Germany was represented by the band
Wind
Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ho ...
, with the song "Für alle", at the
1985 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 4 May in
Gothenburg,
Sweden. "Für alle" was the winner of the German national final, held on 21 March. This was the first of three appearances by Wind at Eurovision; they would also represent Germany in
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
and
1992.
Before Eurovision
Ein Lied für Göteborg
The final was held at the Deutsches Theater in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
, hosted by Wolfgang Mascher and
Margit Geissler. 12 songs took part and the winner was chosen by a panel of approximately 500 people who had been selected as providing a representative cross-section of the German public.
At Eurovision
On the night of the final Wind performed 10th in the running order, following
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
and preceding
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. Pre-contest betting had rated "Für alle" as the favourite for victory, and for a large part of the voting it appeared to be living up to its billing. Germany took the lead after
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
, voting third, awarded a maximum 12 to the song, and held it until five rounds from the end and the Swiss vote.
Switzerland had historically proven themselves very reluctant to vote for German entries – it was widely believed in Germany that the Swiss jury had cost them victory in the 1981 contest – and lived up to expectations by failing to award any points to "Für alle", allowing Sweden briefly, and then
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
, to take over the lead. At the close of voting "Für alle" had received 105 points, placing Germany second. The overall voting suggested it was a song that juries liked either a great deal or not at all; of the other 18 national juries, eleven placed the song in their top 4, while two gave it low rankings and five gave it no points at all. Pointedly, two of those juries were the two other German-speaking countries, Austria and Switzerland (the others were Greece, Italy, and Turkey). The German jury awarded its 12 points to eventual contest winners Norway.
ESC History - Germany 1985
/ref>
Voting
References
{{Eurovision Song Contest 1985
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
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Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1985
Eurovision