Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979

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Eurovision Song Contest 1979
CountryFlag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
National selection
Selection processArtist: Internal selection
Song: Nationaal Songfestival 1979
Selection date(s)7 February 1979
Selected entrant Xandra
Selected song"Colorado"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Rob Bolland
  • Ferdi Bolland
  • Gerard Cox
Finals performance
Final result12th, 51 points
Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄197819791980►

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".

Contents

Before Eurovision

Nationaal Songfestival 1979

The final was held at the RAI Congrescentrum in Amsterdam, hosted by Martine Bijl. Five songs took part, all performed by Xandra, with the winner being decided by eleven juries who each had 50 points to distribute between the songs. Ten of the juries consisted of people from various professions (politicians, musical conductors, carnival workers, nurses, chefs, local mayors, media presenters, actors, footballers and firefighters) while the eleventh was made up of members of the Sandra Reemer fan club. [1]

Final – 7 February 1979
DrawSongPointsPlace
1"Lieveling"1092
2"Lila Lavendel"665
3"Intercity"1043
4"Waar ben je heen"684
5"Colorado"2031

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Xandra performed 14th in the running order, following Luxembourg and preceding Sweden. At the close of voting, "Colorado" had received 51 points from 10 countries, placing the Netherlands 12th of the 19 entries. [2] The Dutch jury awarded its 12 points to France. [3]

The Dutch conductor at the contest was Harry van Hoof.

Voting

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurovision Song Contest 1979</span> International song competition

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest</span>

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado (Sandra Reemer song)</span>

"Colorado" was the Dutch entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979, performed in Dutch by the six-piece group Xandra, fronted by Sandra Reemer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandra Reemer</span> Indo-Dutch singer and TV presenter

Barbara Alexandra "Sandra" Reemer was an Indo-Dutch singer and television presenter. She represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest on three occasions, tying with Corry Brokken for most appearances representing the country.

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.

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 Justine Pelmelay, with the song "Blijf zoals je bent", at the 1989 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Lausanne, Switzerland on 13 May. Pelmelay was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 10 March.

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 Maribelle, with the song "Ik hou van jou", at the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Luxembourg City on 5 May. Maribelle was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 14 March. She had previously missed out narrowly in the Dutch selections of 1981.

The Netherlands was represented by Sandra Reemer, with the song "The Party's Over", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague, following Teach-In's victory for the Netherlands the previous year. The song was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 18 February. This was the second of Reemer's three Eurovision appearances for the Netherlands: she had sung in the 1972 contest in a duo with Dries Holten (Andres), and would also take part in the 1979 contest under the name of Xandra.

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 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 Bill van Dijk, with the song "Jij en ik", at the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Harrogate, United Kingdom on 24 April. The song and performer were chosen independently of each other at the Dutch national final on 24 February.

The Netherlands was represented by Linda Williams, with the song "Het is een wonder", at the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Dublin on 4 April. "Het is een wonder" was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 11 March. Previous Dutch entrant Ben Cramer (1973) and future representative Maribelle (1984) were among the acts taking part.

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 Saskia and Serge, with the song "Tijd", at the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in Dublin. The song was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 24 February. Saskia and Serge were selected internally by broadcaster NOS as the 1971 performers; it is widely thought that this was done in response to the 1970 preselection in which the couple's song "Spinnewiel" was placed runner-up by the juries despite being the overwhelming favourite of the Dutch public.

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.

Norway was represented by Anita Skorgan, with the song "Oliver", at the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 31 March in Jerusalem, Israel. "Oliver" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 10 February. This was the second of three Eurovision appearances for Skorgan.

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.

References

  1. ESC National Finals database 1979
  2. "Final of Jerusalem 1979". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  3. ESC History - Netherlands 1979
  4. 1 2 "Results of the Final of Jerusalem 1979". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.