest of honour. During the broadcast, video montages were shown prior to each entry, showing footage for that particular year's contest, ending with Eurovision Song Contest footage for the entry that was about to perform on stage. Recap montages of Eurovision entries over the last sixty years, were also broadcast in-between performances. These were as follows: Teach-In – "Ding-a-dong": Netherlands, 1975 Olivia Newton-John – "Long Live Love": United Kingdom, 1974 Céline Dion – "Ne partez pas sans moi": Switzerland, 1988 Jedward – "Lipstick": Ireland, 2011 ABBA – "Waterloo": Sweden, 1974 Serebro – "Song#1": Russia, 2007 Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta – "A-Ba-Ni-Bi": Israel, 1978 Kathy Kirby – "I Belong": United Kingdom, 1965 Bucks Fizz – "Making Your Mind Up": United Kingdom, 1981 Sonia – "Better the Devil You Know": United Kingdom, 1993 Imaani – "Where Are You?": United Kingdom, 1998 Lynsey de Paul & Mike Moran – "Rock Bottom": United Kingdom, 1977 Michael Ball – "One Step Out of Time": United Kingdom, 1992 Cliff Richard – "Congratulations": United Kingdom, 1968 Sandie Shaw – "Puppet on a String": United Kingdom, 1967 Dana – "All Kinds of Everything": Ireland, 1970 And these were the official live acts on stage: Order Year Country Artist Song 1 2013 Denmark Emmelie de Forest "Only Teardrops" 2 1973 Luxembourg Anne-Marie David "Tu te reconnaîtras" 3 1984 Sweden Herreys "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" 4 1998 Israel Dana International "Diva" 5 2000 Denmark Olsen Brothers "Fly on the Wings of Love" 6 1976 United Kingdom Brotherhood of Man "Save Your Kisses For Me" 7 1968 Spain Rosa López Medley: "La, la, la" 1969 "Vivo cantando" 1973 "Eres tú" 2002 "Europe's Living a Celebration" 8 1982 Germany Nicole "Ein bißchen Frieden" 9 2006 Finland Lordi "Hard Rock Hallelujah" 10 2001 France Natasha St-Pier "Je n'ai que mon âme" 11 2008 Russia Dima Bilan Medley: "Believe" 2006 "Never Let You Go" 12 1985 Norway Bobbysocks "La det swinge" 13 2012 Sweden Loreen "Euphoria" 14 1980 Ireland Johnny Logan Medley: "What's Another Year" 1992 "Why Me?" 1987 "Hold Me Now" 15 2014 Austria Conchita Wurst "Rise Like a Phoenix" As a reprise act all of the acts (except Loreen) performed a medley of Eurovision hits, including "Hallelujah", "Nel blu dipinto di blu", "Making Your Mind Up", and "Waterloo". As the anniversary concert show was not broadcast live, the participating national broadcasters were able to broadcast the show on a date and channel that was convenient for their broadcasting schedules. Some broadcasters recorded additional links and interviews.
