What time does Eurovision 2025 start? Which country has won the most - how many countries have had 'nul points'?

26 countries will take to the stage on Saturday evening (May 15) to compete in the 69th Eurovision Contest. The annual competition pulls in more than 150 million viewers each year with a huge interest in Eurovision each year.

The contest has a rich history behind it, with everything from the heady heights of multiple successes to the crashing low of the dreaded ‘nul points’. Here’s everything you need to know about the most and least successful countries in Eurovision history.

What is the most successful country at Eurovision?

At the time of writing, Sweden and Ireland currently share the record for the most wins under their belts, with seven each.

Sweden’s first win came in 1974 with ABBA, who performed Waterloo. The country would go on to win again in 1984, 1991 and 1999. Sweden continued to built a solid Eurovision reputation in the modern era of the contest, picking up its first 21st century win with Loreen’s Euphoria in 2012.

Sweden returned for the win two years later in 2015 with Måns Zelmerlöw, before Loreen returned again to claim her second Eurovision title in 2023.

Ireland’s Eurovision success saw the country pick up multiple wins in the 20th century. The country also remains the only in the contest’s history to win the show in three consecutive years.

Ireland’s first win came in 1970 with Dana’s song ‘All Kinds Of Everything’. This was followed up ten years later in 1980 by Johnny Logan, who would go on to be become the first person to win the contest twice with his second win in 1987.

Ireland then went on a winning run from 1992 until 1994, claiming three titles in a row with songs from Linda Martin, Niamh Kavanagh, and Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan. Ireland’s last win came in 1996 with Eimear Quinn’s song ‘The Voice’.

How many countries have been given nul points at Eurovision?

Nul points has almost become a badge of honour at Eurovision, with performances that earn the moniker becoming seared into Eurovision legend.

At the time of writing, 37 countries have earned ‘nul points’ from both the jury and public votes in the grand final. Belgium was the first country in the contest’s history to achieve the feat in 1962.

Norway and Austria both hold the record for the most nul points, both having score a grand total of 0 points on four occasions. The UK may have a patchy rate of success in the competition, but the country only has two nul points in its history in the contest.

However one of these occasions came in 2016, when James Newman performed his song Embers. In 2016, Eurovision bosses changed up the voting system which split the delivery of the jury and public televote which in turn increased the number of votes available to win. It was believed going into the 2026 contest that getting nul points was impossible under this new system - however, the United Kingdom proved this immediately wrong.