In Stockholm, the exhibition "Good Evening Europe" showcases outfits worn by Eurovision Song Contest winners, from ABBA to Conchita Wurst; from glitzy to downright scary. Rediscover the the most famous ones here.
Eurovision exhibition in the ABBA Museum goes down memory lane
"Good Evening Europe" at the ABBA Museum in Stockholm showcases the garb of song contest winners, from ABBA to Conchita Wurst, while playing videos of contest broadcasts since 1956.
Image: Love Krok Attling/ABBA The Museum
Singing disco ball
Verka Serduchka's team from Ukraine didn't make it to first place in 2007. Her wild song including the German words "eins, zwei, drei, tanzen" had to be content with second place. But the singing disco ball won over many viewers' hearts. Now the peculiar outfit is in display in Stockholm's ABBA Museum.
The costumes slowly revolve in their glass cases so that visitors can examine every detail. Was it the dress that tipped the balance for her in 2014, the voice or the song? Maybe it was the very fact that Conchita Wurst elegantly tested the limits of gender bending. Whatever the reason, "Rise Like A Phoenix" made Eurovision history.
Image: Love Krok Attling/ABBA The Museum
80s glamour in white
Celine Dion has recently said that having won the ESC was a very special moment in her life. Entering the competition in 1988 for Switzerland at the beginning of her career, she donned an outfit by Canadian designer Michael Robidas. For years to come, it brought her good luck, she said. Now she has lent it to the ABBA Museum for a while.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Lehtikuva
Garish outfits edge out modest garb
Four letters, two couples, a pop legend: ABBA took top honors at the ESC in 1974 with the song "Waterloo," which subsequently became a hit and rocketed to the pinnacle of the charts in 10 countries. At the ESC, the band opted for cuffed pants, platform shoes, colorful fabrics, chains and glitter - typical '70s style, but also showing that standing out visually increases the chances of victory.
Image: Love Krok Attling/ABBA The Museum
Horror show with monster masks
The Finnish heavy metal band's performance wasn't for the faint-hearted. Now Lordi has contributed its stage garb to the exhibition. The band won in 2006 with "Hard Rock Hallelujah," a mix of leaden rock song and pop hymn. The shocking, confusing and fascinating spectacle secured Lordi a lasting place in viewers' memories.
Image: Simon/Getty Images
Watch till you drop
A must-see for hard-core fans: the exhibition has every single ESC shows ever broadcast on display. Watching all 60, however is an endurance test, with the journey through the vast ESC universe lasting several hundred hours.
Image: Love Krok Attling/ABBA The Museum
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"Good Evening Europe!": Nearly every television viewer has heard the cry, an indelible part of the world's longest-lasting music show, the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC).
In 1956, the premiere year, it took place in Lugano, Switzerland, then called "Gran Premio Eurovisione Della Canzone Europea." Ever-growing numbers of participants and countries transmitting the event have made it the world's most successful TV show, watched last year by about 200 million viewers.
Shrill stage outfits and heartrending ballads
Stockholm's ABBA Museum and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) have presented this year's edition of the ESC with a gift that should fire up Eurovision addicts. Having opened on May 7, one week before the finale, it presents numerous stage outfits from the contest's six decades. Simultaneously, visitors can view every ESC show broadcast since 1956, with the older TV recordings having been digitized.
To watch them all, one would have to camp out for several days in the museum however, as the total video collection comprises hundreds of hours of film material.
Focus on Sweden
Unsurprisingly, Sweden is specially celebrated at the exhibition in Stockholm, having won the competition six times. The Scandinavian country is topped only by Ireland - although that country's last crown goes back several years. Visitors are invited to participate, have the chance to sing along with ESC hits and to put their knowledge of ESC trivia to the test in a quiz.
Empty space for the 2016 winner
One showcase remains empty, however; it's reserved for the winner of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest. After the finale, the winner will be invited to deposit something there that brought him or her that extra bit of luck.
