Eurovision Song Contest

TOKYO (AP) — The first hints that this was Italy’s year came when Italian band Maneskin won the popular Eurovision Song Contest in May.

Then came the European Championship soccer title run in June and July.

ROME (AP) — Several years ago they were four teenagers busking in the piazzas of Rome. These days, the members of the rock band Maneskin are basking in adoration after triumphing in the Eurovision Song Contest and consistently riding high in Spotify charts.

ROME (AP) — When Italy won the Eurovision Song Contest with an over-the-top glam-rock performance, the victory signaled more than just a psychological boost for one of the countries hardest hit by COVID-19: Held before a live, indoor audience of 3,500, the annual kitsch fest confirmed that Europe was returning to a semblance of normalcy that was unthinkable even a few weeks ago.

ROME (AP) — Eurovision Song Contest organizers said Monday that the lead singer of Italian glam rock band Maneskin tested negative for drug use, putting to an end speculation that had tarnished the band’s victory.

ROME (AP) — The Italian glam rock band that won the Eurovision Song Contest returned home Sunday to the adulation of fans, congratulations from the government and so much speculation that the lead singer had snorted cocaine during the show that he vowed to take a drug test.

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — A four-piece band of Italian rockers won the Eurovision Song Contest in the early hours of Sunday, giving one of the countries hit hardest in Europe by the coronavirus pandemic reason to cheer.

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Tiny San Marino got a big dose of star power Thursday as U.S. rapper Flo Rida helped the city state qualify for the grand final of the 65th Eurovision Song Contest along with nine other national acts.

Once a year, Europeans come together in a flurry of flags, spangles and disco beats to compete for the continent’s pop crown at the Eurovision Song Contest.

The coronavirus pandemic canceled the contest in 2020 for the first time in six decades.

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Several dozen Orthodox Christian faithful and clergy members held up wooden crucifixes, icons of saints and a banner declaring Cyprus’ love for Christ in a renewed protest Wednesday over the island nation's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, which they contend promotes Satan worship.

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Iceland’s popular Eurovision Song Contest entrant, Dadi og Gagnamagnid, will not perform live at the event after a member of the group tested positive for coronavirus, organizers announced Wednesday.

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — After the COVID-19 pandemic halted last year's edition, the Eurovision Song Contest roared back to life Tuesday, spectacularly celebrating not just Euro beats, but also the opportunity for fans to watch the first semifinal live.

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Pounding beats? Check. Uplifting lyrics? Check. Huge, backlit white wings? Check.

After last year's Eurovision Song Contest was canceled amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, it is roaring back to life this year with coronavirus bubbles added to its heady mix of music and melodrama.

The writers behind the Oscar-nominated song “ Husavik (My Hometown) ” knew that they wanted it to be an emotional core to the otherwise silly Will Ferrell movie “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Organizers of the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest welcomed the news Thursday that up to 3,500 fans may be allowed to attend the popular music competition when it is staged in the Netherlands next month...

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) —

Dozens of Orthodox Christian faithful held up wooden crosses and sang Church hymns outside of Cyprus' state broadcaster on Saturday to demand the withdrawal of the country’s controversial entry for the Eurovision song contest — titled “El Diablo” — that they say promotes satanic worship.

“ Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga,” Will Ferrell’s goofy and highly quotable parody of the long-running European spectacle, is the first great comedy of 2020 and it couldn’t have come soon enough...

BRUSSELS (AP) — Over its many years, the Eurovision Song Contest has come to be a sign of the times...

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Netherlands won the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv Saturday, with Duncan Laurence's doleful piano ballad "Arcade" crowned champion of Europe's annual music extravaganza...

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Ukraine has pulled out of this year's Eurovision song contest following a politically-tinged dispute between the singer who won the national competition and the country's national public broadcaster...

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Thousands of Israelis took to the streets early Sunday to celebrate their country's victory in the Eurovision Song Contest...

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Netta Barzilai is sassy, she's fun and she can sing — and now the Israeli has won the Eurovision Song Contest with a catchy techno dance tune about women's empowerment...

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The Latest on the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest (all times local):

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The curtain goes up Saturday on the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest.

The hugely popular international event is organized by the European Broadcasting Union, an alliance of public service broadcasters.

PARIS (AP) — French pop singer France Gall, who shot to fame in the 1960s by winning the Eurovision Song Contest then produced hits and sold millions of albums over a four-decade career, died Sunday...