In the 65-year history of the Eurovision Song Contest there has been no less than 111 presenters who have helped to keep the show running as smooth as possible each year.
The Aussievision team nominated some of our favourite Eurovision hosts of all time and put our list to a vote and here is our Top 10:
10. Corry Brokken (1976)
Corry Brokken, the only person in the history of Eurovision to place both first and last at the competition, has made it onto our team's top ten hosts of all time. The Dutch singer has a long history with Eurovision, representing the Netherlands three years in a row from the very first edition of the contest in 1956 to 1958. Twenty years later, after the Dutch scored their 4th win, Brokken hosted Eurovision in the Hague in 1976. She was the first former Eurovision winner to do so. For Dutch audiences Corry was and will always be their first face of Eurovision.
9. Mikko Leppilampi (2007)
Mikko Leppilampi hosted the 2007 contest in Helsinki after Finland won Eurovision for the very first time the year before. The Finnish star rose to fame only a few years before his Eurovision hosting gig starting off as an actor as well as diving into the music scene. He released a self-titled album in 2006 and continues to to sing on film soundtracks. Mikko hosted both the semi-final and the grand final alongside fellow presenter Jaana Pelkonen but according to the Aussievision team, Mikko was the stand out star.
Many fans agree that Leppilampi is one of the best hosts in Eurovision history so much so that Mikko and Janna Pelkonen were voted most popular presenters of the 2000s. Mikko wasn't just all great hair and smiles, he showcased charm and charisma and engaged really well with the audience with huge confidence.
8. Anke Engelke (2011)
German comedian Anke Engelke hosted the 2011 edition of the contest in Dusseldorf, Germany alongside Stefan Raab and Judith Rakers. Anke started her career hosting a children's television program in the 1980s and since has been in German media doing voice work, comedy and hosting roles.
Anke brought personality to the gig and shone in the role, her perfect combination of humour, wit and professionalism made her the perfect counterpart to fellow hosts Stefan and Judith. Anke appeared once again at Eurovision a year later in Baku, where she presented the German points. During the presentation of the scores, she made a statement regarding the human-rights issues in Azerbaijan. She was the only spokesperson of the night to acknowledge the issue. Anke made a splash and left a lasting impression on Eurovision audience members.
7. Conchita Wurst (2015)
Conchita rose like a phoenix in 2014 and finally gave Austria their second win after a long 48 years of waiting. Nicknamed the ‘Queen of Europe’, Conchita was beloved across the globe. A year later at the 60th Eurovision Song Contest in 2015, the bearded drag queen worked the green room and gave killer performances throughout all three shows.
Thankfully Conchita provided some much-needed warmth and charisma to the hosting team of 2015. She truly made her mark as an incredible Eurovision host throughout the contest by giving a spectacular finale opening number 'Building Bridges', as well as handling the booing of the Russian entrant, Polina Gagarina, during the voting tremendously. If any hosts deserves a miss congeniality award it would be Conchita Wurst.
6. Lill Lindfors (1985)
Lill Lindfors is a legend in the Eurovision community. In 1985, she hosted the 30th edition of the contest in Gothenburg, Sweden. Lill is a major name in Scandinavian music history, performing since the 1960s. With nine albums under her belt as well as placing second at the 1966 Eurovision contest, Lill Lindfors was a swedish household name.
Lill had Swedish humour in abundance that made her hosting a standout performance. But the most iconic moment from Lill was of course the wardrobe malfunction during the show. Yes, it was confirmed later on to be a gag but it has still been etched into Eurovision history. Even after 36 years, Lill Lindfors is regarded as one of the best hosts of all time.
5. Azzi Azar (2019)
From the most recent hosting team, Azzi Azar from Israel has made a major impact and quickly became one of our favourite hosts. Azzi hosts the Israeli singing competition The Next Star that discovered Netta and Israel's 2021 representative, Eden Alene. It made sense for Azzi to be part of the four-person hosting team when Eurovision came to Tel Aviv in 2019.
It was Azzi's energy and love of the contest that made him the standout host from Tel Aviv. His crazy antics on stage and in the green room gave the needed boost in excitement that the other three hosts didn't always deliver.
4. Katie Boyle (1960, 1963, 1968 & 1974)
Katie Boyle, the most experienced person on Earth at hosting a Eurovision. Katie hosted four contests, more than any other person in the history of the contest. The actress, writer, radio announcer, gameshow panellist and animal activist became a Eurovision staple for the British public in the first decades of the contest.
In the earlier editions of Eurovision, the voting portion of the show usually came with problems. These problems tripped up many hosts but Katie's ability to be quick on her feat and roll with the punches made her a standout host. It is impressive how after 60 years she is still regarded as one of the greats.
3. Filomena Cautela (2018)
Filomena Cautela was all aboard in 2018 when Eurovision was hosted by Portugal for the very first time. Part of the all women quartet who took helm of the nautical themed Eurovision in Lisbon. Filomena became a breakout star in 2005 when MTV made her a presenter on their network. She also has hosted a late night prime time talk show in Portugal since 2015. Eurovision fans would know her from being the Green Room host of the 2017 Portuguese national final Festival da Caçāo as well as the spokesperson at Eurovision in Kyiv.
Hosting Eurovision isn't an easy task, especially when English isn't the presenters first language, this was evident throughout the 2018 contest. As the green room host though, Filomena showed off her quick wits and unscripted hosting abilities. Where the other three hosts fell short, Filomena excelled. No wonder she has made it to the top three best hosts in Eurovision history.
2. Mäns Zelmerlow (2016)
Mäns Zelmerlow is a household name in the Eurovision community. Before he won Eurovision in 2015, Mäns competed in Swedish Idol in 2005 where came fifth place overall. In 2007 he competed in the Swedish national final, Melodifestivalen, for the first time with the song 'Cara Mia'. He returned in 2009 and then won both Melodifestivalen and Eurovision in 2015 with 'Heroes'
First Mäns Zelmerlow wins the contest then a year later he hosts it too! It was clear from the very start of the first semi-final that Mäns was going to be a great host. Mäns is truly the triple threat of hosting; he can sing, he is funny, and he can carry a conversation. Of course one his standout hosting moments was the iconic 'Love Love, Peace Peace' interval act that has gone down in Eurovision history. Sweden’s latest Eurovision host became an instant favourite with audiences including our own Aussievision team who ranked him second.
1. Petra Mede (2013 & 2016)
It probably doesn’t come as a surprise that the Aussievision team ranked Petra Mede as the best host in Eurovision history. Petra is a popular Swedish comedian, television presenter, actress and dancer. A great skill she has is that she can speak Swedish, English, Spanish, Italian and French, A perfect combination to host the worlds biggest song contest.
It’s almost universally agreed that Petra gave a 10/10 hosting performance in both 2013 and 2016. Petra hosted the 2013 contest in Malmo by herself, something not done since Mary Kennedy hosted alone in 1995. Then returned to the job alongside our second-place getter, Mäns Zelmerlow in 2016. Once again doing a stellar job at hosting the show. Her legendary interval acts 'Swedish Smorgasbord' and 'Love Love, Peace Peace' shows just how confident and great her hosting skills were.
The 2021 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is being hosted by Dutch presenters Chantal Janzen, Jan Smit as well as Eurovision 1998 and 2007 performer Edsilia Rombley and Youtube star Nikki de Jagger. As we saw in the Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light special last year, these four hosts are going to give it there all on the Rotterdam stage.
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