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.
Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 63 times since making its debut at the first contest in 1956, missing only four contests, in 1995, 1999, 2001 and 2003. Switzerland hosted the first contest in 1956 in Lugano, and won it. Switzerland won the contest again in 1988, with the 1989 contest being held in Lausanne.
Austria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 56 times since its debut in 1957. The country has won twice, in 1966 and 2014, and such it holds the record for the longest gap between consecutive wins — 48 years. The contest is broadcast in Austria by ORF. Vienna was the host city on both of the occasions that the contest was held in Austria, in 1967 and 2015.
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Run & Hide" written by David Brandes, Jane Tempest and John O'Flynn. The song was performed by Gracia. The German entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine 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 12 March 2005 and featured ten competing acts with the winner being selected through two rounds of public televoting. "Run & Hide" performed by Gracia was selected as the German entry for Kyiv after placing second in the top two during the first round of voting and ultimately gaining 52.8% of the votes in the second round.
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Frauen regier'n die Welt" written by Matthias Haß and Frank Ramond. The song was performed by Roger Cicero. The German entry for the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland, was selected through the national final Der deutsche Vorentscheid 2007 – Wer singt für Deutschland?, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final took place on 8 March 2007 and featured three competing acts with the winner being selected through public televoting. "Frauen regier'n die Welt" performed by Roger Cicero was selected as the German entry for Helsinki after gaining 70% of the votes.
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Disappear" written by Remee, Thomas Troelsen and Hanne Sørvaag. The song was performed by the group No Angels. The German entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia was selected through the national final Der deutsche Vorentscheid 2008 – Wer singt für Deutschland?, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final took place on 6 March 2008 and featured five competing acts with the winner being selected through two rounds of public televoting. "Disappear" performed by No Angels was selected as the German entry for Belgrade after gaining 50.5% of the votes in the second round.
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "Wadde hadde dudde da?" written and performed by Stefan Raab. The German entry for the 2000 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through the national final Countdown Grand Prix Eurovision 2000, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final took place on 18 February 2000 and featured eleven competing acts with the winner being selected through public televoting. "Wadde hadde dudde da?" performed by Stefan Raab was selected as the German entry for Stockholm after gaining 882,569 of the votes.
Germany participated in and hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf with the song "Taken by a Stranger" written by Gus Seyffert, Nicole Morier and Monica Birkenes. The song was performed by Lena, who previously represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2010 and won with the song "Satellite". In addition to participating in the contest, ARD and NDR also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after winning the competition in 2010. ARD and NDR announced on 30 June 2010 that they had again selected Lena to represent Germany at the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf. A song selection entitled Unser Song für Deutschland was organised by ARD in collaboration with NDR, and consisted of two semi-finals and a final held in January and February 2011. The selection featured twelve competing songs with six songs competing in each semi-final; the top three songs advanced to the final via public televote. In the final, the winning song was selected through two rounds of public televoting. "Taken by a Stranger" was selected as the German song for Düsseldorf after placing among the top two during the first round of voting and ultimately gaining 79% of the votes in the second round.
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Standing Still" written by Steve Robson, Jamie Cullum and Wayne Hector. The song was performed by Roman Lob. The German entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan was selected through the national final Unser Star für Baku, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) and private broadcaster ProSieben. The national final featured 20 competing artists and consisted of five heats, a quarter-final, a semi-final and a final held in January and February 2012 2012. Contestants were selected to advance in the competition via public televote. Two contestants qualified to compete in the final where the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. "Standing Still" performed by Roman Lob was selected as the German entry for Baku after gaining 50.7% of the votes in the second round.
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Glorious" written by Yann Peifer, Manuel Reuter, Andres Ballinas and Tony Cornelissen. The song was performed by Cascada. The German entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden was selected through the national final Unser Song für Malmö, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final took place on 14 February 2013 and featured twelve competing acts with the winner by the votes of a five-member jury panel, a radio vote and a public televote. "Glorious" performed by Cascada was selected as the German entry for Malmö after gaining the most points following the combination of votes.
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 debuted at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Warsaw, Poland. KiKa, the children's channel jointly owned by European Broadcasting Union (EBU) members ARD and ZDF, is responsible for the country's participation. Germany finished last place on their debut in 2020, when Susan Oseloff represented the country with "Stronger with You". For the 2021 competition, KiKa selected Pauline with the song "Imagine Us".
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 2017 with the song "Perfect Life" written by Lindsey Ray, Lindy Robbins and Dave Bassett. The song was performed by Levina. The German entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine was selected through the national final Unser Song 2017, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final took place on 9 February 2017 with the winner being selected through four rounds of public televoting. "Perfect Life" performed by Levina was selected as the German entry for Kyiv after gaining 69% of the votes in the fourth round.
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "You Let Me Walk Alone" written by Michael Schulte, Thomas Stengaard, Nisse Ingwersen and Nina Müller. The song was performed by Michael Schulte. The German entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal was selected through the national final Unser Lied für Lissabon, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final took place on 22 February 2018 and featured six competing acts with the winner selected by the votes of a 100-member Eurovision panel, a 20-member international jury panel and a public televote. "You Let Me Walk Alone" performed by Michael Schulte was selected as the German entry for Lisbon after gaining the most points following the combination of votes.
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Sister" written by Laurell Barker, Marine Kaltenbacher, Tom Oehler and Thomas Stengaard. The song was performed by the duo S!sters, consisting of Laurita Kästel and Carlotta Truman. The German entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel was selected through the national final Unser Lied für Israel, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final took place on 22 February 2019 and featured seven competing acts with the winner selected by the votes of a 100-member Eurovision panel, a 20-member international jury panel and a public televote. "Sister" performed by S!sters was selected as the German entry for Tel Aviv after gaining the most points following the combination of votes.
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.
"Rockstars" is a 2022 song by German singer Malik Harris. The song represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy after winning Germany 12 Points, Germany's national final. It finished in last (25th) place at Eurovision with six points, all from televoting as it received no points from jury votes. The song reached number eight in the German charts.
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with "Blood & Glitter" performed by Lord of the Lost. The German broadcaster ARD, in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), organised the national final Unser Lied für Liverpool in order to select the German entry for the 2023 contest. The national final took place on 3 March 2023 and featured eight competing acts with the winner being selected through international jury voting and public voting.
Germany competed in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in France, which was held on 26 November 2023 in Nice. National television station KiKa was responsible for the participation and selected the nation's entrant via national selection, won by Fia with the song "Ohne Worte". The song came 9th overall, Germany's best result in the contest to date, and was notable for being the first time a JESC entry had used sign language as well as vocals.
