Luxembourg at the Eurovision Song Contest

Balance sheet

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Broadcasting company

First participation

1956

Last participation so far

1993

Number of participations

37 (as of 1993)

Highest ranking

1 ( 1961 , 1965 , 1972 , 1973 , 1983 )

Highest Score

142 (1983)

Lowest Score

0 ( 1970 )

Points average (since first post)

39.53 (as of 1993)

Average points per voting country in the 12-point system

2.55 (as of 1993)

This article deals with the history of Luxembourg as a participant in the Eurovision Song Contest .

Regularity of participation and successes in competition

Luxembourg already took part in the first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest 1956 in Lugano . However, the placement of the event was never announced. Only Switzerland was announced as the winner at the time. In 1957, Luxembourg achieved a good result with 4th place out of 10. In 1958, however, the country was already last when it participated only third. Nevertheless it was a shared last place with the Netherlands . In 1959 the country stayed away from the competition for unknown reasons, but returned the following year.

However, the return in 1960 was not very successful. In the end, the country finished last again, but this time alone. The following year was all the more successful, when Jean-Claude Pascal was able to win the competition and thus achieve Luxembourg's first victory. In 1962, when the competition took place in the country itself, Luxembourg reached 3rd place. In 1963, only 8th place out of 16 was achieved, which was an average placement. In 1964, the Luxembourg contribution reached fourth place again. In 1965, Luxembourg was able to claim its second victory. France Gall was finally able to win the competition with her song Poupée de cire, poupée de son . In 1966 the competition took place again in Luxembourg, but the country only achieved 10th place out of 16. 1967 was more successful again, as Vicky Leandros finally achieved 4th place out of 17. In the following years, however, Luxembourg was no longer so successful. In 1968 and 1969, the country only achieved 11th place, while 1970 even achieved the worst result to date. David Alexandre Winter was therefore last in 1970 and did not receive a single point. Participation in 1971 was also not very successful. The Luxembourg contribution was only 13th out of 18. It was not until 1972 that the country returned to good rankings.

Vicky Leandros, who took 4th place in 1967, even won the competition in 1972 and thus won Luxemburg's third victory. In 1973 the competition took place again in Luxembourg. Here too, Luxembourg ultimately won with Anne-Marie David, with which Luxembourg managed to win the competition in its own country. In addition, this was already Luxembourg's fourth victory in the competition. In 1974, when the country then decided not to host the event, the Luxembourg contribution was able to reach fourth place out of 17th, which again achieved a good result. 1975 was then again achieved a placement among the top five when the singer Géraldine took 5th place. It wasn't until 1976 that the country was no longer so successful. In the end, Jürgen Marcus was only able to achieve 14th place out of 18, which was the worst position for the country since 1970. In 1977 the result was even worse when Anne-Marie B. only came third from last. In 1978, however, a good result was achieved again with place 7 out of 20. In 1979, with 13th place out of 19, only an average result was achieved. In 1981 Jean-Claude Pascal, who won Luxembourg's first victory in 1961, just missed a place in the top ten when he only reached 11th place. In 1982, with 6th place, the best result since 1975 was achieved. In 1983 the country even managed its fifth victory when Corinne Hermès won the competition with 142 points. To date, this represents the highest score the country has ever achieved in the Song Contest. In 1984 in Luxembourg, the country was 10th out of 19 at home. In 1985, however, with 13th place, the same result was achieved as in 1979. Participation in 1986 was all the more successful when the Luxembourg contribution reached third place. In 1987 came the penultimate place and thus the worst result in 17 years. In 1988, however, the singer Lara Fabian was able to achieve a good result for the country again with fourth place. From 1989 onwards, Luxembourg's weakest phase in competition followed.

In 1989, the band Park Café only came third from last. In 1990 it reached 13th place, while in 1991 it reached 14th place, which is two average placements. In 1992, the third from last place in the competition followed again. Modern Times 1993 was also unable to achieve a good result and ended up in 20th place out of 25. Since Luxembourg did not make it into the top 20 in 1993, it had to take a break in 1994. Despite being eligible to participate in 1995, the country did not take part and withdrew from the competition out of disinterest. Since then, the country has not returned to competition. Since then, the reasons given have been the lack of financial resources and the low chances of success.

A total of 18 of the 36 entries ended up in the left half of the table. In addition, the country has come in last three times so far. With five wins, two third places and five fourth places, Luxembourg is still one of the most successful countries in the competition.

List of posts

Color legend: - 1st place. - 2nd place. - 3rd place. - Equal points with last place. - Eliminated in the semifinals / in the qualification / in the Eastern European preliminary decision. - no participation / not qualified.     

year	Interpreter	Title Music (M) and Text (T)	language	translation	final		Semi-final / qualification		National preliminary decision
					space	Points	space	Points
1956	Michèle Arnaud	Les amants de minuit M: Simone Laurencin; T: Jacques Lassry	French	The lovers at midnight	k. A. / 14	k. A.	Direct participation		internal selection
		Ne crois pas M / T: Christian Guitreau	French	Do not think so	k. A. / 14	k. A.
1957	Danièle Dupré	Amours mortes (Tant de peine) M: Jean-Pierre Kemmer; T: Jacques Taber	French	Loved ones who died (So much pain)	4/10	8th			internal selection
1958	Solange Berry	Un grand amour M: Michel Eric; T: Monique Laniece, Raymond Roche	French	A great love	9/10	1			internal selection
1959	No participation
1960	Camillo rims	Sou laang wéi s du do bast M: Henri Moots, Jean Roderes; T: Henri Moots	Luxembourgish	Just Like Heaven	13/13	1	Direct participation		internal selection
1961	Jean-Claude Pascal	Nous les amoureux M: Jacques Datin; T: Maurice Vidalin	French	We, the lovers	1 /16	31			internal selection
1962	Camillo rims	Petit bonhomme M: Jacques Datin; T: Maurice Vidalin	French	Little fellow	3/16	11			internal selection
1963	Nana Mouskouri	À force de prier M: Raymond Bernard ; T: Pierre Delanoë	French	Through persistent prayer	8/16	13			internal selection
1964	Hugues Aufray	Dès que le printemps revient M: Hugues Aufray; T: Jacques Plante	French	As soon as spring comes back	4/16	14th			internal selection
1965	France Gall	Poupée de cire, poupée de son M / T: Serge Gainsbourg	French	Wax doll, wood chip doll	1 /18	32			internal selection
1966	Michèle Torr	Ce soir je t'attendais M: Bernard Kesslair; T: Jacques Chaumelle	French	I waited for you that evening	10/18	7th			internal selection
1967	Vicky Leandros	L'amour est bleu M: André Popp; T: Pierre Cour	French	Love is blue	4/17	17th			internal selection
1968	Chris Baldo & Sophie Garel	Nous vivrons d'amour M: Carlos Leresche; T: Jacques Demarny	French	We will live on love	11/17	5			internal selection
1969	Romuald	Cathérine M: Paul Mauriat, André Borgioli; T: André di Fusco	French	-	11/16	7th			internal selection
1970	David Alexandre Winter	Je suis tombé du ciel M: Yves de Vriendt; T: Eddy Marnay	French	I fell from the sky	12/12	0			internal selection
1971	Monique Melsen	Pomme, pomme, pomme M: Hubert Giraud; T: Pierre Cour	French	Apple, apple, apple	13/18	70			internal selection
1972	Vicky Leandros	Après toi M: Mario Panas, Klaus Munro ; T: Yves Dessca, Klaus Munro	French	After you	1 /18	128			internal selection
1973	Anne-Marie David	Tu te reconnaîtras M: Claude Morgan; T: Vline Buggy	French	You will recognize yourself	1 /17	129			internal selection
1974	Ireen Sheer	Bye Bye I Love You M: Ralph Siegel ; T: Michael Kunze	French a.	Goodbye i love you	4/17	14th			internal selection
1975	Géraldine	Toi M / T: Bill Martin, Phil Coulter, Pierre Cour	French	You	5/19	84			internal selection
1976	Jürgen Marcus	Chansons pour ceux qui s'aiment M: Jack White; T: Fred Jay, Vline Buggy	French	Songs for those who love each other	14/18	17th			National preliminary decision
1977	Anne-Marie B.	Brother Jacques M / T: Pierre Cour, Guy Béart	French	brother Jacob	16/18	17th			internal selection
1978	Baccarat	Parlez-vous français? M: Rolf Soja ; T: Frank Dostal, Péter Zentner	French	Do you speak French?	7/20	73			National preliminary decision
1979	Jeane Manson	J'ai déjà vu ça dans tes yeux M / T: Jean Renard	French	I already saw it in your eyes	13/19	44			internal selection
1980	Sophie & Magaly	Papa pingouin M: Ralph Siegel, Bernd Opinion ; T: Pierre Delanoë, Jean-Paul Cara	French	Papa penguin	9/19	56			internal selection
1981	Jean-Claude Pascal	C'est peut-être pas l'Amérique M / T: Sophie Makhno, Jean-Claude Pascal, Jean-Claude Petit	French	Maybe this is not America	11/20	41			internal selection
1982	Svetlana	Cours après le temps M: Cyril Assous; T: Michel Jouveaux	French	After the passage of time	6/18	78			internal selection
1983	Corinne Hermès	Si la vie est cadeau M: Jean-Pierre Millers; T: Alain Garcia	French	If life is a gift	1 /20	142			internal selection
1984	Sophie Carle	100% d'amour M: Jean-Pierre Goussaud; T: Jean Beriat, Patrick James	French	100% love	10/19	39			internal selection
1985	Margo , Franck Olivier , Diane Solomon , Ireen Sheer , Malcolm Roberts & Chris Roberts	Children, children, enfants M: Ralph Siegel; T: Jean Beriat, Bernd opinion	French b.	Children, children, children	13/19	37			internal selection
1986	Sherisse Laurence	L'amour de ma vie M: Rolf Soja; T: Frank Dostal, Alain Garcia	French	The love of my life	3/20	117			internal selection
1987	Plastic Bertrand	Amour, amour M / T: Plastic Bertrand, Alec Mansion	French	Love love	21/22	4th			internal selection
1988	Lara Fabian	Croire M: Jacques Cardona; T: Alain Garcia	French	Believe	4/21	90			internal selection
1989	Park cafe	Monsieur M: Maggie Parke, guest Waltzing; T: Bernard Loncheval, Yves Lacomblez, Maggie Parke	French	(Sir	20/22	8th			National preliminary decision
1990	Celine Carzo	Quand je te rêve M: Jean-Charles France; T: Thierry Delianis	French	When i dream of you	13/22	38			internal selection
1991	Sarah Bray	Un baiser volé M: Patrick Hippert; T: Mick Wersant, Linda Lecomte	French	A stolen kiss	14/22	29			internal selection
1992	Marion Welter & Continent	Sou fräi M / T: Jang Linster, Ab van Goor	Luxembourgish	So free	21/23	10			National preliminary decision
1993	Modern Times	Donne-moi une chance M / T: Jimmy Martin, Patrick Hippert	French, Luxembourgish	give me a chance	20/25	11			internal selection
1994	Not qualified
since 1995	No participation

^a.with English title

^b.in a few words in English and German

National preliminary decisions

RTL selected the majority of its contributions internally. There was only four national preliminary rounds. In 1976 and 1978 there was a classic preliminary decision with five participants each. In 1989 RTL selected the band Park Café internally, but had their song selected by the audience through televoting. The song Monsieur then won out of three titles . In 1992, RTL also selected Marion Welter internally, but her song was selected in a preliminary decision.

languages

Luxembourg has three official languages: French, Lëtzebuergesch and German, with almost all contributions being sung entirely in French. In 1960 and 1992, the respective songs were sung entirely in Lëtzebuergesch, but with little success. In 1985, Children, Kinder, enfants, as the title suggested, was presented in three languages. In addition to French and a few words in English, German was used for the first time. The last contribution so far from 1993 was presented in French and Lëtzebuergesch.

From the 1960s onwards, almost all contributions were also recorded in other languages; these were mostly German and English, but also often Italian and Spanish. The winning titles of 1965 and 1972 were published in Japanese, the latter also in Greek.

Attendees

Only a few of the Luxembourg representatives came from the Grand Duchy; most of them originally came from France (e.g. 1961, 1965, 1973), Germany (e.g. 1976, 1985), Greece (1963, 1967, 1972) and Belgium (1987). Many of the singers were very successful with other titles before and after their performance, such as Baccara, Vicky Leandros, Jürgen Marcus, Plastic Bertrand, Nana Mouskouri or Lara Fabian.

Commercial success

Some Luxembourg contributions became international hits. The first was probably Poupée de cire, poupée de son from 1965, which was represented in the upper echelons of the charts across Europe. Vicky Leandros had an even greater success a few years later with her winning title Après toi , which was very successful commercially and became the world's best-selling single of 1972. With Parlez-vous français? Baccara had a smaller hit in 1978 and reached the top 10 in Sweden, among others. The fourth winning title, Tu te reconnaîtras, was in the top 10 in some countries. Géraldine was successful in Ireland with the English version of her contribution from 1975, Jürgen Marcus with the German version of his contribution in Germany. Corinne Hermès' contribution was quite successful in France.

Other songs were as cover versions of hits, most notably L'amour est bleu from 1967, that was in the original version, including Germany in the charts, the most successful but had a instrumental version, which won first place in the US - Charts occupied. In 2006, the song Le papa pingouin - 26 years after it was performed at the competition - recorded by Pigloo in a children's song version became a number one hit in France and one of the best-selling singles of the year.

Hosted competitions

year	city	venue	Moderation
1962	Luxembourg	Villa Louvigny	Mireille Delannoy
1966			Josiane Shen
1973		Grand Théâtre	Helga Guitton
1984			Désirée Nosbusch

Scoring

The following countries received the most points from or awarded the most points to Luxembourg (as of 1993):

Most of the points awarded space country Points 1  United Kingdom 174 2  France 121 3  Ireland 116 4th  Switzerland 106 5  Spain 91

Most received points space country Points 1  Portugal 97 2  Ireland 95 3  France 89 4th  United Kingdom 87 5  Finland 83

Award of the highest rating

Since 1975, Luxembourg has awarded the maximum number of points to ten different countries, four of which to the United Kingdom.

Sustaining land
year	country	space
1975	United Kingdom	2
1976	Monaco	3
1977	United Kingdom	2
1978	Israel	1
1979	France	3
1980	Netherlands	5
1981	France	3
1982	United Kingdom	7th
1983	Germany	5
1984	Belgium	5
1985	Italy	7th
1986	Switzerland	2
1987	France	14th
1988	Netherlands	9
1989	United Kingdom	2
1990	Germany	9
1991	Switzerland	5
1992	Malta	3
1993	Switzerland	3
1994	Not qualified
since 1995	No participation

various

• Luxembourg received ten points from Malta in 1992 - the only ones at all for the evening. The following year, Luxembourg again received ten points from Malta, this time out of a total of eleven.
• The only victory after which Luxembourg did not host the competition was 1973; in the case of the other four wins, the competition took place in Luxembourg City the following year . After Dublin and on a par with London, Luxembourg is one of the three cities that hosted the competition the most.
• Luxembourg is currently - besides Morocco's one-time participation in 1980 - the European country whose last participation was the longest ago. Yugoslavia's last participation was in 1992, but it returned to the competition with its successor states.

Impressions

• 

  Solange Berry 1958

• 

  Camillo rims 1962

• 

  David Alexandre Winter 1970

• 

  Jürgen Marcus 1976

• 

  Sophie & Magaly 1980

Web links

• The texts for all Luxembourg contributions (with pictures of the participants)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Anthony Granger: Luxembourg: RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg Rules out Eurovision Return in 2019. In: eurovoix.com. July 21, 2018, accessed July 23, 2018 . 
2. ↑ LUXEMBOURG
3. ↑ [1]
4. ↑ [2]
5. ↑ [3]
6. ↑ 26 years after the contest ... 'Le papa pingouin' first in French charts ( Memento from March 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive )

swell

• Chart surfer
• John Kennedy O'Connor: Eurovision Song Contest - The Official Book of 50 Years of European Pop History , Gondrom 2005
• Jan Feddersen: A song can be a bridge . Hoffmann and Campe 2002.