The Eurovision Song Contest 1985 was the 30th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held on 4 May 1985 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The presenter was entertainer Lill Lindfors, whose jokey dress rip after the interval act was said to have not amused the wife of EBU scrutineer Frank Naef. Norwegian duo Bobbysocks! were the winners with the song "La det swinge".
Italy has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 46 times since making its debut at the first contest in 1956. It was one of the seven countries that competed at the first contest, which took inspiration from the Sanremo Music Festival. Italy competed at the contest frequently until 1997. After a 14-year absence, the country returned to the contest in 2011. Italy has won the contest three times.
Albano Antonio Carrisi, better known as Al Bano, is an Italian singer-songwriter, actor and winemaker. In 2016, he was awarded Albanian citizenship due to his close ties with the country.
"La det swinge" is a song in Norwegian, sung by the pop duo Bobbysocks!. It was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 – Norway's first victory in the contest.
"Magic Oh Magic" was the Italian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1985, performed in Italian by Al Bano & Romina Power. This was Bano and Power's second Eurovision entry, following 1976's "We'll Live It All Again" which finished 7th in a field of 18.
Following Herreys' victory in the previous year, Sweden were the hosts of the Eurovision Song Contest 1985. The venue chosen for the show was the country's second city, Gothenburg.
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.
Denmark was represented by Hot Eyes, with the song '"Sku' du spørg' fra no'en?", at the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 4 May in Gothenburg, Sweden. "Sku' du spørg' fra no'en?" was chosen as the Danish entry at the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix on 9 March. This was the second consecutive Eurovision appearance for Kirsten & Søren.
Italy was represented by Romina Power and Al Bano, with the song '"We'll Live It All Again", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague. As usual, broadcaster RAI chose the song internally. Power and Al Bano would later return to Eurovision in 1985.
Italy was represented by Umberto Tozzi and Raf, with the song '"Gente di mare", at the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 9 April in Brussels. Italian broadcaster RAI returned to the contest after opting out in 1986, and as usual chose the performers and song internally.
Norway was represented by Bobbysocks!, with the song '"La det swinge", at the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 4 May in Gothenburg, Sweden. "La det swinge" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 30 March, and went on to bring Norway a famous first Eurovision victory after decades of being the butt of jokes about their status as Eurovision's perennial also-rans. It was admitted that the lyrics of "La det swinge" had been written with the specific intention of avoiding those Norwegian consonant combinations which had been said to sound harsh in song to non-Scandinavian ears.
Ireland was represented by Maria Christian, with the song '"Wait Until the Weekend Comes", at the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 4 May in Gothenburg, Sweden. "Wait Until the Weekend Comes" was chosen as the Irish entry at the national final on 27 March.
On 2 December 2010, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that Italy would compete in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, set to be held in Düsseldorf, Germany. Italy returned to the contest after a 14-year absence, having last competed in the 1997 Contest. The entry was organised by Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI) and finished second after the winning song from Azerbaijan.
Italy participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Italian entry was selected through an internal selection, organised by the Italian broadcaster RAI. The artist was selected by a special committee from the participants of the Sanremo Music Festival 2012 and the song selection was carried out by the artist. Nina Zilli represented Italy with the song "L'amore è femmina", which placed 9th in the final, scoring 101 points.
Italy participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. The Italian entry was selected through an internal selection with the artist being selected by a special committee from the participants of the Sanremo Music Festival 2013 and the song selection being carried out by the artist. Marco Mengoni represented Italy with the song "L'essenziale", which placed 7th and scored 126 points in the final.
Israel was represented by the artist Izhar Cohen, with the song "Olé, Olé", at the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 4 May in Gothenburg, Sweden. "Olé, Olé" was the winner of the Israeli national final, held on 28 March. This was the second time Cohen was in the Eurovision Song Contest, the previous time Cohen was in the ESC was in 1978 with Alphabeta with the song A-Ba-Ni-Bi.
Austria was represented by Gary Lux, with the song "Kinder dieser Welt", at the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 4 May in Gothenburg, Sweden. The song was chosen internally by broadcaster ORF. This was the first Eurovision appearance for Lux in which he represented Austria in the ESC as a solo artist. The last time he represented Austria in Eurovision had been in the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest in Brussels, Belgium with his song "Nur noch Gefühl".
Luxembourg was represented by Margo, Franck Olivier, Diane Solomon, Ireen Sheer, Chris & Malcolm Roberts with the song "Children, Kinder, Enfants", at the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 4 May in Gothenburg, Sweden. The song was chosen internally by broadcaster RTL.
Greece was represented by Takis Biniaris with the song "Miazoume", at the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 4 May in Gothenburg, Sweden. The song was chosen internally by broadcaster ERT. Greece withdrew from the next edition in 1986, having been drawn eighteenth in order of presentation. The reason behind the withdrawal, was that the Eurovision contest coincided with Holy Saturday. Their entry would have been "Wagon-lit" performed by Polina.
Italy participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Occidentali's Karma", written by Francesco Gabbani, Filippo Gabbani, Luca Chiaravalli and Fabio Ilacqua. The song was performed by Francesco Gabbani. Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI) announced in October 2016 that the winning performer(s) of the Big Artists section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2017 would earn the right to represent the nation at the Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev, Ukraine. The selected performer would also be given the right to choose their own song to compete with at Eurovision. In February 2017, Francesco Gabbani emerged as the winner of Sanremo with the song "Occidentali's Karma". The artist accepted the invitation to represent Italy at Eurovision and decided that "Occidentali's Karma" would be his contest entry.
Italy 
