''Die große Chance'' ("The Big Chance") is an Austrian talent television show, originally aired between 1980 and 1990, then revived in a competitive format from 2011 to 2014. The program's spin-offs included ''Die große Comedy Chance'' ("The Great Comedy Chance") (2012–2014) and ''Die große Chance der Chöre'' ("The Great Chance of Choirs") (2015–2016). In 2024, the show returns under the motto "Let’s sing and dance". The Uptown Monotones, an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

/ fusion band that formed in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

in 1993, became known to a wider audience through ''Die große Chance''.

Background

''Die große Chance'' was originally broadcast by the

Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF ; , ) is the national public broadcaster of Austria. Funded from a combination of television licence fee revenue and limited on-air advertising, ORF is the dominant player in the Austrian broadcast media. Austria was the last country in ...

(Austrian Broadcasting Corporation) showing on prime time between 1980 and 1990. Peter Rapp hosted the show from 1980 to 1987, Thomas Klock took over in 1988 and Elisabeth Engstler in 1989 and 1990. The programme was discontinued in 1991.

2011-present: Revival

''Die große Chance'' was revived as a competitive talent show starting 2011. It was broadcast on Austrian television

ORF eins ORF 1 (''ORF eins'', ''Österreichischer Rundfunk 1'') is an Austrian public television channel owned by ORF (broadcaster), ORF. It was the first television channel in Austria, started in 1955, with regular programming started in 1957 when it now ...

. The first season broadcast between 9 September and 11 November 2011 was won by singer Christine Hödl in 2011, with Valerian Kapeller as runner-up and Magic Acrobatics third. It was hosted by

Andi Knoll Andreas "Andi" Knoll (born 11 June 1972 in Innsbruck) is an Austrian radio and television presenter. He has served as the Austrian commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest since 1999. Eurovision Song Contest Since the 1999 contest (with t ...

. Notably, the

2014 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 59th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song " Only Teardrops" by Emmelie de Forest. Organised by the European ...

eventual winner,

Conchita Wurst Thomas Neuwirth (born 6 November 1988) is an Austrian singer, fashion designer, human rights activist and drag queen who is known for his stage persona Conchita Wurst (or simply Conchita). He came to international attention after winning the Euro ...

, came sixth in the 2011 series. The second season was broadcast from 7 September to 2 November 2012 and was won by dancing duo ''Alexandra und Esprit'' (Alexandra Plank and her Border Collie named Esprit), with the music band ''Solid Tube'' as runner-up and cabaret act ''Flo und Wisch'' third. Andi Knoll and Doris Golpashin hosted the programme for a second season. The third season aired in 2013. The hosts were Andi Knoll and Alice Tumler, and the jury consisted of Karina Sarkissova, Zabine, Petter Rapp, and Sido. The finale took place in September, and the grand prize of €100,000 was won by singer Thomas David. The fourth season in 2014 was hosted by Alice Tumler and was won by vocals and harp act ''Harfonie'', with singer/

steirische harmonika The Steirische Harmonika () is a type of Accordion#Construction, bisonoric diatonic button accordion important to the Volksmusik, alpine folk music of Croatia (Hrvatsko Zagorje, Hrvatsko zagorje), Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Austria, the German s ...

player Petra Mayer as runner-up and singer Ivana Cibulova third. The new season of the show, titled ''Die große Chance – Let’s sing and dance'', premiered on March 8, 2024. Magicians or dog trainers were not allowed this time. The hosts were Fanny Stapf and Andi Knoll. In the first episode, the jury included Missy May,

Barbara Meier Barbara Meier (born 25 July 1986) is a German fashion model and actress. She is best known as the winner of Germany's Next Topmodel (season 2), the second season of ''Germany's Next Topmodel''. Early life Born in the small Bavarian town of Am ...

, and Thorsteinn Einarsson, although the jury lineup changed throughout the season. The prize pool was €50,000. The finale took place in May, and the season was won by the dance group of 58 members, ''Indeed Unique''.

''Die große Comedy Chance''

Another offshoot of the programme was ''Die große Comedy Chance'' for giving a chance for comedians to perform. The first series was broadcast in 2012, also hosted by Andi Knoll and won by ''Zwa Voitrottln'' with a second season in 2014 won by Olivier Sanrey.

''Die große Chance der Chöre''

In 2015, a spin-off titled ''Die große Chance der Chöre'' was broadcast. The jury comprised

Oliver Pocher Oliver Pocher (born 18 February 1978) is a German comedian, entertainer, television personality and host. Pocher began his career with part-time work in radio and as a DJ before making his first television appearance in 1998 on the Bärbel Schäf ...

Larissa Marolt Larissa-Antonia Marolt (born 10 July 1992 in Klagenfurt) is an Austrian fashion model and actress. She was the winner of the Austria's Next Topmodel, Cycle 1, first cycle of ''Austria's Next Topmodel''. After her victory she also participated in ...

, Ramesh Nair, and Birgit Sarata. The show was hosted by Andi Knoll and Kristina Inhof, with a prize of €25 000 for the first place. The winners were the eight-member ensemble ''Piccanto'', followed by the children’s choir ''Calypso'' in second place, and the BORG Gastein gymnasium student choir in third place. In 2016, the show was again hosted by Andi Knoll and Kristina Inhof. The jury for the second season included Ramesh Nair, Oliver Pocher, Dorretta Carter, and Fräulein Mai. The winners were ''Sängerrunde Pöllau'', they won the prize of €50 000. The top three also included ''VOK'' and ''Gumpoldskirchner Spatzen''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grosse Chance, Die 1980 Austrian television series debuts 1990 Austrian television series endings 2011 Austrian television series debuts 1980s Austrian television series 1990s Austrian television series 2010s Austrian television series ORF (broadcaster) original programming German-language television shows