Format
In this year's contest the Italian entry lasted for 5:09 minutes, whilst the UK's entry lasted for only 1:52 minutes. It was because of songs like the former that a rule was eventually introduced restricting each song to a maximum of 3 minutes; this rule still applies today.
In a change of rules from the previous year's contest, duos were allowed to compete. Danish representatives, Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler were the first of such acts to participate under this rule change. At the end of their performance, the couple exchanged the longest kiss in contest history, although only people with televisions could actually see it. This was due to a member of the production staff forgetting to give a pre-arranged sign that the kiss should end.
This was the first year where the juries were contacted by telephone. It was also the first time the Netherlands won the contest. Another notable change was that the national juries could not vote for their own song, a rule which would be continued throughout the contest's subsequent history.
Read more about this topic: Eurovision Song Contest 1957