The Eurovision Song Contest 1957 was the second edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk (HR) on behalf of ARD, the contest, originally known as the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne 1957 (English: Eurovision Grand Prize of European Song 1957) was held on Sunday 3 March 1957 and was hosted at the Großer Sendesaal des hessischen Rundfunks in Frankfurt, West Germany by German actress Anaid Iplicjian.
Ten countries took part, with Austria, Denmark, and the United Kingdom competing for the first time and joining the original seven participating countries from the first contest in 1956. A number of changes to the rules from the previous year's event were enacted, with each country now represented by only one song, which could be performed by up to two performers on stage. The voting system received an overhaul, with each country's jury now comprising ten individuals which awarded one vote each to their favourite song. The results of the voting were now conducted in public, with a scoreboard introduced to allow the process to be followed by viewers and listeners at home. Jurors were also for the first time not allowed to vote for the song from their own country.
The winner of the contest was the Netherlands, with the song "Net als toen" performed by Corry Brokken. This was Brokken's second appearance as a participant, after previously representing the Netherlands in 1956; her victory marked the first of five Dutch wins in the contest as of 2023.
Results[]
Country in gold is the winning entry and the country in silver is the host country.
| Rank | Country | EBU member station | Artist | Song | Conductor | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Netherlands | NTS | Corry Brokken | "Net als toen" | Dolf van der Linden | 31 |
| 02 | France | RTF | Paule Desjardins | "La Belle amour" | Paul Durand | 17 |
| 03 | Denmark | Statsradiofonien | Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler | "Skibet skal sejle i nat" | Kai Mortensen | 10 |
| 04 | Luxembourg | CLT | Danièle Dupré | "Tant de peine" | Willy Berking | 8 |
| 04 | Germany | ARD/HR | Margot Hielscher | "Telefon, Telefon" | Willy Berking | 8 |
| 06 | Italy | RAI | Nunzio Gallo | "Corde della mia chitarra" | Armando Trovajoli | 7 |
| 07 | United Kingdom | BBC | Patricia Bredin | "All" | Eric Robinson | 6 |
| 08 | Belgium | NIR | Bobbejaan Schoepen | "Straatdeuntje" | Willy Berking | 5 |
| 08 | Switzerland | SRG SSR | Lys Assia | "L'Enfant que j'étais" | Willy Berking | 5 |
| 10 | Austria | ORF | Bob Martin | "Wohin, kleines Pony?" | Carl de Groof | 3 |
Broadcast[]
The 1957 contest is the earliest edition to exist in full in the EBU's archives, as the 1956 edition has survived solely through audio recordings, with some missing segments, and limited video footage of the winning reprise performance through newsreel and other recordings.
Although the number of households which had access to a television in Europe continued to grow, this edition, as in the case of the 1956 contest, was still mainly accessed by spectators via radio.
Participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) | Spokesperson |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | ORF | Unknown | Unknown |
| Belgium (Dutch) | NIR | Unknown | Unknown |
| Belgium (French) | INR | Robert Beauvais | |
| Denmark | Statsradiofonien TV, Program 2 | Svend Pedersen | Unknown |
| France | RTF, Paris-Inter | Robert Beauvais | Unknown |
| Germany | Deutsches Fernsehen | Unknown | Unknown |
| Zweites Programm | Unknown | ||
| Italy | Programma Nazionale, Secondo Programma | Bianca Maria Piccinino | Unknown |
| Luxembourg | Télé-Luxembourg | Robert Beauvais | Unknown |
| Netherlands | NTS | Piet te Nuyl Jr. | Siebe van der Zee |
| Switzerland (German) | SRG | Unknown | Unknown |
| DRS 1 | Unknown | ||
| Switzerland (French) | TSR | Robert Beauvais | |
| RSR 1 | Unknown | ||
| Switzerland (Italian) | RSI | Unknown | |
| United Kingdom | BBC Television Service | Berkeley Smith | Unknown |
Non-participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Monaco | Télé Monte-Carlo, Radio Monte-Carlo | Robert Beauvais |
| Sweden | Sveriges TV | Nils Linnman |
Broadcast notes[]
- Monaco - The show was broadcast on a deferred basis, on Radio Monte-Carlo, at 22:20 GMT.