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.
The Netherlands has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 64 times since making its debut as one of the seven countries at the first contest in 1956. The country has missed only four contests, twice because the dates coincided with Remembrance of the Dead, and twice because of being relegated due to poor results the previous year. It has missed the final despite qualifying once, in 2024, due to the personal conduct of its entrant which led to disqualification. The Netherlands has hosted the contest five times: in Hilversum (1958), Amsterdam (1970), The Hague, and Rotterdam (2021).
The Netherlands was represented by Maywood, with the song "Ik wil alles met je delen", at the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Zagreb on 5 May.
The Netherlands was represented by Willeke Alberti, with the song "Waar is de zon", at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Dublin on 30 May. The song was chosen at the Dutch national final on 26 March.
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 duo Maxine and Franklin Brown, with the song "De eerste keer", at the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Oslo on 18 May.
The Netherlands was represented by Marcha, with the song "Rechtop in de wind", at the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Brussels on 9 April. The song was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 25 March.
The Netherlands was represented by Heddy Lester, with the song "De mallemolen", at the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in London on 7 May. Lester was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 2 February.
The Netherlands was represented by the group Harmony, with the song "'t Is OK", at the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Paris on 22 April. Harmony were the winners of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 22 February.
The Netherlands was represented by Xandra, with the song "Colorado", at the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 31 March in Jerusalem. The song was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 7 February. Although it was claimed at the time that Xandra was the name of a six-piece band, in reality it was merely a name adopted by Eurovision veteran Sandra Reemer, who had previously represented the Netherlands in 1972 and 1976. The cover sleeves on the various domestic and international record issues of "Colorado" for example all pictured Reemer on her own without any "band members".
The Netherlands was represented by Bernadette, with the song "Sing Me a Song", at the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Munich on 23 April. Bernadette was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 23 February.
The Netherlands was represented by three-sister group Hearts of Soul, with the song "Waterman", at the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Amsterdam on 21 March. "Waterman" was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 11 February.
The Netherlands was represented by duo Sandra and Andres, with the song "Als het om de liefde gaat", at the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 25 March in Edinburgh. Sandra and Andres, an established act with five previous top 10 hits to their name, were internally selected by broadcaster NOS to be the Dutch representatives and the song was chosen at the national final on 22 February. Sandra.
Germany was represented by the Les Humphries Singers, with the song "Sing Sang Song", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague. "Sing Sang Song" originally placed runner-up in the German national final but became the German entry when the winner, "Der Star" by Tony Marshall, was disqualified.
France was represented by Catherine Ferry, with the song "Un, deux, trois", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague.
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.
Ireland was represented by Red Hurley, with the song "When", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague. "When" was chosen as the Irish entry at the national final on 8 February.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "You and Me" written by Joan Franka and Jessica Hogeboom. The song was performed by Joan Franka. The Dutch broadcaster Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (TROS) organised the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2012 in order to select the Dutch entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Six entries competed in the national final on 26 February 2012 where the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. The first round consisted of three duels and the winner of each duel qualified to the second round. In the second round, "You and Me" performed by Joan Franka was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public vote.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Calm After the Storm", written by Ilse DeLange, JB Meijers, Rob Crosby, Matthew Crosby and Jake Etheridge. The song was performed by the Common Linnets, a duo consisting of DeLange and Waylon, two well-known and popular Dutch artists, and formed by DeLange as a platform for Dutch artists to create country, Americana, and bluegrass music. In November 2013 the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS announced that they had internally selected The Common Linnets to represent the Netherlands at the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark, with their song first presented to the public in March 2014.
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