The Eurovision Song Contest 1980 was the 25th edition of the annual
Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, and was organised by host broadcaster
Nederlandse Omroep Stichting
The Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (; NOS ; English: Dutch Broadcasting Foundation) is one of the broadcasting organisations making up the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system. It has a special statutory obligation to make news and sports progra ...
(NOS) – which agreed to stage the event after , having won in both and , declined to host it for a second successive year – and the
European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The contest was held at the
Nederlands Congresgebouw on 19 April 1980 and was hosted by Dutch actress
Marlous Fluitsma
Maria Louise Clara Albertine Fluitsma (born 12 December 1946), known as Marlous Fluitsma, is a Dutch actress, known for her roles in Dutch films and on television in various Dutch language series. She was well-known to Europeans outside the Neth ...
, although each song was introduced by a presenter from the participating nation (in some cases, this was the same person providing the commentary).
Nineteen countries took part this year, with and the previous year's winner deciding not to participate, and returning. , notably, made its only appearance in the contest.
The winner was with the song "
What's Another Year
"What's Another Year" was Irish singer and composer Johnny Logan's first Eurovision Song Contest winning song, achieving success in the 1980 edition of the contest, as well as 's second Eurovision victory. Composed by Shay Healy (who also wr ...
", sung by
Johnny Logan and written by
Shay Healy
Shay Healy (29 March 1943 – 9 April 2021) was an Irish songwriter, broadcaster and journalist. He is best known for his role as host of ''Nighthawks'', a RTÉ Television chat show of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and for composing "What's An ...
.
Location
![Statenhal Sebas Veldhuisen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Statenhal_Sebas_Veldhuisen.jpg)
, the winner of the
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
contest, declined to host it for the second time in a row, as the
Israel Broadcasting Authority
The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA; ) was Israel's public broadcaster from 1948 to 2017.
History
The Israel Broadcasting Authority was an outgrowth of the radio station ''Kol Yisrael'', which made its first broadcast as an independent st ...
(IBA) could not fund another international production without extra resources, and the Israeli government turned down a request to extend the IBA budget. The EBU also scheduled the broadcast for the same day as the
Yom HaZikaron holiday, which meant that Israel could not even participate at all, marking the only time that the previous year's winning country did not compete the following year. After Spain – the second-placed country of 1979 – and (reportedly) the United Kingdom both declined to host, the Netherlands ultimately agreed to host the show in a small-scale production. According to the first minister
Yair Lapid
Yair Lapid ( he, יָאִיר לַפִּיד, transliterated: , ; born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician and former journalist who has been serving as the 14th prime minister of Israel since 1 July 2022. He previously served as the alt ...
, son of
Tommy Lapid
Yosef "Tommy" Lapid ( he, יוסף "טומי" לפיד, born as Tomislav Lampel, sr-cyr, Томислав Лампел; 27 December 1931 – 1 June 2008) was a Yugoslav-born Israeli radio and television presenter, playwright, journalist, politi ...
who was then the IBA director general,his father called his then counterpart at
NOS and convinced him to take the "undesired honour", when he realised that the extra cost could paralyse the regular work of the IBA.
The contest took place in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
at the Congresgebouw (presently known as the
World Forum). The venue was constructed in 1969 and had previously hosted the contest in .
Format
![Eurovision Song Contest 1980 - Katja Ebstein](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Eurovision_Song_Contest_1980_-_Katja_Ebstein.jpg)
The venue that had hosted the , the
Congresgebouw
The World Forum (originally known as Nederlands Congresgebouw and formerly Nederlands Congres Centrum and World Forum Convention Center) is a concert venue and convention centre in The Hague, Netherlands, near the buildings of the International ...
, was again chosen to stage the contest.
Because of the limited budget and time available, NOS decided to recycle several elements of the 1976 production such as several opening video sequences, the soundtrack and many pieces and elements that were being used in other broadcaster shows since then.Again, Roland de Groot took charge of the design. As with the 1977 and 1978 contests, there were no pre-filmed postcards between the songs, with a guest presenter from each nation introducing the entries. Apart from this, the presenter,
Marlous Fluitsma
Maria Louise Clara Albertine Fluitsma (born 12 December 1946), known as Marlous Fluitsma, is a Dutch actress, known for her roles in Dutch films and on television in various Dutch language series. She was well-known to Europeans outside the Neth ...
practically presented the contest almost entirely in Dutch, with exceptions in the protocol parts and in the voting where she used French and English according to tradition. Thus, the broadcaster host spent only US$725,000 on staging the show.
During the live interval act performance of ''San Fernando'' by The Dutch Rhythm Steel and Show Band with the Lee Jackson dancers, Hans van Willigenburg intercut brief interviews with some of the participants backstage in the green room, speaking to the singers from Germany, Luxembourg, the UK, Ireland, Norway and the Netherlands, each in their own language.
Australian-born
Johnny Logan, representing his parents' country , was ultimately crowned the winner with the song "
What's Another Year
"What's Another Year" was Irish singer and composer Johnny Logan's first Eurovision Song Contest winning song, achieving success in the 1980 edition of the contest, as well as 's second Eurovision victory. Composed by Shay Healy (who also wr ...
". This was Ireland's second victory in the competition, having previously won in with "
All Kinds of Everything
"All Kinds of Everything" is a song written by Derry Lindsay and Jackie Smith; as performed by Dana, it won the Eurovision Song Contest 1970 representing . "All Kinds of Everything" marked a return to the ballad form from the more energetic pe ...
", coincidentally also held on Dutch soil. It was also the first time that a male solo artist (albeit with backing vocals) had won the contest since
Udo Jürgens
Udo Jürgens (born Jürgen Udo Bockelmann; 30 September 1934 – 21 December 2014) was an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spanned over 50 years. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria, composed close ...
won for in .
were the runner-up for this year. They would finish in second place again , before finally winning in . Germany would go on to finish second again in and , making the 1980s their most successful decade in the contest. After relatively poor placings in the two previous years, the returned to form by coming third.
Song presenters
Each of the 19 contestants was presented by a presenter from that country.
Five countries took advantage and used their commentators from their respective broadcasters present in The Hague and they had the responsibility to also perform these function (Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Portugal used their television commentators, while Turkey chose their radio commentator). Each of the songs was introduced in one of the official languages of the competing country.The UK presenter was incorrectly identified in the onscreen caption as 'Noel Edmunds' and the Finnish presenter as 'Heikki Haarma'.
*
* Şebnem Savaşçı
* Kelly Sakakou
*
* Mohammed Bouzidi
*
Beatrice Cori
Beatrice Cori (real name Beatrice Cagnoni) (March 20, 1943 - February 8, 2000) was a television presenter and model. She introduced the Italian entry sung by Alan Sorrenti in Eurovision Song Contest 1980
The Eurovision Song Contest 1980 was th ...
*
Jørgen de Mylius
Jørgen de Mylius (born 5 March 1946) is a Danish radio and TV personality that is best known for his work in connection with the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix as a host and commentator. Sometimes he is referred to as Jørgen Mylius or by his nickname ...
*
Ulf Elfving
* Lyliam Stambac
*
Heikki Harma
Heikki Veikko Harma (born 20 April 1947 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish singer-songwriter who has also distinguished himself as a translator of song lyrics, but has written popular lyrics of his own too. To the public he is better known by t ...
*
Åse Kleveland
Åse Maria Kleveland (born 18 March 1949) is a Norwegian singer, guitarist, politician and activist.
A well-known folk singer and traditional guitarist in Norway, she was appointed Minister of Culture in Norway in 1990, and held the position ...
(Norwegian representative in the 1966 contest, later host of the 1986 contest held in Bergen)
*
Carolin Reiber
Carolin Reiber (born 2 November 1940) is a German television presenter.
Biography
Reiber works in Germany as television presenter on German broadcaster ARD and Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR). Television magazines as ''Jetzt red' i'', ''Unser Land ...
*
Noel Edmonds
Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948) is an English television presenter, radio DJ, writer, producer, and businessman. Edmonds first became known as a disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg before moving to BBC Radio 1 in the UK. He has presente ...
*
Eládio Clímaco
Eládio Taboas Clímaco (born 27 October 1941, in Lisbon) is a Portuguese television presenter best known for hosting ''Festival da Canção'', ''Jeux Sans Frontières'', commentating on the Eurovision Song Contest for RTP viewers, and providing ...
*
Marlous Fluitsma
Maria Louise Clara Albertine Fluitsma (born 12 December 1946), known as Marlous Fluitsma, is a Dutch actress, known for her roles in Dutch films and on television in various Dutch language series. She was well-known to Europeans outside the Neth ...
*
Évelyne Dhéliat
Évelyne Dhéliat (born 19 April 1948) is a French weather presenter and former continuity announcer.
Early life and education
Évelyne Dhéliat was born in Cologne. Her father was a commercial director and her mother a perfume store owner. An ...
*
Thelma Mansfield
Thelma Mansfield (born 1949) is an Irish people, Irish television presenter and artist that worked mainly with RTÉ television. She started out at RTÉ in 1965 as a continuity announcer.
From 1986–97, she co-hosted the RTÉ 1 afternoon show ' ...
*
Mari Cruz Soriano
Mari Cruz Soriano Roales (born 23 August 1955) is a Spanish entrepreneur, journalist, pianist, and radio and television presenter.
Biography
The first years of Mari Cruz Soriano's childhood were spent in the Navarrese town of Lesaka. She began he ...
*
Arlette Vincent
Arlette is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Arlette or Herleva, the mother of William the Conqueror
*Arlette Alcock (born 1958), Métis-Canadian folk musician
* Marie-Arlette Carlotti (born 1952), French politician and Member o ...
Participating countries
After Israel announced its non-participation,
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
entered into the contest instead. Monaco also withdrew from the contest, and would not return until
2004.
Conductors
With the exception of
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, each performance had a
conductor who directed the orchestra.
This was the only contest to feature a Black conductor conducting an entry, that being Italy's conductor
Del Newman
Derrick Martin "Del" Newman (5 October 1930 – 10 August 2020) was a British conductor, orchestral arranger and music producer. His orchestral arrangements appeared on songs by many rock and pop artists from the 1960s to the 1990s, including Ca ...
.
*
*
Attila Özdemiroğlu
Attila Özdemiroğlu (5 January 1943 – 20 April 2016) was a Turkish composer, arranger and music producer. He was best known for his award winning film scores in the 1970s and 1980s.
Career
Born on 5 January 1943 in Ankara, Özdemiroğlu go ...
*
Jick Nacassian Jick has been used as a nickname and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
Nickname
* Zack "Jick" Johnson of ''Kingdom of Loathing''
* Tsuyoshi Ujiki (born 1957), Japanese entertainer, actor, musician, and singer
Surname
* Andy Jick
...
*
Norbert Daum
Norbert Daum (born 6 September 1948) is an Austrian musician and conductor. He often works with Ralph Siegel. Daum conducted entries in 7 years of the Eurovision Song Contest, during 1979–1994.
Career
Work as an arranger
Daum was born in Brau ...
*
*
Del Newman
Derrick Martin "Del" Newman (5 October 1930 – 10 August 2020) was a British conductor, orchestral arranger and music producer. His orchestral arrangements appeared on songs by many rock and pop artists from the 1960s to the 1990s, including Ca ...
*
Allan Botschinsky
Allan Botschinsky (29 March 1940 – 26 November 2020) was a Danish jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist, composer, arranger, conductor, producer, and record label owner.
Biography
Botschinsky was born in Copenhagen, and had a background in classical ...
*
Anders Berglund
Anders Olof Berglund (born 21 July 1948) is a Swedish arranger, composer, conductor, pianist and musician.
Career
Born in Stockholm, Berglund is best known as conductor of Melodifestivalen, the Swedish final of the Eurovision Song Contest ...
*
*
Ossi Runne
Ossi Runne (23 April 1927 – 5 November 2020) was a Finnish trumpeter, orchestra leader, composer, and record producer.Sigurd Jansen
Sigurd Jansen (born 4 March 1932) is a Norwegian composer, pianist and conductor.
Biography
Sigurd Alf Jansen was born in Horten, in Vestfold county, Norway. He studied classical music at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. He was a teacher o ...
*
*
John Coleman
*
*
Rogier van Otterloo
Willem Rogier van Otterloo (11 December 1941 – 29 January 1988) was a Dutch composer and conductor.
Biography
Van Otterloo was the eldest son of the conductor Willem van Otterloo, in Bilthoven, Netherlands. He composed several soundtracks fo ...
* Sylvano Santorio
*
Noel Kelehan
John William "Noel" Kelehan (26 December 1935 – 6 February 2012) was an Irish musician, former conductor of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and former musical director of Radio Telefís Éireann. He retired as conductor in 1998.
Life and car ...
* Javier Iturralde
* ''No conductor''
Returning artists
Participants and results
Detailed voting results
The scoring system implemented in 1975 remained the same; each country had a jury who awarded 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 point(s) for their top ten songs. However this year for the first time, countries were required to declare their scores in ascending order, 1,2,3 etc. This change made for the added excitement of waiting for each country to award their highest 12 points at the end of each voting round.
For the voting sequence, Marlous Fluitsma used a unique telephone to speak to the nineteen jury spokespersons, although the phones were simply props and were not connected.
12 points
Below is a summary of all 12 points in the final:
Spokespersons
Listed below is the order in which votes were cast during the 1980 contest along with the spokesperson who was responsible for announcing the votes for their respective country.
#
# Başak Doğru
# Niki Venega
# Jacques Harvey
# Kamal Irassi
#
# Bent Evold
Aalborg Stiftstidende - 23/03 1980
/ref>
# Arne Weise
Arne Georg Fredrik Weise (28 February 1930 – 25 September 2019) was a Swedish journalist and television personality, one of the presenters for Sveriges Television (SVT). He worked at Sveriges Radio from 1952 and started working for SVT in 197 ...
# Michel Stocker
# Kaarina Pönniö
# Roald Øyen
# TBC
# Ray Moore
# Teresa Cruz
# Flip van der Schalie
# Fabienne Égal
Fabienne Égal (born 21 July 1954 in Rabat, Morocco) is a French announcer and television host.
Career
She became an announcer on TF1 in the 1970s, then hosted ''Les pieds au mur'' with Nicolas Hulot in 1980 and ''La Une chez vous'' (1985-1987). ...
# David Heffernan
# Alfonso Lapeña
# Jacques Olivier
Broadcasts
Each national broadcaster sent a commentator to the contest, in order to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Portal bar, Music
1980
Music festivals in the Netherlands
1980 in music
1980 in the Netherlands
20th century in The Hague
April 1980 events in Europe
Events in The Hague
Music in The Hague