Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest
Luxembourg has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 37 times since making its debut at the first contest in 1956. Between 1956 and 1993, Luxembourg missed only the 1959 contest. Luxembourg has not participated in the contest since its last participation in 1993. Luxembourg has won the contest five times. Only Ireland (seven) and Sweden (six) have more wins.
| Luxembourg | |
|---|---|
| |
| Member station | RTL |
| National selection events | Internal Selection
National final
|
| Participation summary | |
| Appearances | 37 |
| First appearance | 1956 |
| Last appearance | 1993 |
| Best result | 1st: 1961, 1965, 1972, 1973, 1983 |
| Worst result | Last: 1958, 1960, 1970 |
| Nul points | 1970 |
| External links | |
| Luxembourg's page at Eurovision.tv | |
 For the most recent participation seeLuxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993 | |
Luxembourg's first victory was in 1961 when Jean-Claude Pascal won with "Nous les amoureux". France Gall then won in 1965 with "Poupée de cire, poupée de son". Luxembourg achieved back-to-back victories in the early 1970s, with Vicky Leandros winning with "Après toi" in 1972 and Anne-Marie David with "Tu te reconnaîtras" in 1973. Luxembourg's fifth victory was in 1983, when Corinne Hermes won with "Si la vie est cadeau". Luxembourg then struggled to make an impact over the next decade, only reaching the top ten twice, with Sherisse Laurence third (1986) and Lara Fabian fourth (1988). Since being relegated from taking part in 1994, the country withdrew from the contest indefinitely.
In 2014, Luxembourg's Minister of Culture, Maggy Nagel, expressed her desire for the country to return to the contest.[1][2][3] This was later explained as a "misunderstanding".[4] A collaboration with San Marino (SMRTV) was proposed,[5][6] but it was later announced that the project would not move forward due to funding problems.[7]
Recent history
In 2004, RTL were to return to Eurovision after an absence of 11 years.[8] However, after monetary issues, Luxembourg withdrew.[9][10] Strong rumours indicated that RTL would participate at the 2005 contest.[11] However, RTL later decided against it, and said that they would "never" return.[12] In 2008, RTL later reiterated their lack of interest in returning to the contest.[13][14]
OGAE Luxembourg
In recent years the Luxembourg branch of OGAE has been campaigning for Luxembourg to return to the contest. The 2008 convention held by the organization, featuring Luxembourgish entrants Corinne Hermès and Marion Welter, as well as the Portuguese entrant of the 2008 contest Vânia Fernandes, received major media attention within the country, with RTL reporting twice on the event, and were present to interview Hermès.[15][16]
Chances of returning
It has been suggested that RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg's public service remit, which contains a strong focus on delivering Luxembourgish news and information content to the Luxembourgish television audience, as well as RTL's status as a publicly traded company, present significant obstacles for the country's return to the ESC.[17]
RTL Group, however, is still a member of the EBU,[18] which is a requirement for entering the ESC.
It was announced in September 2009 that RTL was in serious considerations regarding returning to the contest in 2010. However, they would have had to secure fees regarding participation and the artist's expenses.[19] Although it was rumoured that Luxembourg would return in the 2012 edition of the contest, RTL has announced that no such intentions exist at present.[20]
On 31 July 2014, RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg confirmed that Luxembourg would not be returning to the contest in 2015.[21] It was reported on 26 October 2014 that the country's Minister of Culture, Maggy Nagel, expressed her desire for the country to return to the contest.[2][3] This was later confirmed by Nagel to be a "misunderstanding" and that the country would not be returning.[4] A collaboration with San Marino has been proposed by the broadcaster SMRTV and singer Thierry Mersch,[5] but later SMRTV clarified that there have only been talks between the two countries and that the broadcaster is evaluating other proposals.[6] However, on 24 November 2014, it was announced that Mersch had failed to raise the necessary funds in time for the project to move forward.[7]
On 21 June 2016, the Petitions Committee of the Government of Luxembourg received five petitions on various matters in relation to the Grand Duchy. One of which was for Luxembourg to return to the Eurovision Song Contest. The Luxembourg Government will therefore hold a debate to discuss the proposals set out on the petition, and the possible return of the country to the contest.[22] Nevertheless, RTL reiterated its intention not to participate on 22 August.[23]
Absences
Between 1956 and 1993 Luxembourg was only absent from the Contest once, in 1959. However, in 1993 Luxembourg was relegated from taking part in the 1994 Contest, and has yet to return.
Contestants
Due to the country's small size and the national broadcaster's penchant for internal selection, most of Luxembourg's entrants came from outside the Grand Duchy, mainly from France. Solange Berry, Plastic Bertrand and Lara Fabian were from Belgium, Nana Mouskouri and Vicky Leandros from Greece, David Alexandre Winter and Margo from the Netherlands, Ireen Sheer and Malcolm Roberts from the United Kingdom, Geraldine from Ireland, Jürgen Marcus and Chris Roberts from Germany, Baccara from Spain, Jeane Manson, Maggie Parke and Diane Solomon from the United States and Sherisse Laurence from Canada. All five of the winning artists from Luxembourg were foreign, four were French and one was Greek. Out of 38 entries in total and even more performers, only the following nine were native to Luxembourg: Camillo Felgen, Chris Baldo, Monique Melsen, Sophie Carle, Franck Olivier, Park Café, Sarah Bray, Marion Welter and Modern Times.
1 |
Winner |
2 |
Second place |
3 |
Third place |
◁ |
Last place |
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
| Artist | Language | Title | At Congratulations | At Eurovision | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final | Points | Semi | Points | Year | Place | Points | |||
| France Gall | French | "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" | Failed to qualify | 14 ◁ | 37 | 1965 | 1 | 32 | |
Hostings
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Luxembourg | Villa Louvigny | Mireille Delannoy |
| 1966 | Josiane Chen | ||
| 1973 | Nouveau Théâtre Luxembourg | Helga Guitton | |
| 1984 | Théâtre Municipal | Désirée Nosbusch |
Conductors
| Year | Conductor | Musical Director | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 |  Jacques Lasry |
N/A | [24] | |
| 1957 |  Willy Berking |
Host conductor | ||
| 1958 |  Dolf van der Linden | |||
| 1960 |  Eric Robinson | |||
| 1961 |  Léo Chauliac |
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| 1962 | Jean Roderes | [lower-alpha 2] | ||
| 1963 | Eric Robinson |
N/A | Host conductor | |
| 1964 | Jacques Denjean |
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| 1965 | Alain Goraguer |
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| 1966 | Jean Roderes | [lower-alpha 3] | ||
| 1967 | Claude Denjean |
N/A | ||
| 1968 | André Borly |
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| 1969 |  Augusto Algueró |
Host conductor | ||
| 1970 | Raymond Lefèvre |
[25] | ||
| 1971 | Jean Claudric |
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| 1972 | Klaus Munro |
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| 1973 | Pierre Cao | |||
| 1974 | Charles Blackwell |
N/A | ||
| 1975 | Phil Coulter |
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| 1976 | Jo Plée |
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| 1977 | Johnny Arthey |
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| 1978 | Rolf Soja |
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| 1979 | Hervé Roy |
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| 1980 |  Norbert Daum |
[26] | ||
| 1981 | Joël Rocher |
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| 1982 | Jean Claudric |
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| 1983 | Michel Bernholc |
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| 1984 | Pascal Stive |
Pierre Cao | [lower-alpha 4] | |
| 1985 | Norbert Daum |
N/A | ||
| 1986 | Rolf Soja |
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| 1987 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Alec Mansion |
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| 1988 | Régis Dupré |
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| 1989 | Benoît Kaufman |
Host conductor | ||
| 1990 | Thierry Durbet |
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| 1991 | Francis Goya |
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| 1992 | Christian Jacob |
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| 1993 | Francis Goya |
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Commentators and spokespersons
Through the 37 years Luxembourg took part in the Eurovision Song Contest, the contest was broadcast on two channels (RTL TV and RTL Hei Elei), but the contest was mostly broadcast on the French section of RTL until it was divided in 1991 and after that it was broadcast in Luxembourgish. However, only one commentator (Maurice Molitor) was native to Luxembourg.
| Year | Television commentator | Radio commentator | Spokesperson | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Commentary via RTF | No radio broadcast | No spokesperson | |
| 1957 | Pierre Bellemare | |||
| 1958 | ||||
| 1959 | Did not participate | |||
| 1960 | Unknown | |||
| 1961 | ||||
| 1962 | Nicole Védrès | Robert Diligent | ||
| 1963 | Commentary via ORTF | Unknown | ||
| 1964 | ||||
| 1965 | ||||
| 1966 | Jacques Navadic | Camillo Felgen | ||
| 1967 | Unknown | |||
| 1968 | ||||
| 1969 | ||||
| 1970 | Camillo Felgen | |||
| 1971 | No spokesperson | |||
| 1972 | ||||
| 1973 | ||||
| 1974 | Unknown | |||
| 1975 | ||||
| 1976 | André Torrent | Jacques Harvey | ||
| 1977 | ||||
| 1978 | ||||
| 1979 | ||||
| 1980 | ||||
| 1981 | Jacques Navadic and Marylène Bergmann | |||
| 1982 | Marylène Bergmann | |||
| 1983 | Valérie Sarn | |||
| 1984 | Valérie Sarn and Jacques Navadic | |||
| 1985 | Valérie Sarn | Frédérique Ries | ||
| 1986 | ||||
| 1987 | ||||
| 1988 | Jean-Luc Bertrand | |||
| 1989 | ||||
| 1990 | ||||
| 1991 | ||||
| 1992 | Maurice Molitor | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 1993 | ||||
| 1994–2019 | No broadcast | Did not participate | ||
Photogallery
Solange Berry in Hilversum (1958)
Camillo Felgen in Luxembourg (1962)
France Gall in Naples (1965)%252C_Bestanddeelnr_923-3696.jpg.webp)
David Alexandre Winter in Amsterdam (1970)%252C_Bestanddeelnr_928-5031.jpg.webp)
Jürgen Marcus in The Hague (1976)
Sophie & Magaly in The Hague (1980)
Notes and references
Notes
- The full results for the first contest in 1956 are unknown, as only the winner was announced. The official Eurovision site lists all the other songs as being placed second.
- Also conducted the Spanish entry.
- Also conducted the Belgian and Swiss entries.
- Cao conducted the Cypriot and German entries.
References
- "Luxembourg plans return to Eurovision?". eurovision.tv. EBU. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
- Bettega, Tania (26 October 2014). "Culture Minister agrees to Luxembourg's Eurovision return". Luxemburger Wort. Luxemburger Wort. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- Fiden, Mustafa (26 October 2014). "Luxembourger culture minister agrees to the country's return". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- Bettega, Tania (28 October 2014). "Luxembourg's Eurovision return is "misunderstanding"". Luxemburger Wort. Luxemburger Wort. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- "Luxembourg could return to Eurovision in San Marino collaboration". Luxemburger Wort. Luxemburger Wort. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- "Eurovision Song Contest: rumors sulla partecipazione, la precisazione di Rtv". smtvsanmarino.sm. SMRTV. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- "No Eurovision deal for Luxembourg and San Marino". Luxemburger Wort. Luxemburger Wort. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- Bakker, Sietse (2003-04-22). "Luxembourg back in Eurovision next year?". ESCToday. Retrieved 2003-04-22.
- Bakker, Sietse (2003-10-19). "Luxembourg might withdraw again from Eurovision". ESCToday. Retrieved 2003-10-19.
- Bakker, Sietse (2003-11-03). "Luxembourg won't participate in 2004". ESCToday. Retrieved 2003-11-03.
- Philips, Roel (2004-01-29). "Luxembourg back in 2005?". ESCToday. Retrieved 2004-01-29.
- Philips, Roel (2004-10-13). "'Luxembourg never to return to the contest'". ESCToday. Retrieved 2003-10-13.
- "RTL not interested in Eurovision 2009". Oikotimes. 2008-06-12. Archived from the original on 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- Kuipers, Michael (2008-06-12). "Luxembourg: "No interest!"". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-06-12.
- Costa, Nelson (2008-10-16). "Marion, Vânia and Corinne Hermès in OGAE gala". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 2008-11-22. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- Floras, Stella (2008-11-01). "OGAE Luxembourg: Eurovision fun and glamour". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- Lucas, John (16 September 2015). "Après Toi… How Luxembourg Fell Out Of Love With Eurovision". ESC Insight. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
- "EBU - Active Members". Ebu.ch. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
- Al Kaziri, Ghassan (2009-09-01). "CLT will decide on Eurovision in December". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 2009-09-07. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
- Archived January 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- Jiandani, Sanjay (30 July 2014). "Luxembourg: RTL will not return to Eurovision in 2015". ESCToday. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
- Granger, Anthony (21 June 2016). "Luxembourg government committee to debate Eurovision return". Eurovoix. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
- Jiandani, Sanjay (22 August 2016). "Luxembourg: RTL will not return to Eurovision in 2017". ESCToday. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- Roxburgh, Gordon (2012). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume One: The 1950s and 1960s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 93–101. ISBN 978-1-84583-065-6.
- Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 142–168. ISBN 978-1-84583-093-9.
- Roxburgh, Gordon (2016). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Three: The 1980s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84583-118-9.
External links
- Points to and from Luxembourg eurovisioncovers.co.uk
| Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest | |||||||||||||||
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Note: Entries scored out are when Luxembourg did not compete | |||||||||||||||
