text: The contest was inspired by and based on Italy's national Sanremo Music Festival, held in the Italian Riviera since 1951. Eurovision has been held annually since 1956 (apart from  due to the COVID-19 pandemic), making it the longest-running international music competition on television and one of the world's longest-running television programmes. Active members of the EBU and invited associate members are eligible to compete;  52 countries have participated at least once. Each participating broadcaster sends an original song of three minutes duration or less to be performed live by a singer or group of up to six people aged 16 or older. Each country awards 1–8, 10 and 12 points to their ten favourite songs, based on the views of an assembled group of music professionals and the country's viewing public, with the song receiving the most points declared the winner. Other performances feature alongside the competition, including a specially-commissioned opening and interval act and guest performances by musicians and other personalities, with past acts including Cirque du Soleil, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Mika, Rita Ora and the first performance of Riverdance. Originally consisting of a single evening event, the contest has expanded as new countries joined (including countries outside of Europe, such as  and ), leading to the introduction of relegation procedures in the 1990s, before the creation of semi-finals in the 2000s.   has competed more times than any other country, having participated in all but one edition, while  and  both hold the record for the most victories, with seven wins each in total.