Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2013) |
| Netherlands | |
|---|---|
| |
| Participating broadcaster | AVROTROS (2014–)[1] |
| Participation summary | |
| Appearances | 57 (47 finals) |
| First appearance | 1956 |
| Highest placement | 1st: 1957, 1959, 1969, 1975 |
| External links | |
| songfestival.nl | |
The Netherlands has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 56 times since making its debut as one of the seven countries competing in the very first contest in 1956. It has missed only four contests so far (1985, 1991, 1995 and 2002). The preselection process was often done through the Nationaal Songfestival, with the winner qualifying to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest. The Netherlands has won the contest four times.
With four victories, the Netherlands ranks in the top 10 most successful Eurovision countries. The country's first two victories came in the 1950s, with Corry Brokken in 1957 and Teddy Scholten in 1959. The 1960s was a mostly unsuccessful decade for the country, the exception was in 1969, when Lenny Kuhr won a third title for the Dutch with "De Troubadour", winning in a four-way tie with France, Spain and the UK. Sandra & Andres finished fourth in 1972 and Mouth & MacNeal were third in 1974, before Teach-In achieved the Netherlands fourth victory in 1975 with Ding-A-Dong. The Netherlands best result of the 1980s was fifth, achieved by both Maggie MacNeal (of Mouth & MacNeal) in 1980 and Marcha in 1987. In the 1990s, Ruth Jacott, with sixth place in 1993 and Edsilia Rombley, with fourth in 1998, achieved the Netherlands best results of the decade. The Netherlands have finished last in the contest final on four occasions, in 1958, 1962, 1963 and 1968. They also finished last in the semi-final in 2011.
Since the semi-finals were introduced in 2004, the Netherlands has reached the final on only three occasions, failing to reach the final for eight years in a row, from 2005–2012. Opting for an internal selection has fared well for the Netherlands since 2013, when Anouk became the first Dutch entry in nine years to qualify for the final, where she finished ninth. In 2014, another internal selection proved to be a success, when country duo The Common Linnets, made up of members Ilse DeLange and Waylon, became the Netherlands' most successful entry since 1975, placing second behind Conchita Wurst of Austria.
The Netherlands has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest four times: in 1958, 1970, 1976 and 1980. The first three times were after winning the previous year, while the 1980 contest was staged in the Netherlands, after Israel (who had won in 1979) declined to organise the event for a second consecutive year. Similarly, the Netherlands had declined the right to organise the 1960 contest, as they had hosted the event just two years previously.
Non-participations
The Netherlands has missed only four contests in its Eurovision history. The first of these was at the 1985 contest, held in Gothenburg, Sweden. The contest, held on 4 May conflicted with the Dutch Remembrance of the Dead and as such the Netherlands withdrew.[3]
In 1991 the contest was again held on 4 May, and so the Netherlands withdrew for the same reason as six years earlier.[4]
There was no Dutch participation in the 1995 and 2002 contests, due to relegation as a result of the country's poor showings in the previous year.
The Netherlands did compete in 2000. But at 22:00 (UTC+2) on Saturday 13 May, the broadcast was cancelled because of the Enschede fireworks disaster which happened a few hours before.[5] The points awarded by the Netherlands were taken from the back-up jury vote, as there was no televote after the program was cut short.
Contestants
- Table key
NOTE: The full results for the first contest are unknown, only the winner was announced. The official Eurovision site lists all the other songs as being placed second.
Voting history
As of 2015, Netherlands' voting history is as follows:
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Hostings
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Hilversum | AVRO Studio | Hannie Lips |
| 1970 | Amsterdam | Congrescentrum | Willy Dobbe |
| 1976 | The Hague | Congresgebouw | Corry Brokken |
| 1980 | Marlous Fluitsma |
Marcel Bezençon Awards
Artistic Award
Voted by previous winners
| Year | Performer | Song | Final Result | Points | Host city |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Esther Hart | "One More Night" | 13th | 45 | Riga |
Voted by commentators
| Year | Performer | Song | Final Result | Points | Host city |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The Common Linnets | "Calm After the Storm" | 2nd | 238 | Copenhagen |
Composer Award
| Year | Song | Composer(s) Lyrics (l) / Music (m) |
Performer | Final Result |
Points | Host city |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "Calm After the Storm" | Ilse DeLange, JB Meijers, Rob Crosby, Matthew Crosby, Jake Etheridge | The Common Linnets | 2nd | 238 | Copenhagen |
Commentators
Over the years NOS/TROS commentary has been provided by several experienced radio and television presenters, including Willem Duys, Ivo Niehe, Pim Jacobs, Ati Dijckmeester and Paul de Leeuw. Willem van Beusekom provided NOS TV commentary every year from 1987 until 2005.[8] However, on November 7, 2005 it was announced that Van Beusekom would quit his role as Dutch commentator saying "It's good to step back".[9] He was replaced by his co-commentator Cornald Maas who commentated on the contest from 2004 until 2010.
On June 29, 2010 Maas was sacked as commentator after putting insults on Twitter about Sieneke, Joran van der Sloot and the Party for Freedom (PVV).[10] After this, DJ Daniël Dekker, who had been commentating next to Maas, took over together with Jan Smit. In 2014, Maas returned, now himself replacing Dekker, as commentator together with Smit.
Photogallery
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Corry Brokken at Hilversum (1958) -
Conny Vandenbos at Naples (1965) -
Edsilia Rombley at Helsinki (2007) -
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The Common Linnets at Copenhagen (2014) -
Trijntje Oosterhuis at Vienna (2015) -
Sandra Reemer with the outfit she wore in 1979 -
The 1958 Eurovision scoreboard
See also
References
- ^ "AVRO en TROS worden samen AvroTros". nu.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 May 2013.
- ^ a b van Tongeren, Mario (2009-01-25). "NOS quits Eurovision, Dutch participation goes on". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ History - Eurovision Song Contest 1985 Eurovision.tv
- ^ History - Eurovision Song Contest 1991 Eurovision.tv
- ^ http://www.vandaagindemuziek.nl/26_eurovisie_2000.htm
- ^ a b Barclay, Simon (June 17, 2010). The Complete and Independent Guide to the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. Silverthorn Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-4457-8415-1.
- ^ Spain originally gave its 12 points to Israel and 10 to Norway. After the broadcast it was announced that Spanish broadcaster wrongly tallied the votes and Germany should have got the top mark - 12 points - instead of being snubbed, as it happened. The mistake was corrected and so Germany was placed 7th over Norway. Israel and Norway both received 2 points less than originally and Croatia, Malta, Portugal, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Estonia and Turkey all received one point less than indicated during the broadcast.
- ^ Dutch Commentators through the years
- ^ Van Beusekom quits Eurovision role
- ^ Maas get the sack
External links
- Points to and from the Netherlands eurovisioncovers.co.uk
