The Eurovision Song Contest () was first held in 1956, originally conceived through a desire to unite European countries through cross-border television broadcasts following World War II, and in doing so to test the capabilities of international broadcast technology. Following a series of exchange broadcasts in 1954, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) commissioned an international song competition, from an idea developed by Sergio Pugliese and Marcel Bezençon and originally based on the Italian Sanremo Music Festival. 66 contests have been held since its first edition, and over 1,600 songs representing 52 countries have been performed on the Eurovision stage Eurovision has seen many changes since its inauguration, such as the introduction of relegation in the 1990s, and subsequently semi-finals in the 2000s, as a response to growing numbers of interested participants. The rules of the contest have also seen multiple changes over the years, with the voting system and language criteria being modified on several occasions. Eurovision has been identified as the longest-running annual international televised music competition in the world, as determined by Guinness World Records, and over 40 countries now regularly take part each year. Several other competitions have been inspired by Eurovision in the years since its formation, and the EBU has also created a number of complimentary contests which focus on other aspects of music and culture. The of the contest was the first to be cancelled, as no competitive event was able to take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Competition overview Contest themes and slogans An individual slogan has been associated with each edition of the contest since 2002, except in 2009. This slogan is decided by the host broadcaster and is then used to develop the contest's visual identity and design. This slogan is typically used by the producers in planning and formulating the show's visual identity, and is channelled into the contest's stage design, the opening and interval acts, and the "postcards": short videos interspersed between the entries which usually highlight the host country, and in many cases introduce the competing acts. Origins The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) was formed in 1950, when British broadcaster BBC hosted a conference with 23 organisations at the Imperial Hotel in Torquay, England, with the aim of establishing cooperation on creative endeavours and setting a foundation for the exchange of television programmes across borders. "Eurovision" as a term in telecommunications was first used by British journalist