The Netherlands was represented by Linda Williams, with the song "Het is een wonder", at the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

on 4 April. "Het is een wonder" was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 11 March. Previous Dutch entrant

Ben Cramer Ben Cramer (born Bernardus Kramer; 17 February 1947) is a Dutch singer who represented the Netherlands in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest. Music career Early years Cramer was born in Amsterdam. He made his television debut in 1966 with his ...

(

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

) and future representative

Maribelle Maribelle (born Marie Kwakman on 4 April 1960) is a Dutch singer, best known for her participation in the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest. In 1981, Maribelle performed two songs, "Marionette" and "Fantasie", in the Dutch Eurovision pre-selection, o ...

(

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

) were among the acts taking part.

Before Eurovision

Nationaal Songfestival 1981

The final was held at the Theater Zuidplein in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, hosted by Fred Oster and Elles Berger. Five acts took part performing two songs each and voting was by 12 regional juries, who each had 10 points to divide between the songs. "Het is een wonder" was the only song to receive votes from every jury and emerged the winner by a 7-point margin.

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Williams performed 11th in the running order, following

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and preceding

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. At the close of voting "Het is een wonder" had received 51 points from 12 countries, placing the Netherlands 9th of the 20 entries. The Dutch jury awarded its 12 points to contest winners the

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 ...

.ESC History - Netherlands 1981
/ref> The Dutch conductor at the contest was

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 for ...

Voting

References

External links

Dutch Preselection 1981
{{Eurovision Song Contest 1981

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981

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 ...