Which country has hosted Eurovision the most?

The longest heatwave

How did the recent heatwave compare with that of 1976? That year, the temperature peaked at 35.9˚C at Cheltenham on 3 July. This did not even break the UK temperature record at the time – 36.7˚C recorded in Northamptonshire on 9 August 1911. No recording from 1976 currently features on the list of Britain’s ten hottest recorded days. By contrast, in 2022 temperatures peaked at 40.3˚C in Coningsby, Lincolnshire.

Spectators at Wimbledon protect themselves from the sun wearing newspaper hats and books on their heads, during the 1976 heatwave (Getty Images)

– However, the 1976 heatwave was far more prolonged. Temperatures surpassed 90˚F (32.2˚C) somewhere in England on 15 consecutive days – a record which has never even nearly been surpassed. In 2022, temperatures exceeded 90˚F on just three consecutive days.

Contest contest

Britain will host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest as a substitute for Ukraine, which won this year. Which countries have hosted the event the most to date?

8 UK (London 1960, 1963, 1968, 1977; Edinburgh 1972; Brighton 1974, Harrogate 1982 and Birmingham 1998)

7 Ireland

6 Sweden

5 The Netherlands

4 Luxembourg

3 Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Norway.