The first ever Eurovision Song Contest took place at the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland on the evening of 24 May 1956. Seven European broadcasters participated: Switzerland (host), Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Each broadcaster sent two songs, for a total of 14 competing entries. The host broadcaster was the SRG/SSR.
The winner. Switzerland's Lys Assia won with Refrain, a sentimental French-language song composed by Géo Voumard with lyrics by Émile Gardaz. Assia — born Rosa Mina Schärer in Rupperswil, Switzerland in 1924 — was a multilingual Swiss singer popular in 1950s European cabaret circuits before her Eurovision win. Her victory established the Swiss contribution to Eurovision history that has produced two further wins (Céline Dion 1988, Nemo 2024) plus several podiums.
The first song. The Netherlands' Jetty Paerl, performing De vogels van Holland ("The birds of Holland"), was the first artist ever to take the Eurovision stage. The performance ran 2 minutes 38 seconds. Her name and song open every official EBU history of the contest.
The 1956 result we don't have. Only the winner was officially announced at the time. The full vote tabulation, the second place, the position of each country and the points each entry received — have never been publicly released. The EBU has occasionally claimed that the 1956 voting records were lost, though some Eurovision historians dispute this. For statistical purposes, the EBU formally credits Switzerland with one first place and the six other 1956 countries with one second-place placeholder each — a polite fiction that prevents 1956 from being a black-hole entry in the medal table.
Where it stands in 2026. Lys Assia died in March 2018, aged 94. She remained a fixture of Eurovision celebrations until shortly before her death — she returned to compete in the Swiss national final for Eurovision 2012 at age 88. The Vienna 2026 70th anniversary celebrations included a tribute to Assia featuring a recorded performance of Refrain by Conchita Wurst during the Grand Final interval.
Why this record will never be broken. The contest can only have one first winner. Lys Assia's Refrain will hold the title of "first Eurovision Song Contest winner" for as long as the contest exists.