There are some points worth noting; the voting in the first contest in 1956 was never made public and only the winner (Switzerland) was announced. While it is rumoured that Germany came second, only a gold has been awarded for this contest. In 1969 there was a four-way tie for first place between the U.K., Netherlands, Spain and France. All have been given a gold, and no silver or bronze awarded. In 1990, there was a tie for second place between France and Ireland, and both have been given a silver with no bronze awarded. In 1991 Sweden and France tied for first place, but on a count-back of the votes, Sweden took the title and the gold for that year, and France the silver. In 2002 the points of Estonia and the U.K. were equal, Estonia were awarded third place as there have been no tied positions in Eurovision since 2001. 

In total 25 countries have won the Eurovision Song Contest. It's no surprise that with seven wins, Ireland finishes on top of the table. Of the countries with five victories, the U.K. is ahead of France and then Luxembourg, based on the higher number of second place finishes. The U.K. has most medals with 22 top three finishes, but they have not had a top three result since 1998. France has 16 medals, but you have to go back to 1991 for their last top three finish. Ireland has 12 medals, with the most recent being the silver picked up in 1997.

In total, fifty countries have taken part in the contest. Eighteen countries have yet to finish in the top three. Some like Morocco have only taken part on few occasions and no longer participate, while Portugal are waiting for a medal finish after over forty years.

2009 UPDATE : Germany's second victory brings it back into the Top 10, after being displaced a year earlier, by Norway's win. Germany's neighbours Switzerland now lose their Top 10 place. Turkey's second place in Oslo moves them to number 18 to the table, above neighbours Greece. Romania's third place finish in Oslo, gives hem a second "bronze medal" after achieving a  similar result in 2005.