Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest

Denmark
Member station	DR
National selection events	Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 1957–1966 1978–1993 1995–1997 1999–2002 2004–present
Appearances
Appearances	45 (41 finals)
First appearance	1957
Best result	1st: 1963, 2000, 2013
Worst result	Last: 2002
External links
DR page
Denmark's page at Eurovision.tv
For the most recent participation see Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016

Denmark has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 45 times since its debut in 1957. Having competed in ten consecutive contests until 1966, Denmark was absent for eleven consecutive contests from 1967-1977. Since 1978, they have been absent from only four contests. Denmark has won the contest three times. The Danish qualifying competition for the contest is the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix.

Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler placed third at the country's first attempt in 1957. Denmark then won the contest for the first time in 1963 with the song "Dansevise" performed by Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann. The country would not return to the top five for over twenty years, until Hot Eyes finished fourth in 1984. Hot Eyes then finished third in 1988, as did Birthe Kjær in 1989. In the 1990s, due to poor performances in the previous years, the nation was eliminated from taking part in three contests (1994, 1996, 1998). They did make the top ten three times (1990, 1995, 1999), with Aud Wilken's fifth place in 1995 being Denmark's only top five result of the decade.

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". In 2001, as hosts, Denmark finished second with "Never Ever Let You Go" performed by Rollo & King. In 2002, Malene Mortensen became the first Danish entry to finish last. Denmark were absent from the 2003 contest. In 2005, Copenhagen hosted Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest, an event to commemorate the 50th anniversary.

Denmark achieved its best result for nine years at the 2010 contest, when Chanée & N'evergreen finished fourth. A Friend in London then finished fifth in 2011. Denmark won the contest for the third time in 2013, with Only Teardrops performed by Emmelie de Forest receiving Denmark's highest ever score with 281 points. Denmark has placed in the top five a total of 14 times and has an average score of 65.261 points.

History

Denmark's debut

Denmark first participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 1957, held in Frankfurt, Germany. The country had intended to compete at the first contest in 1956, but had submitted its application past the deadline and was, therefore, not allowed to compete. Denmark was the first Nordic country to take part in 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, who sang the song "Skibet skal sejle i nat" (English: The Ship Will Be Leaving Tonight). Their performance was controversial as, at the end of the song, the couple performed an 11-second kiss, which caused outcry in some countries. Nevertheless, the performance achieved a respectable 3rd place.

First victory

Denmark won the contest for the first time in 1963, when Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann sang "Dansevise" (Dance Ballad). The victory, however, was controversial. When Norway announced its votes, the presenter Katie Boyle could not hear the spokesperson and said that she would call them again later. Viewers around Europe, however, did hear the Norwegian spokesperson, and when Boyle called the Norwegian spokesperson again, the votes had been changed, changing the outcome of the contest and giving the victory to Denmark at the expense of Switzerland. In fact, the reason why Norway had to announce its votes again was that the Norwegian spokesperson did not follow the right procedure the first time and, therefore, there was doubt whether he gave the correct votes on the first occasion.

The final result was valid and the victory went to Denmark. Accordingly, in 1964, the contest was held in Denmark for the first time.

Absence and return

After the 1966 contest and a record low 14th place, Denmark withdrew from the contest, as DR´s new head of entertainment Niels Jørgen Kaiser did not view the contest as being quality entertainment. Dansk Melodi Grand Prix was not held from that year onwards.

However, in the 1978 contest, after 11 years' absence, and following Niels Jørgen Kaisers departure from DR, Denmark returned to the contest, represented by Mabel and the song "Boom Boom".

Success

Denmark's most successful time at the contest came between 1984 and 1990, with the country reaching the top eight in six out of seven contests, including four top-five placings. The duo of Hot Eyes represented the nation three times during this period. In 1984, they sang the song "Det' lige det" (That's Just It) and finished fourth. In 1985, they became the first and, as of 2016 only act to represent Denmark in two consecutive years. Singing "Sku' du spørg' fra no'en?" (What Business Is It Of Yours?), they could not repeat their success of the previous year and came 11th. In 1988, Hot Eyes represented Denmark again with "Ka' du se hva' jeg sa'?" (Didn't I Tell You So?). The duo scored its best result to date, finishing in third place, losing only to Celine Dion and Scott Fitzgerald. Denmark's other good results during this time were sixth place for Lise Haavik in 1986, fifth for Anne-Cathrine Herdorf & Bandjo in 1987, third for Birthe Kjaer in 1989 and eighth for Lonnie Devantier in 1990.

Denmark's fall

After 1990, Denmark fell from its 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, finished 22nd, resulting Denmark being relegated from the contest in 1994. Aud Wilken sang "Fra Mols til Skagen" for the nation at the 1995 contest and came 5th, but this high placing could not be repeated in 1996, as Denmark's entry, "Kun med dig" sung by Dorthe Andersen and Martin Loft, did not qualify from the pre-qualifying round of the contest. In 1998, Denmark was once again relegated from the contest following a poor result in 1997.

Return to success in the 2000s

In 1999, the abolition of the language rule, which had required all countries to sing in their official languages, brought a return to success for Denmark, when Michael Teschl and Trine Jepsen finished 8th with "This Time I Mean It".

A year later, in 2000, Denmark would go on to win the contest again, when brothers Jørgen and Niels Olsen won 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, in 2002, despite being a favourite to win the contest, Malene Mortensen came 24th (last) with "Tell Me Who You Are", giving Denmark its worst result ever. Therefore, Denmark, was relegated from the 2003 contest.

However, since the introduction of semifinals in 2004, Denmark has qualified for the final on 9 out of 12 occasions. Another string of successful participations started in 2010, when Denmark finished 4th with "In a Moment Like This" performed by Chanée and n'evergreen. A year later, Denmark finished 5th with "New Tomorrow" performed by the band A Friend In London, and in 2013, Denmark won the contest for the third time, when Emmelie de Forest represented the country with the song "Only Teardrops". In 2014, Denmark reached the top ten for the fourth time in five years, when Basim finished ninth. However, the success did not continue into 2015 and 2016, as Denmark failed to qualify for the grand final that year.

Contestants

Table key

NOTES:

a. ^ In 1996 Denmark failed to qualify for the contest. There was an audio only pre-qualification round for all countries (excluding hosts Norway). The official Eurovision site does not count 1996 in Denmark's list of appearances.

b. If a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. In addition from 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.

Voting history

As of 2015, Denmark's voting history is as follows:

Most points given in the grand finals only Rank Country Score 1  Sweden 276 2  Germany 161 3  United Kingdom 147 4  Ireland 132  Norway 132 Most points received in the grand finals only Rank Country Score 1  Norway 194 2  Sweden 190 3  Iceland 179 4  Ireland 125 5  United Kingdom 122

Most points given in the semis and finals Rank Country Points 1  Sweden 334 2  Ireland 168 3  Norway 163 4  Germany 161 5  Iceland 157 Most points received in the semis and finals Rank Country Points 1  Sweden 259 2  Norway 236 3  Iceland 229 4  Ireland 184 5  Netherlands 160

Hostings

Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest

Winner by OGAE members

Commentators and spokespersons

Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest

Table key

Gallery

• 
  Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler in Frankfurt (1957)
• 
  Raquel Rastenni in Hilversum (1958)
• 
  Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann (1963)
• 
  DQ at Helsinki (2007)
• 
  Simon Mathew at Belgrade (2008)
• 
  A Friend in London at Düsseldorf (2011)
• 
  Emmelie de Forest at Malmö (2013)
• 
  Basim at Copenhagen (2014)
• 
  Anti Social Media at Vienna (2015)
• 
  Lighthouse X at Stockholm (2016)

See also

• Dansk Melodi Grand Prix
• Dansk Melodi Grand Prix winners

References

External links

• Points to and from Denmark eurovisioncovers.co.uk

Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest
Participation 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 to 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Artists 1950s 1956 Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler Raquel Rastenni Birthe Wilke 1960s Katy Bødtger Dario Campeotto Ellen Winther Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann Bjørn Tidmand Birgit Brüel Ulla Pia 1967 to 1969 1970s 1970 to 1977 Mabel Tommy Seebach 1980s Bamses Venner Tommy Seebach and Debbie Cameron Brixx Gry Johansen Hot Eyes Hot Eyes Lise Haavik Anne-Cathrine Herdorf and Bandjo Hot Eyes Birthe Kjær 1990s Lonnie Devantier Anders Frandsen Lotte Nilsson and Kenny Lübcke Tommy Seebach Band 1994 Aud Wilken Dorthe Andersen & Martin Loft Kølig Kaj 1998 Michael Teschl and Trine Jepsen 2000s Olsen Brothers Rollo & King Malene 2003 Thomas Thordarsson Jakob Sveistrup Sidsel Ben Semmane DQ Simon Mathew Niels Brinck 2010s Chanée and N'evergreen A Friend In London Soluna Samay Emmelie de Forest Basim Anti Social Media Lighthouse X
Songs 1950s 1956 "Skibet skal sejle i nat" "Jeg rev et blad ud af min dagbog" "Uh, jeg ville ønske jeg var dig" 1960s "Det var en yndig tid" "Angelique" "Vuggevise" "Dansevise" "Sangen om dig" "For din skyld" "Stop - mens legen er go'" 1967 to 1969 1970s 1970 to 1977 "Boom Boom" "Disco Tango" 1980s "Tænker altid på dig" "Krøller eller ej" "Video, Video" "Kloden drejer" "Det' lige det" "Sku' du spørg' fra no'en?" "Du er fuld af løgn" "En lille melodi" "Ka' du se hva' jeg sa'?" "Vi maler byen rød" 1990s "Hallo Hallo" "Lige der hvor hjertet slår" "Alt det som ingen ser" "Under stjernerne på himlen" 1994 "Fra Mols til Skagen" "Kun med dig" "Stemmen i mit liv" 1998 "This Time I Mean It" 2000s "Fly on the Wings of Love" "Never Ever Let You Go" "Tell Me Who You Are" 2003 "Shame on You" "Talking to You" "Twist of Love" "Drama Queen" "All Night Long" "Believe Again" 2010s "In a Moment Like This" "New Tomorrow" "Should've Known Better" "Only Teardrops" "Cliche Love Song" "The Way You Are" "Soldiers of Love"
(Note: Entries scored out are when Denmark did not compete)