For the

Eurovision Song Contest 1999 The Eurovision Song Contest 1999 was the 44th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 29 May 1999 at the International Convention Centre in Jerusalem, Israel. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Isr ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

was represented by "Reise nach Jerusalem – Kudüs'e Seyahat", performed by

Sürpriz Sürpriz were a six-member German- Turkish musical group, consisting of Cihan Özden, Deniz Filizmen, Yasemin Akkar, Filiz Zeyno, Savaş Uçar and Bülent Ural, known for their participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999. The word "Sürpriz", ...

. Both parts of the title translate to "Journey to Jerusalem" in English, in Germany "Reise nach Jerusalem" also is the name for the party game

musical chairs Musical chairs, also known as Trip to Jerusalem, is a game of elimination involving players, chairs, and music. It is a staple of many parties worldwide. Gameplay A set of chairs is arranged with one fewer chair than the number of players ...

Before Eurovision

Countdown Grand Prix 1999

On March 12, the German final was held at the Stadthall in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

, and was hosted by

Axel Bulthaupt Axel Bulthaupt (born 21 February 1966) is a German journalist, entertainer and television presenter. Bulthaupt was born in Melle, Lower Saxony, West Germany. He studied history and literature in Osnabrück and Hamburg. He worked during his univ ...

and

Sandra Studer Sandra Studer (born 10 February 1969 in Zürich) is a Swiss moderator and singer who represented Switzerland in Eurovision Song Contest 1991, which was held in Rome, Italy. Performing with the stage name Sandra Simó, she came fifth with her song ...

(who had taken part in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, representing

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

as Sandra Simo). There were 11 songs in the final, and the winner was decided by televoting - which was also open to Swiss viewers, since song number 9 was performed by a Swiss act. (Due to their bottom placing in

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 ...

, Switzerland were not taking part.) Michael von der Heide would represent Switzerland in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. Between the guests of the show was

Giora Feidman Giora Feidman ( he, גיורא פיידמן; born 25 March 1936) is an Argentine-born Israeli clarinetist who specializes in klezmer music. Biography Giora Feidman was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where his Bessarabian Jewish parents immigra ...

and the music producer Thomas M. Stein. On 16 March 1999, it was announced that the winning song, being "Hör den Kindern einfach zu" performed by

Corinna May Corinna May (born 6 October 1970 in Bremen, Germany as Corinna Meyer) is a blind singer from Germany. She is best known for competing in the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "I Can't Live Without Music". Career From an early age she ...

, had been released in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

by another act and was thus disqualified, since entering a cover song was contrary to the rules. She would later represent the country in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. Wind had represented Germany on three previous occasions:

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

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, k ...

and

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

At Eurovision

Germany performed 21st on the night of the contest, following Malta and preceding Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the end of the voting, "Reise nach Jerusalem – Kudüs'e Seyahat" received 140 points (12 points from

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 ...

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 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

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

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

), finishing 3rd of 23 countries.

Voting

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 1999

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999

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 ...