Germany were present at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998, held in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Before Eurovision

Originally, Germany was relegated from the contest because of its low average score over the previous four years, however after

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

withdrew from the contest, Germany was allowed to compete.

Countdown Grand Prix 1998

The national final to select their entry, ''Countdown Grand Prix 1998'', was held on 26 February 1998 at the Stadthalle Bremen, and was hosted by Axel Bulthaupt and

Nena Gabriele Susanne Kerner (born 24 March 1960), better known as Nena, is a German singer and songwriter who rose to international fame in 1983 as the lead vocalist of the band Nena with the Neue Deutsche Welle song "99 Luftballons". In the same ye ...

. The final decision was decided on televoting only; the top 3 were announced, but the other placings are known unofficially. The winning entry was "

Guildo hat euch lieb! "Guildo hat euch lieb!" (; "Guildo loves you!") was the entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998, performed in German by Guildo Horn & Die Orthopädischen Strümpfe. The song was performed ninth on the night, following 's Dana International w ...

," performed by

Guildo Horn Horst Heinz Köhler (born 15 February 1963), known under his stage name Guildo Horn (), is a German Schlager singer. He is best known for his eccentric stage persona, which includes outrageous clothes and extroverted antics. At the Eurovision ...

and written and composed by

Stefan Raab Stefan Konrad Raab (born 20 October 1966) is a German television producer, businessman, musician, and former entertainer and television host. From 1999 to 2015, he hosted the late-night comedy talk show ''TV total'' and has also created a numbe ...

(under the pseudonym "Alf Igel").

At Eurovision

Heading into the final of the contest, BBC reported that bookmakers ranked the entry 8th out of the 25 entries. Horn was the ninth performer on the night of the Contest, following

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 ...

and preceding

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. At the Contest, he performed together with his band Die Orthopädischen Strümpfe. At the close of the voting the song had received 86 points, placing 7th in a field of 25 competing countries.

Voting

References

External links

German National Final 1998
{{Eurovision Song Contest 1998

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...