Germany was represented by
Bianca Shomburg
Bianca Shomburg (born 17 September 1974, Hiddenhausen, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German singer, best known for her participation in the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest.
Biography
In 1996, Shomburg took part in the international TV talent contes ...
, with the song "Zeit", at the
1997 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 May in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
. "Zeit", composed by prolific Eurovision duo
Ralph Siegel
Ralph Siegel (born 30 September 1945) is a German record producer and songwriter. Siegel is one of the most notable figures at the Eurovision Song Contest, in which he has participated with 24 songs so far, among them the 1982 winner song Ein bi ...
and
Bernd Meinunger
Bernd Meinunger (born 30 September 1944 in Meiningen) is a German lyricist and record producer (with Hanne Haller
Hanne Haller (January 14, 1950 in Rendsburg, Germany - November 15, 2005 in Tegernsee, Germany; full name Hannelore Haller) was a ...
, was the winner of the German national final, held on 27 February.
Before Eurovision
Der Countdown läuft
The final was held in
Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...
, hosted by Jens Riewa. Nine songs took part and the winner was chosen by televoting, converted into percentages. "Zeit" received over three times more votes than the second-placed song. Other participants included the previous year's German winner
Leon
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...
– who had notoriously been eliminated in the audio-only pre-qualifying round of the 1996 Eurovision – and
Michelle, who would represent Germany in
2001.
At Eurovision
Ahead of the contest, Germany were considered one of the favourites among
bookmaker
A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds.
History
The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795.
Range of events
Bookm ...
s to win the contest, featuring alongside the entries from , , and . On the night of the final Shomburg performed 11th in the running order, following
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and preceding
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 populou ...
. At the close of voting "Zeit" had received 22 points, placing Germany joint 18th (with
Bosnia-Herzegovina) of the 25 entries. Germany was one of five countries chosen to trial televoting in the 1997 contest, and the 12 points were awarded to
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
.
ESC History - Germany 1997
/ref>
Voting
References
{{Eurovision Song Contest 1997
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 ...
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997
Eurovision
Eurovision