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Esther Hart | |
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 Esther Hart in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Esther Katinka Hartkamp |
| Born | 3 June 1970 Epe, Gelderland, Netherlands |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, professor of music |
| Instrument | Vocals |
Esther Hart (born Esther Katinka Hartkamp on 3 June 1970 in Epe, Gelderland) is a Dutch singer.
Hart entered BBC TV's A Song for Europe contest in 2003 with the song "Wait for the Moment". She withdrew from that contest as participating for two countries would not have been acceptable for both BBC and NOS. She opted for participating in Nationaal Songfestival , the Dutch heat of the Eurovision Song Contest, and won. [1] Her song, "One More Night", was placed 13th in the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest. She read the Dutch results at Eurovision 2004 and Eurovision 2008.
On 17 January 2008, Hart willingly went to jail and stayed overnight in an attempt to gain publicity and money for charity. During that time she gave a concert with the Dutch broadcaster NCRV (Dutch Christian Radio Association) and the Exodus Foundation, which provides assistance for former prisoners to adapt to normal life. In addition, a poetry contest was held by the prisoners with the theme of "dare to believe in change", with the winning poem to be read by Hart. [2]
The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the 48th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Riga, Latvia, following the country's victory at the 2002 contest with the song "I Wanna" by Marie N. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV), the contest was held at the Skonto Hall on 24 May 2003. The contest was presented by last year's winner Marie N and former contestant Renārs Kaupers.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2004 was the 49th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Istanbul, Turkey, following the country's victory at the 2003 contest with the song "Everyway That I Can" by Sertab Erener. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), the contest was held at the Abdi İpekçi Arena, and, for the first time, consisted of a semi-final on 12 May, and a final on 15 May 2004. The two live shows were presented by Turkish actors Korhan Abay and Meltem Cumbul. It was the first time that Turkey had hosted the contest, 29 years after the country made its debut, and was also the first time since the 1998 contest in Birmingham that it was not hosted in the host country's capital city.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004 was the second edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest for young singers aged eight to fifteen. It was held on 20 November 2004, in Håkons Hall, Lillehammer, Norway and lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes. It was presented by Stian Barsnes Simonsen and Nadia Hasnaoui, broadcast in twenty countries and viewed by 100 million people. Eighteen countries participated, France and Switzerland participated for the first time.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the third edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest for young singers aged 8 to 15. On 26 November 2005, the contest was broadcast live from the Ethias Arena in Hasselt, Belgium, in a joint effort by the national broadcasters Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep (VRT) and Radio télévision belge de la communauté française (RTBF), in co-operation with the European Broadcasting Union. Marcel Vanthilt and Maureen Louys hosted the event.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Cry Baby" written by Martin Isherwood. The song was performed by the duo Jemini. The British entry for the 2003 contest in Riga, Latvia was selected via the national final A Song for Europe 2003, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Eight acts competed in the national final which consisted of a semi-final and a final, during which the winner was selected entirely through a regional televote.
Croatia participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest five times, and won the inaugural edition in 2003. Croatian broadcaster Hrvatska radiotelevizija (HRT), a member organisation of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), were responsible for the country's participation. Croatia participated in the first four editions, from 2003 to 2006, organising a national final to select the country's entrant. The first representative to participate for Croatia was Dino Jelusić with the song "Ti si moja prva ljubav", which finished in first place out of sixteen participating entries, with a score of 134 points. Croatia was absent from the contest between 2007 and 2013, but HRT decided to return to the contest in 2014 and selected their entry internally. In 2014, Josie finished in last place for Croatia with the song "Game Over", after which HRT again withdrew from competing the following year.
The Netherlands has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 64 times since making its debut as one of the seven countries at the first contest in 1956. The country has missed only four contests, twice because the dates coincided with Remembrance of the Dead, and twice because of being relegated due to poor results the previous year. It has missed the final despite qualifying once, in 2024, due to the personal conduct of its entrant which led to disqualification. The current Dutch participant broadcaster in the contest is AVROTROS. The Netherlands has hosted the contest five times: in Hilversum (1958), Amsterdam (1970), The Hague, and Rotterdam (2021).
Bulgaria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 14 times since making its debut at the 2005 contest in Kyiv. The country's best result is a second-place finish with "Beautiful Mess" performed by Kristian Kostov at the 2017 contest also in Kyiv. The Bulgarian participant broadcaster in the contest is the Bulgarian National Television (BNT).
Andorra has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest six times, debuting in the 2004 contest and participating every year thereafter until the 2009 contest. The Andorran participant broadcaster in the contest is Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra (RTVA). To date, Andorra remains the only nation to have never competed in a final, with its best result being a 12th-place finish in the 2007 contest's semi-final. Andorra withdrew from the contest following its 2009 appearance, with RTVA citing financial difficulties as the reason for its withdrawal. The country has not entered the contest again since. Interest in the contest has, however, remained high in the country, while statements from the Andorran government and broadcaster indicated that a future return was possible, depending on financial backing.
Greece won the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, its first Eurovision Song Contest victory. Greek national broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) internally selected Helena Paparizou who sang "My Number One" in Kyiv, winning the competition with 230 points. The song is written by Manos Psaltakis, Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou. "My Number One" was selected through a national final on 2 March 2005, where the public and a professional jury chose it over three other candidate songs.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "My Impossible Dream" written by Robert D. Fisher and Bruce Smith. The song was performed by Glennis Grace. The Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) organised the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2005 in collaboration with broadcaster Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (TROS) in order to select the Dutch entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. 24 entries competed in the national final which consisted of five shows: four semi-finals and a final. Six entries competed in each semi-final with three advancing: two entries selected based on a public vote and one entry selected by a three-member jury panel. Twelve entries qualified from to compete in the final on 13 February 2005 where "My Impossible Dream" performed by Glennis Grace was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from three jury panels and a public vote.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "Without You" written by Ed van Otterdijk and Angeline van Otterdijk. The song was performed by the duo Re-union. The Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) organised the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2004 in collaboration with broadcaster Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (TROS) in order to select the Dutch entry for the 2004 contest in Istanbul, Turkey. 24 entries competed in the national final which consisted of six shows: four semi-finals, a wildcard round and a final. Ten entries qualified from to compete in the final on 22 February 2004 where "Without You" performed by Re-union was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public vote.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Belgrade, Serbia, following the country's victory at the 2007 contest with the song "Molitva" by Marija Šerifović. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), the contest was held at the Belgrade Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 20 and 22 May, and a final on 24 May 2008. The three live shows were presented by Serbian television presenter Jovana Janković and musician Željko Joksimović.
Cyprus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "Stronger Every Minute" performed by Lisa Andreas. The song was written by Mike Connaris, who had twice written a runner up in Eurovision selection process for the United Kingdom. The Cypriot entry was selected on 17 February 2004 through a 10-song national final organised by the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC). While originally containing some lyrics in Greek, Andreas performed an English-only version of the song at the contest.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Your Heart Belongs to Me" written by Hind Laroussi Tahiri, Tjeerd van Zanen and Bas van den Heuvel. The song was performed by Hind, which is the artistic name of singer Hind Laroussi Tahiri who was internally selected by the Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) to represent the Netherlands at the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia. Hind's appointment as the Dutch representative was announced on 23 November 2007, while the song, "Your Heart Belongs to Me", was presented to the public on 7 March 2008 during the Nederland 3 programme Thank God it's Friday.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Shine" written by Bas van den Heuvel and Gordon Heuckeroth. The song was performed by the group De Toppers, which was internally selected by the Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) to represent the Netherlands at the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. De Toppers' appointment as the Dutch representative was announced on 19 September 2008, while the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2009 was organised in order to select the song. Six songs competed in the national final on 1 February 2009 where "Shine" was selected as the winning song following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public vote.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "One More Night" written by Tjeerd van Zanen and Alan Michael. The song was performed by Esther Hart. The Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) returned to the Eurovision Song Contest after a one-year absence following their withdrawal in 2002 as one of the bottom six countries in the 2001 contest. NOS organised the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2003 in collaboration with broadcaster Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (TROS) in order to select the Dutch entry for the 2003 contest in Riga, Latvia. 32 entries competed in the national final which consisted of five shows: four semi-finals and a final. Eight entries qualified from to compete in the final on 1 March 2003 where "One More Night" performed by Esther Hart was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a seven-member jury panel and a public vote.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Never Alone" written by Jan Dulles, Jaap Kwakman and Jaap de Witte. The song was performed by the band 3JS, which was internally selected by the Dutch broadcaster Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (TROS) to represent the Netherlands at the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. 3JS' appointment as the Dutch representative was announced on 15 July 2010, while the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2011 was organised in order to select the song. Five songs competed in the national final on 30 January 2011 where "Je vecht nooit alleen" was selected as the winning song following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public vote. The song was later translated from Dutch to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Never Alone".
Media related to Esther Hart at Wikimedia Commons
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