 With those joining in 1957, the total number of countries was ten, three more than in the first ever contest.It was thought that the had also missed the participation deadline for the 1956 contest, but the EBU revealed in January 2017 that this was unfounded speculation spread by fans of the contest.The EBU further went on to explain that the ""Festival of British Popular Song"", a contest created by the BBC for the United Kingdom, was the inspiration that brought in changes to the contest format from 1957.