Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest | |
---|---|
Participating broadcaster | RTL Luxembourg |
Participation summary | |
Appearances | 37 |
First appearance | 1956 |
Highest placement | 1st: 1961, 1965, 1972, 1973, 1983 |
Host | 1962, 1966, 1973, 1984 |
External links | |
RTL website | |
Luxembourg's page at Eurovision.tv | |
For the most recent participation see Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 |
Luxembourg has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 37 times since its debut at the first contest in 1956. The nation participated in all but one event between 1956 and 1993, only missing the 1959 contest. After finishing among the bottom seven countries in 1993, Luxembourg was relegated and prevented from competing in 1994. The nation did not return to the contest in 1995, and would make no further appearances over the next three decades. The country is set to return to the event for the first time in 31 years in 2024.
With five wins, Luxembourg is one of the contest's most successful nations, and between 1983 and 1994 the nation jointly held the record for most contest wins by a single country. Luxembourg won the contest in 1961, with the song " Nous les amoureux " performed by Jean-Claude Pascal, in 1965, with the song " Poupée de cire, poupée de son " performed by France Gall, recorded back-to-back wins in 1972 and 1973, when the nation was represented by " Après toi " by Vicky Leandros and " Tu te reconnaîtras " by Anne-Marie David, and most recently in 1983, with the song " Si la vie est cadeau " performed by Corinne Hermès. The contest has been held in Luxembourg four times, in 1962, 1966, 1973 and 1984, all of which took place in Luxembourg City. In addition to its five wins, Luxembourg recorded two third-place finishes in 1962 and 1986, and in total has placed within the top five 13 times and within the top ten 20 times. Luxembourg's fortunes in the contest changed in later years, with the nation's final seven appearances in the 1980s and 1990s resulting in four placements in the bottom five, ultimately leading to the nation's relegation and subsequent non-participation.
The Luxembourgish national broadcaster, RTL Luxembourg, is responsible for organising the country's participation in the contest. It organised the Luxembourg Song Contest in January 2024 to determine the Luxembourgish entry for the 2024 event.
Participation in the Eurovision Song Contest is open to members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), [1] [2] of which Luxembourg is presently a member through RTL Luxembourg (Luxembourgish : RTL Lëtzebuerg), a division of the RTL Group. [3] [4] [5] Luxembourg was one of seven countries to take part in the inaugural edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, and has competed in the contest on 37 occasions since its debut entry. The nation participated in all but one event between 1956 and 1993, with no Luxembourgish entry having participated in the 1959 contest. [6] [7] On each occasion that Luxembourg participated in the contest the country was represented by one song, with the exception of the first contest when each nation was represented by two songs. [8] [9]
Luxembourg has won the contest on five occasions, marking it as one of the contest's most successful nations. [6] [7] [10] The country's first win was recorded in 1961 with the song " Nous les amoureux " performed by Jean-Claude Pascal. Four years later the nation were awarded a second victory, with the song " Poupée de cire, poupée de son " performed by France Gall winning the contest in 1965. Luxembourg recorded back-to-back victories in 1972 and 1973 –becoming the second country to win the event in two consecutive events [11] –when the nation was represented by Vicky Leandros and the song " Après toi ", and Anne-Marie David and the song " Tu te reconnaîtras " respectively. The nation achieved its most recent victory in 1983, with the song " Si la vie est cadeau " performed by Corinne Hermès. [6] [7] With its fifth win Luxembourg became the joint-most successful Eurovision nation at that time, equalling the record for the most number of victories by a single country previously set by France –a record which would remain until Ireland recorded their sixth win in 1994. [6] [12] All of Luxembourg's winners, however, were not of Luxembourgish descent, with four of the five artists being French and one, Leandros, being Greek. [13] [14]
During its original participation run between 1956 and 1993 the rules of the contest for the majority of those editions stated that each country was required to perform in one of the national languages of that country. [15] [16] The large majority of Luxembourgish entries were performed in French, which is one of the official languages of Luxembourg and the main language of communication in the country, while Luxembourgish, the country's national language, has featured in only three of the country's entries, in 1960, 1992 and 1993. [17] [18] [19] [20]
Including its five wins, Luxembourg has placed within the top five on 13 occasions and within the top ten on 20 occasions, including two third-place finishes in 1962 and 1986. [7] [21] The majority of the country's top placings, however, were recorded prior to its fifth contest win, and in the decade following its most recent victory Luxembourg's fortunes in the contest began to shift, leading to four appearances in the bottom five between 1987 and 1993. [6]
After finishing among the bottom seven countries at the 1993 event, Luxembourg was relegated under a new system to accommodate entries from new nations wishing to compete for the first time, and was thus prevented from participating in the 1994 contest. [6] [22] Luxembourg subsequently declined to participate in the 1995 event and continued to be absent from the contest for three decades, with the increased costs of participating in the event cited as a main contributing factor for the country's absence. [6] Ahead of the 2004 event Luxembourg was featured within a preliminary participants list for that edition, however, RTL subsequently reconsidered due to the scale of the participation fee, with Luxembourg ultimately absent from the final list of participating countries. [23] [24] [25] RTL had been approached on several occasions in subsequent years about the possibility of Luxembourg returning to the contest, and participation in the contest was the subject of discussion within the Luxembourgish parliament in the years following Luxembourg's last entry, as well as the subject of fan-led petitions run both in Luxembourg and in other countries. [13] The organisation however varyingly identified high participation costs, organisational difficulties, the cost and logistical issues of staging the event should Luxembourg win, format incompatibilities at the broadcaster, disinterest among the Luxembourgish viewing public, and poor results towards the end of Luxembourg's participation among the reasons future participation was consistently ruled out. [13] [26] [27] [28]
On 15 December 2022, it was reported that Xavier Bettel, the Luxembourgish prime minister and minister for communications and media, had instigated discussions with RTL regarding the return of Luxembourg to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2024, with a team within the Luxembourgish government formed to facilitate the country's return to the event. [29] [30] [31] On 12 May 2023, ahead of the final of the 2023 contest, the 30th anniversary of Luxembourg's last entry and the 40th anniversary of Luxembourg's last win, RTL and the EBU announced that Luxembourg would return to the contest in 2024. [3] [32] [33] As part of the announcement RTL and the Luxembourgish government highlighted the promotion of Luxembourgish culture, the development of the cultural section of Luxembourgish society, as well as economic and touristic benefits which participation in the event could bring. [13] [21] [34]
We are delighted that Luxembourg is returning to the Eurovision Song Contest – and even more excited that RTL Luxembourg will take on the exhilarating task of selecting the 2024 delegation. As a media company that is dedicated to the people of Luxembourg, we are looking forward to broadcasting the starstudded live shows. Viewers will be able to experience the Eurovision Song Contest in its full glory. [35]
— Christophe Goossens, CEO of RTL Luxembourg
In July 2023, RTL launched its national selection process, with a televised final held on 27 January 2024 at the Rockhal in Esch-sur-Alzette. Interested artists were able to apply to compete in the event, with applicants required to be Luxembourgish citizens, long-term residents, or those with a proven connection to the Luxembourgish music scene and strong involvement with Luxembourgish culture. [36] [37] This marked a change from the majority of previous Luxembourgish Eurovision selections, which were predominantly held internally and were often led by the RTL organisation in Paris rather than by the local Luxembourgish broadcaster. [13] As a result, a large number of the artists which represented Luxembourg at Eurovision were not of Luxembourgish descent, including all five of the nation's winning artists. [13] [38] [39] The Luxembourg Song Contest was officially launched on 1 December, with RTL highlighting the event as a showcase for Luxembourgish talent and a platform for established and emerging artists within the Luxembourgish music scene. [40] [41]
1 | First place |
3 | Third place |
◁ | Last place |
† | Upcoming event |
A special competition was held in October 2005 to celebrate the contest's fiftieth anniversary, with fourteen songs from Eurovision history competing to determine the most popular song from the contest's first 50 years, with the winner determined through the combined votes of the viewing public and juries over two rounds. [44] [45] The contest was not relayed by a Luxembourgish broadcaster, however Luxembourg's winning song from 1965, " Poupée de cire, poupée de son " performed by France Gall, was featured among the fourteen selected songs. [46] [47]
Artist | Song | Language | At Congratulations | At Eurovision | Details | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Final | Points | Semi | Points | Year | Place | Points | ||||
France Gall | " Poupée de cire, poupée de son " | French | Failed to qualify | 14 ◁ | 37 | 1965 | 1 | 32 | More info |
As is customary the winning broadcaster is offered the opportunity to organise the following year's event, [2] which has resulted in Luxembourg hosting the contest on four occasions. [7] [21] On each occasion the contest was held in Luxembourg City, and coincided with one of Luxembourg's victories. The 1962 and 1966 events were held in the Grand Auditorium of Villa Louvigny and presented by Mireille Delannoy and Josiane Shen respectively. [50] [51] The 1973 and 1984 contests were held in the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg (also known at the time as the Nouveau Théâtre and Théâtre Municipal) and presented by Helga Guitton and Désirée Nosbusch respectively. [52] [48] [53] Although Luxembourg won the contest in 1973 and were offered the opportunity to stage the 1974 event, RTL declined the offer due to the financial strain of hosting two consecutive events, leading to the United Kingdom's BBC to step in as organiser and staging the event in Brighton. [54] [55]
Year | Location | Venue | Executive producer | Director | Musical director | Presenter | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1962 | Luxembourg | Grand Auditorium de RTL, Villa Louvigny | — | Jos Pauly and René Steichen | Jean Roderes | Mireille Delannoy | [50] [56] |
1966 | Josiane Shen | [51] [56] | |||||
1973 | Nouveau Théâtre | René Steichen | Pierre Cao | Helga Guitton | [52] [57] | ||
1984 | Théâtre Municipal | Ray van Cant | Désirée Nosbusch | [48] [58] |
The public broadcaster of each participating country in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the contestants, songwriters, composers and backing vocalists, among others. [59]
Year | Head of delegation | Ref. |
---|---|---|
2024 | Eric Lehmann | [60] |
In contests where an orchestra was provided, a conductor was required to lead the musicians during each country's performance. Broadcasters were able to provide their own conductors, or could call upon the services of the conductor appointed by the host broadcaster. [61] The conductors which led the orchestra during the Luxembourgish entries each year are listed below.
Year | Conductor | Ref. |
---|---|---|
1956 | Jacques Lasry | [56] |
1957 | Willy Berking [lower-alpha 2] | |
1958 | Dolf van der Linden [lower-alpha 2] | |
1960 | Eric Robinson [lower-alpha 2] | |
1961 | Léo Chauliac | |
1962 | Jean Roderes | |
1963 | Eric Robinson | |
1964 | Jacques Denjean | |
1965 | Alain Goraguer | |
1966 | Jean Roderes | |
1967 | Claude Denjean | |
1968 | André Borly | |
1969 | Augusto Algueró [lower-alpha 2] | |
1970 | Raymond Lefèvre | [57] |
1971 | Jean Claudric | |
1972 | Klaus Munro | |
1973 | Pierre Cao | |
1974 | Charles Blackwell | |
1975 | Phil Coulter | |
1976 | Jo Plée | |
1977 | Johnny Arthey | |
1978 | Rolf Soja | |
1979 | Hervé Roy | |
1980 | Norbert Daum | [58] |
1981 | Joël Rocher | |
1982 | Jean Claudric | |
1983 | Michel Bernholc | |
1984 | Pascal Stive | |
1985 | Norbert Daum | |
1986 | Rolf Soja | |
1987 | Alec Mansion | |
1988 | Régis Dupré | |
1989 | Benoît Kaufman [lower-alpha 2] | |
1990 | Thierry Durbet | [62] |
1991 | Francis Goya | |
1992 | Christian Jacob | |
1993 | Francis Goya |
RTL has broadcast the contest on various television and radio channels during its participation history, and has provided commentary in different languages for the local audiences. On occasion commentary has been relayed from the broadcast feed of other participating countries. [63] Between 1956 and 1988 the contest was broadcast on the French-language television channel of RTL (presently known as RTL9), and was also broadcast on the German-language television channel (previously known as RTL plus, now titled RTL) from the channel's formation in 1984 to 1988. [64] The contest is also known to have been broadcast on RTL's radio stations, in 1966 on the French-language Radio Luxembourg, [65] in 1973 on the Luxembourgish-language Radio Luxembourg and English-language Radio Luxembourg, [66] [67] and in 1979 on the German-language RTL Radio. [68]
Year | Stage director(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|
2024 | German Nenov | [115] |
The Eurovision Song Contest 1968 was the 13th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in London, United Kingdom, following the country's first victory at the 1967 contest with the song "Puppet on a String" by Sandie Shaw. Despite having won for the first time the year before, it was actually the third time that the United Kingdom had hosted the competition, having previously done so in 1960 and 1963, both of which also took place in London. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the contest was held at Royal Albert Hall on 6 April 1968, and was hosted by Katie Boyle for the third time. It was notably also the first time that the contest was broadcast in colour.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1961 was the 6th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. Once again, the contest was held in the French seaside city of Cannes, having also hosted the 1959 edition. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF), the contest was again held at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès on Saturday 18 March 1961, becoming the first contest to take place on a Saturday evening, a tradition that has continued ever since. The show was directed by Marcel Cravenne and again hosted by Jacqueline Joubert, who had also hosted in 1959.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1962 was the 7th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, following the country's victory at the 1961 contest with the song "Nous les amoureux" by Jean-Claude Pascal. The contest was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT), and was held at the Villa Louvigny on Sunday 18 March 1962 hosted by the Luxembourgish speaker Mireille Delannoy. This remains the last time that the final of the contest was not held on a Saturday, as since 1963 the final of the contest has consistently been held on a Saturday evening.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1965 was the tenth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Naples, Italy, following the country's victory at the 1964 contest with the song "Non ho l'età" by Gigliola Cinquetti. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI), the contest was held at Sala di Concerto della RAI on 20 March 1965, and was hosted by Italian singer Renata Mauro.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1966 was the 11th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, following the country's victory at the 1965 contest with the song "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" by France Gall. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT), the contest was held at the Villa Louvigny on 5 March 1966 and was hosted by Luxembourgish television presenter Josiane Chen.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1970 was the 15th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest and took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), the contest was held at the RAI Congrescentrum on 21 March 1970, and was hosted by Dutch television presenter Willy Dobbe.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1971 was the 16th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Dublin, Ireland, following the country's victory at the 1970 contest with the song "All Kinds of Everything" by Dana. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), the contest was held at the Gaiety Theatre on 3 April 1971, and was hosted by Irish television presenter Bernadette Ní Ghallchóir.
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.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1979 was the 24th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Jerusalem, Israel, following the country's victory at the 1978 contest with the song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Israeli Broadcasting Authority (IBA), the contest was held at the International Convention Centre on 31 March 1979 and was hosted by Israeli television presenter Daniel Pe'er and singer Yardena Arazi. This was the first time that the Eurovision Song Contest was held outside Europe.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1984 was the 29th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 5 May 1984 in the Théâtre Municipal in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radio Télévision Luxembourg (RTL), the contest was held in Luxembourg following the country's victory at the 1983 contest with the song "Si la vie est cadeau" by Corinne Hermès. The event was presented by Désirée Nosbusch, who, at 19 years old, remains the youngest person to have hosted the contest as of 2024.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1973 was the 18th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, following the country's victory at the 1972 contest with the song "Après toi" by Vicky Leandros. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT), the contest was held at the Grand Théâtre on 7 April 1973 and was hosted by German television presenter Helga Guitton.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1972 was the 17th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Edinburgh, United Kingdom and was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), who agreed to stage the event after Monaco, who won in 1971, were unable to meet the demands of hosting the event and could not find a suitable venue. The contest was held at the Usher Hall on 25 March 1972 and was hosted by Scottish ballet dancer Moira Shearer.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1974 was the 19th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 6 April 1974 in the Dome in Brighton, United Kingdom. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and presented by Katie Boyle, this was the fifth time that the United Kingdom had staged the contest.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1978 was the 23rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Paris, France, following the country's victory at the 1977 contest with the song "L'Oiseau et l'Enfant" by Marie Myriam. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Télévision Française 1 (TF1), the contest was held at the Palais des Congrès on 22 April 1978 and was directed by Bernard Lion. The contest was presented by French television presenters Denise Fabre and Léon Zitrone. This was the first time that more than one presenter had hosted the contest as well as the first to have a male presenter since 1956.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1977 was the 22nd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in London, United Kingdom, following the country's victory at the 1976 contest with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me" by Brotherhood of Man. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the contest was held at the Wembley Conference Centre on 7 May 1977, marking the first time the event took place in the month of May since the first contest in 1956. The contest was directed by Stewart Morris and hosted by English journalist Angela Rippon.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1975 was the 20th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 22 March 1975 in the Sankt Eriks-Mässan in Stockholm, Sweden. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Sveriges Radio (SR), and presented by Karin Falck, the contest was held in Sweden following the country's victory at the 1974 contest with the song "Waterloo" by ABBA.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1976 was the 21st edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in The Hague, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the 1975 contest with the song "Ding-a-dong" by Teach-In. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), the contest was held at the Nederlands Congrescentrum on 3 April 1976 and was hosted by 1957 Dutch Eurovision winner Corry Brokken.
Germany has officially participated in every Eurovision Song Contest since its inaugural edition in 1956, except in 1996 when its entry did not qualify past the audio-only pre-selection round, and consequently was not seen in the broadcast final and does not count as one of Germany's 66 appearances. No other country has been represented as many times. Along with France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, Germany is one of the "Big Five" countries that are automatically prequalified for the final, due to being the largest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The final is broadcast in Germany on ARD's flagship channel, Das Erste.
Luxembourg was represented by Monique Melsen, with the song "Pomme, pomme, pomme", at the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in Dublin. The song was the winner of the Luxembourgish national final for the contest, held on 10 February. "Pomme, pomme, pomme" was selected by the Luxembourgish public, while Monique Melsen was selected internally three days afterwards.
Luxembourg is set to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden, returning after an absence of 31 years since its last participation in 1993. The Luxembourgish broadcaster RTL organised the national final Luxembourg Song Contest in order to select the country's entry for the contest, with "Fighter" performed by Tali declared as the winner.