Underplayed Gems

Destination Eurovision (2018)

Destination Eurovision poster
Genre
reality television
Country
France
Length
2 seasons, 6 episodes
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

This series covers France's long history in the Eurovision Song Contest. It explains the country's participation since 1956 and its status as a Big Five nation. The show highlights France's five wins and notable entries over the decades.

informativehistoricaldetailedstraightforwardfactualeducationalretrospective

What happens

France has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 68 times since its debut at the first contest in 1956. France is one of only seven countries to be present at the first contest, and has been absent from only two contests in its history, missing the 1974 and 1982 contests. Since 2001, the French participating broadcaster is France Télévisions. Along with Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, France is one of the "Big Five" countries that are automatically prequalified for the final, due to their participating broadcasters being the largest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). France has won the contest five times. France first won the contest in 1958 with "Dors, mon amour" performed by André Claveau. Three more victories followed in the 1960s, with "Tom Pillibi" performed by Jacqueline Boyer in 1960, "Un premier amour" performed by Isabelle Aubret in 1962 and "Un jour, un enfant" performed by Frida Boccara, who won in 1969 in a four-way tie with the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom. France's fifth victory came in 1977, with the song "L'Oiseau et l'Enfant" performed by Marie Myriam. During its successful run in the 20th century, France has also finished second four times, with "La Belle amour" by Paule Desjardins (1957), "Un, deux, trois" by Catherine Ferry (1976), "White and Black Blues" by Joëlle Ursull (1990), and "C'est le dernier qui a parlé qui a raison" by Amina (1991), who lost out to Sweden's "Fångad av en stormvind" by Carola in a tie-break. After reaching the top five in 23 contests in the 20th century, France has had less success in the 21st century, only making the top five four times, with "Je n'ai que mon âme" by Natasha St-Pier (fourth in 2001), "Il faut du temps" by Sandrine François (fifth in 2002), "Voilà" by Barbara Pravi (second in 2021), and "Mon amour" by Slimane (fourth in 2024). France's other top 10 results in the century are "Et s'il fallait le faire" by Patricia Kaas (eighth in 2009), "J'ai cherché" by Amir (sixth in 2016), and "Maman" by Louane (seventh in 2025). France finished last for the first time in 2014, when "Moustache" by Twin Twin received only two points. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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