After World War II, US Secretary of State George Marshall thought it would be a good idea to help Europe rebuild after six years of demoralising, bitter warfare. Under his economic recovery plan, proud nations would prosper again, resisting the lure of Communism.
Leaders concocted a program to spearhead European technological progress and unity – the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) was born in 1955. "We’ll get Europe to sing", they said. "We’ll broadcast it live across the continent", they said. "It’s a great idea", they said.