As a result of the contest’s popularity, a number of spin-offs and imitators have been developed and produced over the years, on both a national and international level. The European Broadcasting Union has organised a number of related contests which focus on other aspects of music and culture, as part of their “Eurovision Live Events” brand.

Eurovision Young Dancers: First held in 1985, Eurovision Young Dancers is a biennial dance competition for non-professional performers between the ages of 16 and 21. Dancers perform as part of a couple or solo, performing one or more pre-prepared dance performances, with a jury panel representing the elements of ballet, contemporary, and modern dance styles giving a score based on their performance.

15 contests have taken place as of 2020 and a total of 36 countries have taken part on at least one occasion. The most recent contest was held in 2017, hosted in Prague, Czech Republic and organised by Czech broadcaster Česká televize (ČT).

Eurovision Young Musicians: Eurovision Young Musicians is a biennial classical music competition for European musicians between the ages of 12 and 21, first held in 1982. Musicians perform pieces of classical music of their choice, usually accompanied by the local orchestra of the host broadcast but previously also solo or with piano accompaniment, and a jury panel of individuals from the world of classical music score the musicians based on technical accuracy, quality of sound, interpretation and performance.

19 contests have been held in its history, with 43 countries having taken part at least once. The most recent contest was held in 2018 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom; the 2020 contest, which was scheduled to be held in Zagreb, Croatia in June 2020, has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Junior Eurovision Song Contest: The Junior Eurovision Song Contest is considered the Eurovision Song Contest’s “little brother”, with singers aged between 9 and 14 representing primarily European countries. Based upon the Scandinavian contest MGP Nordic, the EBU has organised this international song contest since 2003, typically held in November or December, following many of the same rules as the adult contest: each participating broadcaster sends an original song of no more than three minutes in length, and performed by a chosen singer/group, with no more than six people on stage. The winning song is then decided by national juries and the viewing public through internet voting.

17 contests have been organised since its first broadcast, with 39 countries having competed at least once. The most recent contest was in 2019, held in Gliwice, Silesia, Poland and organised by Polish broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP). The most recent winner of the junior contest has typically featured in a segment during the following year’s adult contest, and several former artists have gone on to compete at the adult contest.

Eurovision Choir: Eurovision Choir is a biennial choral competition for non-professional European choirs produced in partnership between the EBU and Interkultur and modelled after the World Choir Games. First held in 2017 and held as part of the European Choir Games, the contest sees choirs perform an unaccompanied choral set, with a three-member jury panel crowning a winner. Two contests have been held, the latest taking place in 2019 in Gothenburg, Sweden and produced by Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT).

Other related competitions: Similar competitions that are currently organised include:

• Viña del Mar International Song Festival (1960–), held annually in Viña del Mar, Chile, featuring competitions for international artists and Latin American folk performers
• Sopot International Song Festival (1961–80, 1984–2003, 2005–09, 2012–14, 2017–), held in Sopot, Poland (replaced by the Intervision Song Contest, 1977–80)
• Festivali i Këngës (1962–), held annually in Tirana, Albania^{[a] (Festivali i Këngës has been used to select Albania’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest since 2003.)}
• Östersjöfestivalen (also called the Baltic Song Contest; 1967–present), held annually in Karlshamn, Sweden
• Golden Stag Festival (1968–71, 1992–97, 2001–05, 2008–09, 2018–), held annually in Brașov, Romania
• Cân i Gymru (1969–72, 1974–), held annually in Wales^{[b] (Cân i Gymru was originally conceived as BBC Cymru’s pre-selection show for Eurovision, when Wales expressed an interest in participating in the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest separately from the rest of the United Kingdom.)}
• Caribbean Song Festival (1984–), held annually between members of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union
• Liet International (2002–), an annual song competition featuring European minority language speakers; first held in Friesland
• Asia Song Festival (2004–), held annually in South Korea
• ABU Song Festivals (2012–), two Asia-Pacific versions, the biennial ABU Radio Song Festival and the annual ABU TV Song Festival
• AfriMusic Song Contest (2018–), featuring artists representing countries in Africa
• AI Song Contest (2020–), featuring songs composed using artificial intelligence
• Free European Song Contest (2020–), a similar song contest organised by German television network ProSieben

Similar competitions that are proposed or in development, include:

• Eurovision Asia Song Contest, proposed event for members of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union
• American Song Contest, proposed event featuring artists from the 50 U.S. states, scheduled to debut during the 2021 holiday season

Similar competitions that are no longer held, include:

• Golden Orpheus (1965–99), held annually in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria
• Castlebar Song Contest (1966–86, 1988), held annually in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland
• World Popular Song Festival (also known as the Yamaha Music Festival; 1970–87, 1989), held in Tokyo, Japan
• OTI Festival (1972–98, 2000), a song competition featuring artists from Portugal, Spain and the countries of the Americas
• Intervision Song Contest (1977–80, 2008), originally organised by the Eastern Europe OIRT network and primarily featuring countries from the Eastern Bloc; most recently has featured post-Soviet states and members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
• MGP Nordic (2002, 2006–09), a song contest for Nordic artists under the age of 16
• Bundesvision Song Contest (2005–15), featuring songs representing the 16 states of Germany
• Eurovision Dance Contest (2007–08), an EBU-organised ballroom dancing competition featuring professional dancers and celebrities
• Turkvision Song Contest (2013–15), for countries and autonomous regions with Turkic links

In Autumn 2005, the EBU organised a special programme to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Contest. The show, entitled Congratulations (after Cliff Richard’s entry for the United Kingdom in 1968) was held in Copenhagen, and featured many artists from the last 50 years of the Contest. A telephone vote was held to determine the most popular Eurovision song of all-time, which was won by ABBA’s “Waterloo” (winner, Sweden 1974).