Highest points totals in Eurovision history

Throughout its history, the Eurovision Song Contest has used multiple voting formats, with the number of points awarded, and the people actually voting for the winner changing over the years.

In the early years, juries from relevant countries awarded points to their favourite songs, awarding points for anywhere between their top 10 and their top three entries.

In 1997, five countries introduced televoting, meaning members of the public could vote for their favourites for the first time. The following year, all countries were invited for their public to vote for the winner, with a mixed system combining jury and public votes being introduced in 2001.

The biggest change to the scoring came in 2016, when two sets of points were awarded, meaning that scores were essentially doubled. Rather than combining each country's jury and public vote into one score, all jury and public votes count separately and are added together to produce the winner.

Below we look at the most points from Eurovision contestants since the scoring change in 2016 and under the old system from 2015 and earlier.

Most Eurovision points (since 2016)

1 - Salvador Sobral - Amar pelos dois (758 points)

Portugal

A huge hit with both the public and the juries, Salvador Sobral's ballad broke the record for the number of points scored at Eurovision. It wasn't just because of the new scoring system, either. Even under the old voting format, Amar pelos dois would have still broken the record, eclipsing Alexander Rybak's Fairytale.

2 - Kalush Orchestra - Stefania (631 points)

Ukraine

Set amongst the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kalush Orchestra's Stefania combined hip hop with folk music and while it wasn't massively popular with juries, Ukraine were voted as overwhelming favourites by the public, edging out the United Kingdom's Sam Ryder.

3 - Kristian Kostov - Beautiful Mess (615 points)

Bulgaria

Remarkably, Bulgaria posted the second-highest score in Eurovision history in 2017, but ultimately came up short of Portugal's Salvador Sobral.

Bulgaria finished more than 200 points clear of third-placed Moldova, but were a distant second to Portugal.

4 - Nemo - The Code (591 points)

Switzerland

Although The Code wasn't hugely popular with the public, with only Ukraine awarding Nemo 12 points, Switzerland's entry was very popular with the juries, where it took more than 147 points more than France in second.

With both scores combined, Switzerland had done enough to pip Croatia with 591 points.

5 - Loreen - Tattoo (583 points)

Sweden

Having won the 2012 contest with smash hit Euphoria, Sweden had high hopes for Loreen's Eurovision return as she performed Tattoo.

Although it came second in the public vote behind Finland's Cha Cha Cha, it was a massive hit with the juries, who awarded nearly twice as many points as next-best Israel.

Most Eurovision points (before 2016)

1 - Alexander Rybak - Fairytale (387 points)

Norway

Breaking the record in 2009 was Norway's Alexander Rybak, who captured the continent with a violin and a waistcoat, in one of the most memorable performances in Eurovision history.

2 - Loreen - Euphoria (372 points)

Sweden

One of the best songs in Eurovision history, Loreen's first Eurovision came thanks to the iconic Euphoria back in 2012.

Although it fell just short of Alexander Rybak's effort, it was a huge success with both the public and the jury, finishing more than 100 points clear of Russia in second.

3 - Mans Zelmerlow - Heroes (365 points)

Sweden

Mans Zelmerlow's hypnotic staging, featuring animated graphics that he interacted with throughout the performance, only served to complement his catchy dance-pop song Heroes.

Although the public sided with Italy's performance, the juries were huge fans of Heroes.

4 - Polina Gagarina - A Million Voices (303 points)

Russia

The unlucky second place in 2016, finishing behind Mans Zelmerlow, and becoming the first entry to clear 300 points and not winning, was Polina Gagarina with A Million Voices.

Earning top three spots with the juries and public, it couldn't compete with Zelmerlow's mammoth jury score.

5= - Il Volo - Grande Amore (292 points)

Italy

And the unlucky third place in 2016, Il Volo actually matched Lordi's winning tally from nearly a decade earlier but didn't even finish in the top two in 2015.

While their entry, Grande Amore, was hugely popular with the public, it finished a distant sixth with the juries.

5= - Lordi - Hard Rock Hallelujah (292 points)

Finland

If only Lordi had been a bit more outlandish with their 2005 entry, Hard Rock Hallelujah, they might have been the first Eurovision entry to clear the 300 mark...

A huge swing from previous Eurovision winners, Finnish rockers Lordi put on a pulsating performance all while dressed as monsters. The move certainly worked with the public; interestingly, in 2005, only Monaco and Albania conducting jury voting and neither awarded any points to Lordi.

Nevertheless, the public loved Lordi as they broke the previous Eurovision record.