The (; ), shortened to OGAE, is a non-governmental and non-profit international organisation, consisting of 42 Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs from across Europe and worldwide. It was founded in 1984 in Savonlinna, Finland by Jaripekka Koikkalainen.
Four non-profit competitions are organised by the OGAE every year to promote national popular music to Eurovision fans around the world. The organisation also works frequently in co-operation with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and national broadcasters from the participating countries in order to help promote the Eurovision Song Contest.
The current president of the OGAE International Network is Simon Bennett from OGAE United Kingdom, who succeeded Maiken Mäemets of OGAE Finland in 2015.
History The Eurovision Song Contest began in 1956, and in 1984 the OGAE International Network was founded by Jaripekka Koikkalainen in Savonlinna, Finland. The organisation, which is an independent Eurovision fan club, operates as a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit body, and works frequently in cooperation with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The network is open to countries that take part in the Eurovision Song Contest or have participated in the past. Several other countries around Europe and beyond that do not have their own independent OGAE Network, including Monaco, San Marino, Kazakhstan, South Africa, and the United States of America, participate in the organization under the "Rest of the World" title.
Every year, the organisation arranges two competitions, the OGAE Second Chance Contest, and the OGAE Song Contest. The cooperative exercise of the OGAE Network is to raise awareness of popular national music across the world, in collaboration with the fans of the Eurovision Song Contest, as well as establishing a strong relationship between national broadcasting companies and the marketing of the Eurovision Song Contest itself to a wider fan-base.
In 2007, Antonis Karatzikos was elected as new International Coordinator for the OGAE, until 2009. In July 2009 he was re-elected for the same post. In 2011, OGAE International Network became a registered organisation in France, and Maiken Mäemets was elected president. She was re-elected for a second term on 17 May 2013 at the Euro Fan Café (Moriska Paviljongen) in Malmö, Sweden. During the annual OGAE Presidents’ Meeting, which took place on 22 May 2015 at the Euro Fan Café in Vienna, the presidents of the OGAE Clubs elected a new board for the OGAE International Network (shown below), who would maintain their roles until the next election in 2017.
Position Name OGAE club President Simon Bennett Secretary Anthony Cigé Treasurer Morten Thomassen Board members Alasdair Rendall Marcus Davey (ROW) Board members Sebastian Zasada Stéphane Chiffre
OGAE branches OGAE currently has forty-four members, including two in Germany. These are:
Germany Eurovision Club
Rest of the World
OGAE Rest of the World Countries that do not have an OGAE Network in their own right, but are active or associate members of the EBU are unified under the name "Rest of the World". The countries which constitute this OGAE Network are:
Notes 2. Has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest, though does not have full OGAE membership and thus part of OGAE Rest of the World.
OGAE contests
OGAE Poll Every year since 2007, the OGAE has conducted a pre-Eurovision Song Contest poll in which every national club plus OGAE Rest of the World casts a vote from all entries participating in a particular contest, using the same scoring system as the one at Eurovision: the most voted songs on each club receive 1 to 8, and then 10 and 12 points, and countries cannot vote for themselves. +Winners and runners-up of the OGAE PollYearWinnerSongArtistSecond placeThird place"" ()Marija Šerifović"Hero"Charlotte Perrelli"Fairytale"Alexander Rybak"In a Moment like This"Chanée and N'evergreen"What About My Dreams?"Kati Wolf"Euphoria"Loreen"Only Teardrops"Emmelie de Forest"Undo"Sanna Nielsen""Il Volo""Amir""Francesco Gabbani"Toy"Netta""Mahmood2020"On Fire"The Roop""Destiny"Hold Me Closer"Cornelia Jakobs"Tattoo"Loreen"Rim Tim Tagi Dim"Baby Lasagna""KAJ"" Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen
+Table keyFirst placeSecond placeThird placeFailed to qualifyContest cancelled
Marcel Bezençon Fan Award
The Marcel Bezençon Fan Award was handed out in 2002 and 2003, and voted on by members of the OGAE. It was discontinued and replaced by the Composer Award in 2004. +Recipients of the Marcel Bezençon Fan AwardYearWinnerSongArtist"Addicted to You"Laura Voutilainen""Beth
OGAE Second Chance Contest The OGAE Second Chance Contest is a visual event organised by branches of OGAE. It began in 1987, when it was then known as "Europe's Favourite". Four OGAE branches competed in the first contest, coming from the , , and the . The contest quickly expanded and now usually contains around 20 countries competing each year. Due to the countries' varying Eurovision selection methods over the years, it is a common occurrence for countries to sporadically compete in the contest. The competition was previously a non-televised event, but evolved over the years by the usage of videotape and later DVD, YouTube and streaming services.
The contest takes place in the summer after the year's Eurovision Song Contest. A video entry from each branch of OGAE is handed to each competing OGAE club. The votes are then returned to the organising OGAE branch, normally the previous year's winning branch, who then organises the final. The method of voting has developed since the contests interception, from audio-tape in the contest's beginnings to the use of video tape and nowadays by DVD and YouTube.
Previously it had been known for non-televised national final entries to compete in the Second Chance Contest. This occurred from 1989 to 1991 when entered songs known to have been entered into the country's internal selection process. In 1990, 1991, 1998 and 1999 competed in the Second Chance Contest, entering the winning songs of the Italian Sanremo Music Festival, known to be the basis for the creation of the Eurovision Song Contest. After 1999, a new rule was introduced allowing only songs from televised national finals to compete in the Second Chance Contest. This has led to some branches becoming ineligible to compete for many years due to no national final being held in the country. Since 1993, guest juries have been used in the voting of the contest. These juries are composed of branches that are ineligible to compete in the contest due to no national final being held in their country. In 2024, Annalisa joined Alcazar as the only artists to win the contest twice. + Winners and runners-up of the OGAE Second Chance Contest Year Host city Participants Winner Artist Song Points Second place Third place 1987 Huizen 8 Arja Saijonmaa "Högt över havet" 24 1988 Östersund 10 Lena Philipsson "Om igen" 63 1989 9 Lecia Jønsson "Landet Camelot" 72 1990 13 Carola "Mitt i ett äventyr" 119 1991 15 Pernilla Wahlgren "Tvillingsjäl" 106 1992 Montabaur 11 Wenche Myhre "Du skal få din dag i morgen" 78 1993 Oslo 22 Merethe Trøan "Din egen stjerne" 188 1994 16 Gladys Del Pilar "Det vackraste jag vet" 176 1995 Örebro 9 Cecilia Vennersten "Det vackraste" 129 1996 Farsta 22 Lotta Engberg "Juliette & Jonathan" 152 1997 Hanover 17 Anna Oxa "Storie" 165 1998 Hamburg 18 Nurlaila "Alsof je bij me bent" 192 1999 Emmen 16 Feryal Başel "Unuttuğumu Sandığım Anda" 164 2000 Istanbul 21 Anna Eriksson "Oot voimani mun" 177 2001 Helsinki 20 Barbados "Allt som jag ser" 252 2002 Stockholm 18 David Bisbal "Corazón latino" 203 2003 Las Palmas 19 Alcazar "Not a Sinner Nor a Saint" 215 2004 Växjö 21 Davinia "Mi obsesión" 192 2005 Bilbao 23 Alcazar "Alcastar" 201 2006 Stockholm 19 Saša Lendero "Mandoline" 201 2007 Ljubljana 20 Måns Zelmerlöw "Cara Mia" 252 2008 Stockholm 21 Sanna Nielsen "Empty Room" 268 2009 20 Hera Björk "Someday" 257 2010 Copenhagen 22 Timoteij "Kom" 267 2011 Gothenburg 21 Yohanna "Nótt" 224 2012 Johannesburg 19 Pastora Soler "Tu vida es tu vida" 201 2013 Barcelona 15 Adelén "Bombo" 151 2014 Oslo 20 Helena Paparizou "Survivor" 259 2015 Stockholm 18 Nek "Fatti avanti amore" 305 2016 Siena 23 Margaret "Cool Me Down" 277 2017 Warsaw 22 Mariette "A Million Years" 329 2018 Eskilstuna 27 Annalisa "Il mondo prima di te" 350 2019 Udine 24 Seemone "Tous les deux" 294 2020 22 Anna Bergendahl "Kingdom Come" 344 2021 Stockholm 14 Keiino "Monument" 441 2022 Oslo 27 Medina "In i dimman" 316 2023 Eskilstuna 23 Marcus & Martinus "Air" 322 2024 Borås 16 Annalisa “Sinceramente" 364 2025 Florence 25 Klara Hammarström "On and On and On"348 2026 Älmhult 22 Ditonellapiaga "Che fastidio!"318
Retrospective Second Chance Contest From 2003 it was decided to hold Retrospective Contests each year containing songs from contests prior to 1987. In 2003 the first contest was held, containing songs that failed to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986. This format is repeated every year, for example in 2004 the 1985 Retrospective contest was held, in 2005 the 1984 contest was held, etc. + Winners and runners-up of the OGAE Retrospective Second Chance Contest Year Host city Participants Winner Song Artist Points Second place Third place 1966 N/A 9 "Nessuno mi può giudicare" Caterina Caselli 214 1967 7 "Le soleil a quitté ma maison" Vicky Leandros 193 1968 8 "Wonderful World" Cliff Richard 263 1969 10 "Amigos, amigos" Salomé 231 1970 7 "Things You Hear About Me" Maxi, Dick and Twink 245 1971 11 "Che sarà" Ricchi e Poveri 296 1972 11 "Montagne verdi" Marcella Bella 308 1973 Brighton 12 "Ring Ring (Bara du slog en signal)" Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid 282 1974 11 "Have Love, Will Travel" Olivia Newton-John 277 1975 11 "Er gehört zu mir" Marianne Rosenberg 264 1976 14 "Tout peut arriver au cinéma" Marianne Rosenberg 212 1977 10 "Vis ta vie" Patricia Lavila 275 1978 14 "Lonely Nights" Ronnie France 226 1979 13 "Vogel der Nacht" Paola 188 1980 12 "Happy Everything" Maggie Moone 289 1981 16 "Don't Panic" Liquid Gold 248 1982 15 "Fantasie eiland" The Millionaires 204 1983 15 "Viva La Mamma" Ingrid Peters and July Paul 204 1984 15 "Merci à la vie" Formule II 160 1985 12 "Ved du hva' du sku'" Trax 170 1986 London 13 "Fata Morgana" DeeDee 123
Guest Jury Hits The Guest Jury Hits contest was introduced in 2003, giving guest juries of the Retro contests the opportunity to compete in their own contest. The contest was formed as a way for OGAE branches to become juries in the Second Chance Retro Contest, with each non-competing branch selecting a hit song from their country in that year. The first contest was held in 2003, when hit songs from 1985 competed in the contest. So far eighteen contests have been held, with Italy winning eight contests, the United States winning twice, and Australia, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Sweden, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, and Jamaica each winning once. Umberto Tozzi has so far been responsible for three of Italy's wins.