Eurovision Song Contest 1983
| Eurovision Song Contest 1983 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dates | |
| Final | 23 April 1983 |
| Host | |
| Venue | Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle, Munich, West Germany |
| Presenter(s) | Marlene Charell |
| Musical director | Dieter Reith |
| Directed by | Rainer Bertram |
| Host broadcaster |  ARD |
| Website | eurovision |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 20 |
| Debuting countries | None |
| Returning countries |  France Greece Italy |
| Non-returning countries |  Ireland |
| Vote | |
| Voting system | Each country awarded 12, 10, 8-1 points to their 10 favourite songs |
| Winning song |  Luxembourg"Si la vie est cadeau" |
The Eurovision Song Contest 1983, the 28th in the series, was held in Munich, then West Germany, on 23 April 1983. The presenter was Marlene Charell, who delivered her introductions in German, English and French. Corinne Hermes was the winner of this Eurovision with the song, "Si la vie est cadeau". This was Luxembourg's fifth victory in the contest which equalled the record set by France in 1977.
The set that year was rather peculiar, with a quite small, arc-shaped stage surrounding the orchestra section, and a large background resembling giant electric heaters, which lit up in different sequences and combinations depending on the nature and rhythm of the songs.
This year's contest was the first to be televised live to Australia, over the SBS, although that country has never actually participated. Nevertheless, previous winners ABBA and Bucks Fizz had been successful in Australia, to which many Europeans had emigrated.
Voting
Toward the end of the voting, it became evident that Luxembourg was going to win, but early on, Germany, Sweden, and Yugoslavia all threatened to take Luxembourg's lead, which they earned halfway through the jury vote. At one point, murmurs and boos arose from the crowd at the Greek jury's decision to give host country Germany only one point; at another point, most of the other teams applauded the Dutch jury's choice to give Luxembourg only one point, causing host Marlene Charell to chuckle nervously at the crowd reaction.
Language troubles
Due to Charell's choice to announce points in three languages instead of the traditional two, the voting went on for nearly an hour, stretching the Eurovision contest past three hours for the first time ever.[1] In addition, Charell made 13 language mistakes throughout the voting,[1] some as innocuous as mixing up the words for "points" between the three languages, some as major as nearly awarding points to "Schweden" (Sweden) that were meant for "Schweiz" (Switzerland).
The language problems also occurred during the contest introductions, as Charell introduced Norwegian conductor Sigurd Jansen as "...Johannes...Skorgan...",[2] having been forced to make up a name on the spot as she could not pronounce "Sigurd."
Song success
Ofra Haza from Israel, who took the second place, had an enduring success with her song "Chai" which became a hit in Europe, launching her career. This year also marked the first performance of Sweden's Carola Häggkvist, who took the third place and went on to win the contest in 1991 and represented her country again in 2006 (coming fifth). Her song, "Främling", became very popular in Sweden and in various other European countries. In the Netherlands, the song reached the top five, coupled with a Dutch language version ("Je ogen hebben geen geheimen") which was performed by Carola herself. The 4th placed "Džuli", also became a mega hit in Europe. Singer Daniel released an English language version as "Julie".
Nul points
This year's nul points were shared by Spain and Turkey. Spain's Remedios Amaya presented a song which was a stark departure from pop tastes and conventional perception of melody and harmony as it was a flamenco one, a style traditionally tied with the international image of Spain. Some olés were heard from the present audience when she ended her performance. Turkey's entry, Opera, performed by Çetin Alp & the Short Waves, could on the other hand be said to fit in well with the spirit of Eurovision of that time. Nevertheless, the overinterpretation of the theme of the song, as well as the fact that the lyrics of the song consisted for the most part of the often-repeated word "opera" and names of well-known operas and composers, and Çetin's breaking into operatic "lay lay la", prompted extensive derision of the song, including the usual sardonic words from BBC commentator Terry Wogan ("a nicely understated performance there").
Interval act
The interval show was a dance number set to a medley of German songs which had become internationally famous, including Strangers in the Night. The host, Marlene Charell, was the lead dancer.
Individual entries
Template:1983 Eurovision Song Contest entries
Results
Voting structure
Each country had a jury who awarded 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 points for their top ten songs.
Score sheet
| Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
|
France | 56 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| Norway | 53 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 2 | ||||||||||
| United Kingdom | 79 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 6 | |||||||
| Sweden | 126 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 5 | |||
| Italy | 41 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 7 | |||||||||||
| Turkey | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Spain | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Switzerland | 28 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||||||||
| Finland | 41 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Greece | 32 | 3 | 12 | 5 | 12 | |||||||||||||||||
| Netherlands | 66 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | |||||
| Yugoslavia | 125 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 8 | ||||||
| Cyprus | 26 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Germany | 94 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 12 | |||||||
| Denmark | 16 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Israel | 136 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 10 | ||||
| Portugal | 33 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 7 | |||||||||||||
| Austria | 53 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 3 | |||||||||
| Belgium | 13 | 4 | 8 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Luxembourg | 142 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 8 | ||||
12 points
Below is a summary of all 12 points in the final:
| N. | Recipient nation | Voting nation |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Luxembourg | France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Yugoslavia |
| 5 | Yugoslavia | Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Turkey, United Kingdom |
| 2 | Greece | Cyprus, Spain |
| Israel | Austria, Netherlands | |
| Sweden | Germany, Norway | |
| 1 | Germany | Luxembourg |
| Netherlands | Switzerland | |
| United Kingdom | Sweden |
Returning artists
| Artist | Country | Previous year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Guy Bonnet | France
|
1970 |
| Jahn Teigen |  Norway
|
1978, 1982 |
Commentators
- France - Léon Zitrone
- Norway - Ivar Dyrhaug
- United Kingdom - Terry Wogan (also provided commentary for viewers in Ireland via RTÉ & Australia via SBS)
- Sweden - Ulf Elfving
- Italy - Paolo Frajese
- Turkey - TBD
- Spain - José Miguel Ullán
- Switzerland - Theodor Haller (DRS), Georges Hardy (SSR), Giovanni Bertini (TSI)
- Finland - Erkki Pohjanheimo
- Greece - Mako Georgiadou
- Netherlands - Willem Duys
- Yugoslavia - No commentator
- Cyprus - Fryni Papadopoulou
- Germany - Ado Schlier
- Denmark - Jørgen de Mylius
- Israel - No commentator
- Portugal - Eládio Clímaco
- Austria - Ernst Grissemann
- Belgium - Luc Appermont (BRT), Jacques Mercier (RTBF)
- Luxembourg - Valérie Sarn
Spokespersons
- France - Marie Myriam
- Norway - Egil Teige
- United Kingdom - Colin Berry
- Sweden - Agneta Bolme-Börjefors
- Italy - TBC
- Turkey - Fatih Orbay
- Spain - Rosa Campano
- Switzerland - Michel Dénériaz
- Finland - Solveig Herlin
- Greece - TBC
- Netherlands - Flip van der Schalie
- Yugoslavia - TBC
- Cyprus - Aliki Fereou
- Germany - Carolin Reiber
- Denmark - Bent Henius
- Israel - Yitzhak Shim'oni
- Portugal - Nicolau Breyner
- Austria - Tilia Herold
- Belgium - Monique Delvaux
- Luxembourg - Jean Octave
References
- ^ a b Eurovision 1983 facts
- ^ Boom-Bang-a-Bang: Eurovision's Funniest Moments, BBC-TV, hosted by Terry Wogan
