Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1969

Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1969
Eurovision Song Contest 1969
Participating broadcaster	Nederlandse Televisie Stichting (NTS)
Country	Netherlands
Selection process	Nationaal Songfestival 1969
Selection date	26 February 1969
Competing entry
Song	" De troubadour "
Artist	Lenny Kuhr
Songwriters	David Hartsema Lenny Kuhr
Placement
Final result	1st, 18 points
Participation chronology
◄1968 • 1969 • 1970►

The Netherlands was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1969 with the song " De troubadour ", composed by David Hartsema, with lyrics by Lenny Kuhr, and performed by Kuhr herself. The Dutch participating broadcaster, Nederlandse Televisie Stichting (NTS), selected its entry through a national final. The song won the competition in a joint win with the songs from France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Before Eurovision

Nationaal Songfestival 1969

The final was held on 26 February 1969 at the Circustheater in Scheveningen, hosted by Pim Jacobs. Ten songs took part and the winning song was chosen by a national and an international jury. "De troubadour" emerged the narrow winner by a 1-point margin.

Former Dutch representative Anneke Grönloh (1964) was among the participants.

Final – 26 February 1969

Draw	Artist	Song	Points	Place
1	Annet Hesterman	"Zoek het niet te ver"	2	4
2	John Lamers	"Als een donderslag"	0	8
3	Lenny Kuhr	"De troubadour"	7	1
4	Anneke Grönloh	"Heartbeat"	1	5
5	Frankie Luyten	"Haat me niet"	0	8
6	Patricia Paay	"Jij alleen"	1	5
7	Rob de Nijs	"Zaterdagavondshow"	0	8
8	Linda Ross	"Goodbye My Love"	1	5
9	Dave	"Niets gaat zo snel"	3	3
10	Conny Vink	"De toeteraar"	6	2

Detailed International Jury Votes
Draw	Song																	Total
1	"Zoek het niet te ver"			1		1												2
2	"Als een donderslag"																	0
3	"De troubadour"		1				1	1				1	1				2	7
4	"Heartbeat"																1	1
5	"Haat me niet"																	0
6	"Jij alleen"														1			1
7	"Zaterdagavondshow"																	0
8	"Goodbye My Love"									1								1
9	"Niets gaat zo snel"	1			1											1		3
10	"De toeteraar"								1		1			1			3	6

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Kuhr performed 8th in the running order, following the United Kingdom and preceding Sweden. At the close of voting "De troubadour" had received 18 points, making the Netherlands joint winners of the contest along with France, Spain, and the United Kingdom, as there was no mechanism in place at the time to determine an outright winner if more than one country tied for first place on the scoreboard. This was the Netherlands' third Eurovision victory and brought to an end a dreadful run in which the country had failed to place higher than 10th since 1959.

The Dutch conductor at the contest was Frans de Kok.

The Netherlands later won the right to host the 1970 contest after lots were drawn by two of the four winning nations.

Voting

Each participating broadcaster assembled a jury panel of ten people. Every jury member could give one point to his or her favourite song.

Points awarded to the Netherlands [1] Score Country 6 points   France 4 points    Switzerland 3 points   Italy 2 points   Luxembourg 1 point   Belgium   Monaco   Norway

Points awarded by the Netherlands [1] Score Country 2 points   France   Monaco 1 point   Belgium   Finland   Ireland   Luxembourg   Sweden   United Kingdom

References

1. "Results of the Final of Madrid 1969". Eurovision Song Contest . Retrieved 22 June 2025.