Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977

Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977
Eurovision Song Contest 1977
Participating broadcaster	Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS)
Country	Netherlands
Selection process	Nationaal Songfestival 1977
Selection date	2 February 1977
Competing entry
Song	"De mallemolen"
Artist	Heddy Lester
Songwriters	Frank Affolter Wim Hogenkamp
Placement
Final result	12th, 35 points
Participation chronology
◄1976 • 1977 • 1978►

The Netherlands was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 with the song "De mallemolen", composed by Frank Affolter, with lyrics by Wim Hogenkamp, and performed by Heddy Lester. The Dutch participating broadcaster, Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), selected its entry through a national final.

Before Eurovision

Nationaal Songfestival 1977

National winner Heddy Lester

The final was held at the Congresgebouw in The Hague, hosted by Ati Dijckmeester. Ten songs took part and voting was by eleven "celebrity" juries of nine people based in each Dutch province. Each juror awarded one point to his/her favourite song, with 99 points available in total. "De mallemolen" emerged the winner by a 5-point margin.

Final – 2 February 1977

Draw	Artist	Song	Points	Place
1	Oscar Harris	"Superster"	5	6
2	Heddy Lester	"De mallemolen"	28	1
3	Arjan Brass	"Annabelle"	4	9
4	Bonnie St. Claire	"Stop Me"	23	2
5	Rita Hovink	"Toen kwam jij"	2	10
6	Air Bubble	"Jany"	5	6
7	Peter Cook	"Pinokkio"	8	4
8	Loeki Knol	"Ik wil de wereld laten zien dat ik kan dansen"	5	6
9	Dick Rienstra	"Jouw lach"	6	5
10	Maggie MacNeal	"Jij alleen"	13	3

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Lester performed 3rd in the running order, following Monaco and preceding Austria. "De mallemolen" had been one of the front-runners in pre-contest betting, but at the close of voting had managed to muster only 35 points, placing the Netherlands 12th of the 18 entries. ^[1] The Dutch jury awarded its 12 points to Belgium. ^[2]

The Dutch conductor at the contest was Harry van Hoof.^{[ citation needed ]}

Because the normal jury made up of members of the public did not show up on the day of the final for unknown reasons, a jury made up of music and entertainment professionals was brought in at the last minute. These people were Martine Bijl  [ nl ], Tony Nolte, Mieke Telkamp, Eddy Becker  [ nl ], Leo Janssen, Hans Vermeulen  [ nl ], Rien van Wijk  [ nl ], Caroline van Hemert  [ nl ], and Hans van Hemert. ^[3]

Voting

Points awarded to the Netherlands [2] Score Country 12 points 10 points   Belgium 8 points   France 7 points    Switzerland 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points   Ireland   Monaco 2 points 1 point   Greece   Israel   Spain   United Kingdom

Points awarded by the Netherlands [2] Score Country 12 points   Belgium 10 points   Greece 8 points   France 7 points   United Kingdom 6 points   Spain 5 points   Israel 4 points   Finland 3 points   Germany 2 points   Portugal 1 point   Ireland

References

1. "Final of London 1977". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
2. "Results of the Final of London 1977". Eurovision Song Contest . Retrieved 22 June 2025.
3. "Publieksjury kwam niet op Songfestival". Leeuwarder courant: hoofdblad van Friesland. 10 May 1977. Retrieved 26 June 2023.