Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980

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Eurovision Song Contest 1980
CountryFlag of Germany.svg  Germany
National selection
Selection processEin Lied für Den Haag
Selection date(s)20 March 1980
Selected entrant Katja Ebstein
Selected song"Theater"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final result2nd, 128 points
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄197919801981►

Germany was represented by Katja Ebstein, with the song "Theater", at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 19 April in The Hague. "Theater" was the winner of the German national final, held on 20 March. This was Ebstein's third Eurovision appearance; she had previously represented Germany in 1970 and 1971, finishing third on both occasions.

Contents

Before Eurovision

Ein Lied für Den Haag

Katja Ebstein (1980) Eurovision Song Contest 1980 postcards - Katja Ebstein 07.png
Katja Ebstein (1980)

The final was held at the Bayerischer Rundfunk TV studios in Munich, hosted by Carolin Reiber and Thomas Gottschalk. 12 songs took part and the winner was chosen by a panel of approximately 1,000 people who had been selected as providing a representative cross-section of the German public. [1]

DrawArtistSongSongwritersVotesPlace
1Mel Jersey"Du bist nicht mehr frei"Walter Gerke, Mick Hannes33106
2 Costa Cordalis "Pan" Ralph Siegel, Kurt Hertha46342
3 Marianne Rosenberg "Ich werd' da sein, wenn es Sturm gibt"Joachim Heider, Horst-Herbert Krause216912
4 Roland Kaiser "Hier kriegt jeder sein Fett"Jürgen Triebel, Horst-Herbert Krause28238
5 Stefan Waggershausen & Co."Verzeih'n Sie, Madame"Stefan Waggershausen36254
6 Katja Ebstein "Theater"Ralph Siegel, Bernd Meinunger 48281
7 Adam & Eve "Hallo Adam, Hallo Eva"Alexander Gordan, Norbert Hammerschmidt28477
8Montezuma"Montezuma Castle"Rudi Bauer, Gerd Thumser35865
9Tony & David"Minnesänger - Mädchenfänger"Alexander Gordan, Norbert Hammerschmidt27849
10Stefan Hallberg"Gib uns Zeit"Jean Frankfurter, Robert Puschmann226611
11Susanne Klee"Wenn du nicht weißt, wohin"Jean Frankfurter, John Möhring39683
12Viel-Harmoniker"In der Oper" Gert Wilden, Wolfgang Hofer246210

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Ebstein performed 12th in the running order, following Norway and preceding the United Kingdom. The performance was memorable, featuring four mime artists, and at the close of voting "Theater" had received 128 points, placing Germany second of the 19 entries. [2] Only Greece and Norway failed to award the song any points at all.

The 1980 result gave Ebstein the distinction of being the only Eurovision performer to date to have finished in the top 3 on three occasions.

The German jury was composed of ten members and a jury president with no voting rights. [3] Each jury member gave each song between one and five points. [3] The total of these points was then converted to the known Eurovision voting format (12 points, 10 points…). [3] In case of a draw the placement was decided by a show of hands. [3] The German jury awarded its 12 points to contest winners Ireland. [4]

The show was watched by 17.35 million viewers in Germany, the highest TV rating ever measured in Germany for a Eurovision Song Contest final. [5]

Voting

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurovision Song Contest 1980</span> International song competition

The Eurovision Song Contest 1980 was the 25th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in The Hague, Netherlands, and was organised by host broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) – which agreed to stage the event after Israel, having won in both 1978 and 1979, declined to host it for a second successive year – and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The contest was held at the Nederlands Congresgebouw on 19 April 1980 and was hosted by Dutch actress Marlous Fluitsma, although each song was introduced by a presenter from the participating nation.

West Germany was present at the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, held in Bergen, Norway.

Belgium was represented by Pierre Rapsat, with the song "Judy et Cie", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague. Rapsat was the winner of the Belgian national final for the contest, held on 21 January.

The Netherlands was represented by Sandra Reemer, with the song "The Party's Over", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague, following Teach-In's victory for the Netherlands the previous year. The song was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 18 February. This was the second of Reemer's three Eurovision appearances for the Netherlands: she had sung in the 1972 contest in a duo with Dries Holten (Andres), and would also take part in the 1979 contest under the name of Xandra.

Belgium was represented by synthpop band Telex, with the song "Euro-Vision", at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 19 April in The Hague. Synthpop had never previously been tried in a Eurovision final, and the choice of song and group caused much comment, particularly regarding the implied sarcasm directed towards Eurovision in the song's deliberately banal lyrics.

Germany was represented by Ireen Sheer, with the song "Feuer", at the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 22 April in Paris. "Feuer" was chosen as the German entry at the national final on 20 February, and was the second of Sheer's three Eurovision appearances; she had previously represented Luxembourg in 1974 and would later be a member of a six-piece ensemble in 1985, again on behalf of Luxembourg.

Germany was represented by Lena Valaitis, with the song "Johnny Blue", at the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 4 April in Dublin. "Johnny Blue" was the winner of the German national final, held on 28 February. Valaitis had previously taken part in the German final in 1976.

Denmark was represented by the band Bamses Venner, with the song "Tænker altid på dig", at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 19 April in The Hague. "Tænker altid på dig" was chosen as the Danish entry at the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix on 29 March. Other participants in the 1980 DMGP included Danish Eurovision winners Grethe Ingmann and the Olsen Brothers, and 1989 entrant Birthe Kjær.

Germany was represented by Mary Roos, with the song "Aufrecht geh'n", at the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 5 May in Luxembourg City. "Aufrecht geh'n" was the winner of the German national final, held on 29 March. Roos had previously represented Germany in the 1972 contest in Edinburgh, where she had finished third.

Germany was represented by the band Wind, with the song "Für alle", at the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 4 May in Gothenburg, Sweden. "Für alle" was the winner of the German national final, held on 21 March. This was the first of three appearances by Wind at Eurovision; they would also represent Germany in 1987 and 1992.

Germany was represented by Katja Ebstein, with the song "Wunder gibt es immer wieder", at the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 21 March 1970 in Amsterdam. "Wunder gibt es immer wieder" was the winner of the German national final, held on 16 February. This was the first of Ebstein's three appearances for Germany at Eurovision; she returned in 1971 and 1980.

Germany was represented by Katja Ebstein, with the song "Diese Welt", at the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in Dublin. Ebstein was chosen internally to be the German representative, and the song was selected at the German national final, Ein Lied für Dublin, held on 27 February. This was the second of Ebstein's three appearances for Germany at Eurovision and she became the second performer, after Margot Hielscher, to represent the country in successive years.

Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "My Heart Goes Boom" written by Tore Madsen and Morten Henriksen. The song was performed by the group Charmed. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2000 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2000 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Ten entries competed in a show that took place on 4 March 2000 and the winner was determined over two rounds of voting from a five-member jury panel and a regional televote. The top four entries in the first round of voting advanced to the competition's second round—the superfinal. In the second round of voting, "My Heart Goes Boom" performed by Charmed was selected as the winner.

Norway was represented by Anne-Karine Strøm, with the song "Mata Hari", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague. "Mata Hari" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 7 February. This was a third Eurovision appearance in four contests for Strøm.

France was represented by five-member group Profil, with the song "Hé, hé M'sieurs dames", at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 19 April in The Hague.

Norway was represented by Sverre Kjelsberg and Mattis Hætta, with the song "Sámiid ædnan", at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 19 April in The Hague. "Sámiid ædnan" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 22 March and remains one of the best-remembered Norwegian entries, particularly in Norway itself.

Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Is It Right", written by Elżbieta Steinmetz, Frank Kretschmer and Adam Kesselhaut. The song was performed by Elaiza. The German entry for the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark was selected through the national final Unser Song für Dänemark, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final took place on 13 March 2014 and featured eight competing acts, one of which was selected through a Club Concert wildcard round. The winner was selected through three rounds of public televoting, and "Is It Right" performed by Elaiza was selected as the German entry for Copenhagen after gaining 55% of the votes in the third round.

Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Ghost" written by Thomas Burchia, Anna Leyne and Conrad Hensel. The song was performed by Jamie-Lee. The German entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through the national final Unser Lied für Stockholm, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final took place on 25 February 2016 and featured ten competing acts with the winner being selected through two rounds of public voting. "Ghost" performed by Jamie-Lee Kriewitz was selected as the German entry for Stockholm after placing first in the top three during the first round of voting and ultimately gaining 44.5% of the vote in the second round.

Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy with the song "Rockstars" performed by Malik Harris. The German entry for the 2022 contest was selected through the national final Germany 12 Points, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final took place on 4 March 2022 and featured six competing acts with the winner being selected through online radio voting and public voting.

References

  1. ESC National Finals database 1980
  2. "Final of The Hague 1980". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Albers, Frank (2006). "Siggi und Karl - Viva la Eurovision". Euro-Voice (in German). OGAE Germany (15): 39. OCLC   1190215751.
  4. ESC History - Germany 1980
  5. Quotenmeter; AGF; GfK. "TV-Reichweite des Eurovision Song Contests in den Jahren 1976 bis 2023 nach der Anzahl der Zuschauer" . Statista. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Results of the Final of The Hague 1980". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.