| Final | 24 May 1956 |
|---|---|
| Presenter(s) | Lohengrin Filipello |
| Conductor | Fernando Paggi |
| Host broadcaster |  SSR |
| Venue | Teatro Kursaal Lugano,Switzerland |
| Winning song | Switzerland "Refrain" |
| Voting system | |
| Each country had 2 jury members and each awarded 1-10 points for a song[citation needed] | |
| Number entries | 14 |
| Debuting countries |  Belgium France Germany Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Switzerland |
| Returning countries | None |
| Withdrawing countries | None |
| Nul points | Unknown |
| Interval act | Les Joyeux Rossignols & Les Trois Menestrels |
History of Eurovision
Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was the 1-th Eurovision Song Contest. It took place on 24 May, 1956 in Lugano (Switzerland) in a small hall of the theatre Kuursal.
Only solo performance was allowed. All participating countries had to organize the selection of contestants on national television. Austria, Britain and Denmark were disqualified from the contest because of the fact that the TV companies in these countries have organized national selection too late. The head of the jury Rolf Liebermann after summarizing of the vote results announced only the winner and still the results of other participants remain unknown, so they are considered to be the second.
The only time in the history of the contest, each country could provide not one but two songs. Upon this by way of determining the winner it was allowed to vote for own country. In addition, the Swiss jury was allowed to vote on behalf of the delegation of Luxembourg. The first participant, who perfomed became Dutchwoman Getty Pearl, and the winner - Helvetian Lys Assia with her song "Refrain". She remains the only contestant, performing with two songs during one contest.