Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest
| Denmark | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Member station | DR |
| National selection events | Dansk Melodi Grand Prix |
| Appearances | |
| Appearances | 42 (40 finals) |
| First appearance | 1957 |
| Best result | 1st: 1963, 2000, 2013 |
| Worst result | Last: 2002 |
| External links | |
| DR page | |
| Denmark's page at Eurovision.tv | |
Denmark has competed in the Eurovision Song Contest from 1957 to 1966 and from 1978 to the present day and has a good record, finishing in the top three six times and winning on three of those occasions. In 1963 they won the contest for the first time with the song "Dansevise", performed by Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann. From 1967 until 1977, Denmark didn't participate in the contest.
Denmark enjoyed mixed success in the 1980s. In 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989, the nation performed well. However in 1982 and 1983 it received some of its worst placings ever. The 1990s were mostly bad for Denmark. Due to poor performances in the previous years, the nation was eliminated from taking part in three contests (1994, 1996, 1998), and when present it mostly scored poorly, with the exceptions of 1990, 1995 and 1999.
The second Danish victory came in 2000, with the Olsen Brothers defying the odds (they were considerably older than their competitors and only one male duo had won before) to win with "Fly on the Wings of Love". Its lowest score ever, was in 1962 with only 2 points, but they lowest score since 1975 (1978) is just 5 points in 1982. Denmark's average score is 65.261 points.
The most recent victory came in 2013 with Only Teardrops performed by Emmelie de Forest. The song came to be Denmark's highest scoring song ever with 281 points. With this victory, they became the first country to achieve two wins in the contest in the 21st century. Denmark now earns the right to stage the next contest, the 59th, in 2014.
In 2005, Copenhagen hosted Congratulations, the 50th Anniversary special of the Contest.
The Danish qualifying preliminary contest for the Eurovision Song Contest is the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix.
Contents |
History [edit]
Denmark's debut [edit]
Denmark first participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 1957, held in Frankfurt, Germany. They had wanted to compete at the first contest in 1956, but had submitted their application past the deadline, and did not compete. Denmark was the first Nordic country to participate at the contest, with Sweden, Norway and Finland following soon after. (Iceland, however, did not take part until 1986).
Denmark's first participants were Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler, with the song "Skibet skal sejle i nat" (English: The Ship Is Leaving Tonight). Their performance was controversial as, at the end of the song, the couple performed an 11-second kiss, that caused outcry in some countries. Nevertheless, the performance achieved a respectable 3rd place.
Its first victory [edit]
Denmark won Eurovision for the first time in 1963, when Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann sang "Dansevise" (Dance Ballad).
However controversy arose again for Denmark. After Norway announced the votes, Katie Boyle, the host, said that she could not hear them and would go back to them later. However everyone else did hear them, and when Boyle went back to Norway again the votes had been changed, thus changing the outcome of the contest and giving the victory to Denmark at Switzerland's expense. In fact, the reason why Norway had to announce their votes again was that the Norwegian spokesperson didn't use the right procedure the first time and therefore there was doubt whether he gave the correct votes on the first occasion.
However, the votes still stood and the victory went to Denmark. The contest was therefore held in Denmark for the first time, in 1964 after their victory.
Absence and return [edit]
After the 1966 contest and a record low of 14th place, Denmark withdrew from the contest indefinitely. DR did not view the contest as being quality entertainment. Dansk MGP was not held from that year onwards as well.
However, in the 1978 contest, after 12 years, Denmark returned to the contest sending Mabel with the song "Boom Boom". Dansk MGP returned as well, and Denmark continues to participate to this day.
Success [edit]
Denmark's most successful time at the contest was between 1984 and 1990. During this time they achieved 4 top-five places, with 2 of them being 3rd. The duo of Kirsten Siggard and Søren Bundgaard represented the nation three times during this period, under the name "Hot Eyes". In 1984 they sang the song "Det' lige det" (That's Just It) and came in at 4th place. In 1985 they won Dansk MGP for a second time, becoming the only act to win twice in a row. They sang "Sku' du spørg' fra no'en?" (What Business Is It Of Yours?), but could not repreat their success of the previous year, and came 11th.
Hot Eyes again won Dansk MGP in 1988 with "Ka' du se hva' jeg sa'?" (Don't You See That's What I Told You?), and competed for Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 in Dublin, Ireland. At Dublin they managed to improve upon their previous placing and came in at 3rd place, losing only to Celine Dion and Scott Fitzgerald.
Denmark's fall [edit]
After 1989 Denmark fell from their high positions of the 1980s, and was relegated from the contest on three occasions in the 1990s. In 1993 Tommy Seebach, who had previously represented Denmark in 1979 and 1981, could only manage a 22nd placing, with Denmark being relegated from the contest in 1994. Aud Wilken sang for the nation at the 1995 contest with "Fra Mols til Skagen" (From Mols to Skagen) and came 5th, but this high placing could not be repeated in 1996, as they couldn't even come out of the pre-selection process of the contest.
Victory for Denmark [edit]
With another bad placing in 1997, they were forced again to skip the 1998 contest. The abolition of the language rule, where a country could only sing in their official languages, in 1999 brought a return to success for Denmark, when Michael Teschl and Trine Jepsen came 8th with "This Time I Mean It".
Denmark won the contest again in 2000, when brothers Jørgen and Niels Olsen came from nowhere and stole the title for Denmark, with "Fly on the Wings of Love". The song went on to enjoy huge success around Europe.
At the 2001 contest, held in Copenhagen, Rollo & King came second with the song "Never Ever Let You Go". However they slipped in the 2002 when, despite being a favourite to win the contest, Malene Mortensen came last for the first time with "Tell Me Who You Are". Denmark were thus relegated from the 2003 contest.
Since the introduction of semifinals in 2004 Denmark has qualified for the final 8 out of 10 times. In 2010 they came fourth with "In a moment like this" performed by Chanée and N'evergreen and in 2011 fifth with "New tomorrow" performed by the band A Friend In London.
In 2013, Denmark won for the third time with Emmelie de Forest's "Only Teardrops".
Contestants [edit]
- In 1996 Denmark failed to qualify for the contest. There was an audio only pre-qualification round for all countries (excluding hosts Norway). The Danish entrant that year would have been Dorthe Andersen and Martin Loft with "Kun med dig". The official Eurovision site does not count 1996 in Denmark's total list of appearances.
- XX on the semi-finals denotes auto-qualification. This could be the result of one of the following two reasons; if a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. The other reason being that back in 2004-2007, the top ten countries who were not members of the big four did not have to compete in the semi finals the following year. If, for example, Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the countries who placed 11th and 12th were advanced to the following year's grand final along with the rest of the top ten countries.
- XX on the finals denotes an unsuccessful attempt at qualifying to the final.
Voting history (1976-2030) [edit]
Denmark has given the most points to...
| Rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sweden |
240 |
| 2 |  Germany |
159 |
| 3 |  Ireland |
132 |
| 3 |  United Kingdom |
128 |
| 5 |  Norway |
115 |
Denmark has received the most points from...
| Rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway |
177 |
| 2 |  Iceland |
171 |
| 3 | Sweden |
164 |
| 4 | Ireland |
137 |
| 5 | United Kingdom |
123 |
NOTE: The totals in the above tables include only points awarded in Eurovision finals, and not the semi-finals since 2004.
Since introducing the semi-finals in 2004 until 2013 [edit]
Denmark has given the most points to...
| Rank | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden |
103 |
| 2 | Iceland |
71 |
| 3 |  Turkey |
60 |
| 4 | Norway |
59 |
| 5 | Germany |
45 |
| 6 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
40 |
| Ireland |
40 | |
| 7 |  Finland |
39 |
| 8 |  Netherlands |
33 |
| 9 |  Romania |
28 |
 Russia |
28 | |
 Ukraine |
28 |
Denmark has received the most points from...
| Rank | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iceland |
98 |
| 2 | Sweden |
77 |
| 3 | Norway |
76 |
| 4 | Ireland |
68 |
| 5 |  Latvia |
51 |
 Estonia |
51 | |
| 6 | Netherlands |
48 |
| 7 |  Slovenia |
42 |
| 8 |  Malta |
41 |
| 9 |  Hungary |
40 |
NOTE: The tables with points from 2004 include points awarded in both finals and semi-finals where the highest point from the final/semi-final is picked.
Hostings [edit]
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 |  Copenhagen |
Tivolis Koncertsal | Lotte Wæver |
| 2001 | Copenhagen |
Parken Stadium | Natasja Crone Back and Søren Pilmark |
| 2014 | (to be confirmed) |
(to be confirmed) | (to be confirmed) |
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest [edit]
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Copenhagen |
Forum Copenhagen | Katrina Leskanich and Renārs Kaupers |
Winner by OGAE members [edit]
| Year | Song | Performer | Final Result | Points | Host city |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "In a Moment Like This" | Chanée and N'evergreen | 4th | 149 | Oslo |
| 2013 | "Only Teardrops" | Emmelie de Forest | 1st | 281 | Malmö |
Commentators and spokespersons [edit]
 |
This section does not cite any references or sources. (March 2012) |
| Year(s) | Commentator | Spokesperson |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Gunnar "Nu" Hansen | Denmark did not participate |
| 1957 | Unknown | |
| 1958 | ||
| 1959 | Viggo Clausen | |
| 1960 | ||
| 1961 | ||
| 1962 | ||
| 1963 | ||
| 1964 | ||
| 1965 | Claus Toksvig | |
| 1966 | Eric Danielsen | |
| 1967 | No television broadcast | Denmark did not participate |
| 1968 | ||
| 1969 | ||
| 1970 | ||
| 1971 | ||
| 1972 | ||
| 1973 | ||
| 1974 | Claus Toksvig | |
| 1975 | ||
| 1976 | ||
| 1977 | ||
| 1978 | Jørgen de Mylius | Bent Henius |
| 1979 | ||
| 1980 | ||
| 1981 | ||
| 1982 | Hans Otto Bisgaard | |
| 1983 | Bent Henius | |
| 1984 | ||
| 1985 | ||
| 1986 | ||
| 1987 | ||
| 1988 | ||
| 1989 | ||
| 1990 | ||
| 1991 | Camilla Miehe-Renard | |
| 1992 | Jørgen de Mylius | |
| 1993 | ||
| 1994 | Denmark did not participate | |
| 1995 | Bent Henius | |
| 1996 | Denmark did not participate | |
| 1997 | Bent Henius | |
| 1998 | Denmark did not participate | |
| 1999 | Keld Heick | Kirsten Siggaard |
| 2000 | Michael Teschl | |
| 2001 | Hans Otto Bisgaard | Gry Johansen |
| 2002 | Keld Heick | Signe Svendsen |
| 2003 | Jørgen de Mylius | Denmark did not participate |
| 2004 | Camilla Ottesen | |
| 2005 | Gry Johansen | |
| 2006 | Mads Vangsø and Adam Duvå Hall | Jørgen de Mylius |
| 2007 | Søren Nystrøm Rasted and Adam Duvå Hall | Susanne Georgi |
| 2008 | Nicolaj Molbech | Maria Montell |
| 2009 | Felix Smith | |
| 2010 | Bryan Rice | |
| 2011 | Ole Tøpholm | Lise Rønne |
| 2012 | Louise Wolff | |
| 2013 | Sofie Lassen-Kahlke | |
| 2014 | TBA | TBA |
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest [edit]
| Artist | Title | Place | Points | Year | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olsen Brothers | "Fly on the Wings of Love" | 6 | 111 | 2000 | 1 | 195 |
See also [edit]
References [edit]
25 mai 2013
External links [edit]
- Points to and from Denmark eurovisioncovers.co.uk
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