Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest
Austria
Participating broadcasterÖsterreichischer Rundfunk (ORF)
Participation summary
Appearances55 (48 finals)
First appearance1957
Highest placement1st: 1966, 2014
Host1967, 2015
External links
Austria's page at Eurovision.tv Edit this at Wikidata
For the most recent participation see
Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023

Austria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 56 times since its debut in 1957. The country has won twice, in 1966 and 2014, and such it holds the record for the longest gap between consecutive wins — 48 years. The contest is broadcast in Austria by ORF. Vienna was the host city on both of the occasions that the contest was held in Austria, in 1967 and 2015.

Having finished sixth at the 1964 contest and fourth in 1965, Udo Jürgens won at his third attempt in 1966 with the song "Merci, Chérie". This was Austria's only top three result of the 20th century. Austria won again in 2014, with Conchita Wurst and "Rise Like a Phoenix". Austria has finished last in the contest final seven times (1957, 1961, 1962, 1979, 1984, 1988 and 1991) and finished last in the semi-final in 2012. Cesár Sampson achieved Austria's eighth top five result and second-best result of the 21st century at the 2018 contest, finishing third with the song "Nobody but You".

History

Austria finished last at its first attempt in the contest in 1957, before Liane Augustin gave the country the first of its eight top five results in 1958, with fifth. Having finished sixth in 1964 and fourth in 1965, Udo Jürgens won the contest at his third attempt in 1966. This would be Austria's only top three result of 20th century. The country's best result over the next 46 years (1967–2013) would be fifth place, which it achieved with The Milestones in 1972, Waterloo and Robinson in 1976 and Thomas Forstner in 1989. Austria has finished last in the final a total of seven times, in 1957, 1961, 1962, 1979, 1984, 1988, 1991. The country also finished last in the semi-final in 2012. Austria's best result of the 1990s was four tenth-place finishes, in 1990, 1992, 1996 and 1999. Austria's best result of the 2000s was Alf Poier's sixth-place in 2003, which was Austria's best placement since 1989.

After a three-year absence, ORF announced on 28 July 2010 that Austria would return to the contest in 2011,[1][2] where the country reached the final for the first time since 2004, finishing 18th.

Austria achieved its second victory in the contest at the 2014 contest, with Conchita Wurst winning with 290 points.[3] In a complete reversal of fortunes in 2015, following a tie-break rule Austria was placed 26th and scored nul points along with Germany (27th), they became the first countries since the United Kingdom in 2003 to score nul points at the final. Because of this, Austria became the first host country to receive nul points. Austria qualified for the final for the next three years, finishing 13th in 2016, 16th in 2017 and in 2018, when "Nobody but You" by Cesár Sampson finished third. The country's fortunes were once again reversed afterwards, with Paenda (2019), Vincent Bueno (2021) and Lumix feat. Pia Maria (2022) all failing to qualify. Teya and Salena returned Austria to the final in 2023, finishing 15th.

Absences

Austria has opted out of participation in several contests. The first of these was the 1969 contest, which was staged in Madrid. As Spain was ruled at that time by Francisco Franco, Austria chose to boycott the contest. Contest historian John Kennedy O'Connor points out, however, that Austria had given Spain two points in the previous event and since Spain only won by one point, the political protest was seen as disingenuous.[4]

The following year, Austria was again absent. This was due to the unprecedented result in 1969 in which four songs tied for first place, a result which prompted several other countries to opt out as well.[4]

From 1973 to 1975, Austria stayed away as well. The exact reason for this is unclear, however the scoring system in use at one of these contests, which allowed all entrants a guaranteed number of points, may have been a factor.

The country was ineligible to compete in 1998 and 2001, as it had not achieved sufficiently high placings in the five previous years.[4]

Prior to the 2006 contest, Austria announced that it would not enter a performer in protest at their poor results in previous years, arguing that the musical talent of the performers was no longer the determining factor in success at the event.[5][6] The country returned for the 2007 contest in Helsinki, but came second to last in the semi-final. National broadcaster ORF cited the 2007 result, as well as declining interest in the contest among Austrian viewers, as the reason Austria would not return to the contest in 2008. ORF programme director Wolfgang Lorenz also hinted that Austria may withdraw from the contest indefinitely, stating "ORF has no desire to send more talent out of Austria to a competition where they have no chances...Should the situation change, we'll be happy to take part again".[7] Despite withdrawing, the final of the 2008 contest was shown on ORF.[8]

In 2008, the EBU introduced two semi-finals to the contest, hoping that spreading countries out by random draw would prevent the kind of bloc voting that had warded Austria off. Additionally, juries were reintroduced to determine 50% of each country's result in 2009 (albeit not in the semi-finals, in which all but one of the qualifiers were decided entirely by televote). However, Edgar Böhm, director of entertainment for ORF, said that the semi-final format "still incorporates a mix of countries who will be politically favoured in the voting process" and "that, unless a clear guideline as to how the semifinals are organised is made by the EBU, Austria will not be taking part in Moscow 2009".[9] ORF decided not to participate in the 2009 contest, but did broadcast the final as in 2008.[10] The EBU announced that they would work harder to bring Austria back to the contest in 2010, along with former participants Monaco and Italy.[11] It was, however, confirmed that Austria would not participate in the 2010 contest in Oslo.[12] In July 2010, the chairman of ORF, Alexander Wrabetz, stated that Austria would return for the 2011 contest, due to it being held in its neighbour Germany.[1][2][13] In 2011, Austria reached the final for the first time since 2004.

Participation overview

Table key
1 First place
2 Second place
3 Third place
◁ Last place
X Entry selected but did not compete
† Upcoming event
Year Artist Song Language Final Points Semi Points
1957 Bob Martin "Wohin, kleines Pony?" German 10 ◁ 3 No semi-finals
1958 Liane Augustin "Die ganze Welt braucht Liebe" German 5 8
1959 Ferry Graf "Der K. und K. Kalypso aus Wien" German 9 4
1960 Harry Winter "Du hast mich so fasziniert" German 7 6
1961 Jimmy Makulis "Sehnsucht" German 15 ◁ 1
1962 Eleonore Schwarz "Nur in der Wiener Luft" German 13 ◁ 0
1963 Carmela Corren "Vielleicht geschieht ein Wunder" German, English 7 16
1964 Udo Jürgens "Warum nur, warum?" German 6 11
1965 Udo Jürgens "Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüßen" German 4 16
1966 Udo Jürgens "Merci, Chérie" German[lower-alpha 1] 1 31
1967 Peter Horten "Warum es hunderttausend Sterne gibt" German 14 2
1968 Karel Gott "Tausend Fenster" German 13 2
1971 Marianne Mendt "Musik" German[lower-alpha 2] 16 66
1972 The Milestones "Falter im Wind" German 5 100
1976 Waterloo and Robinson "My Little World" English 5 80
1977 Schmetterlinge "Boom Boom Boomerang" German, English 17 11
1978 Springtime "Mrs. Caroline Robinson" German 15 14
1979 Christina Simon "Heute in Jerusalem" German 18 ◁ 5
1980 Blue Danube "Du bist Musik" German 8 64
1981 Marty Brem "Wenn du da bist" German 17 20
1982 Mess "Sonntag" German 9 57
1983 Westend "Hurricane" German[lower-alpha 3] 9 53
1984 Anita "Einfach weg" German 19 ◁ 5
1985 Gary Lux "Kinder dieser Welt" German 8 60
1986 Timna Brauer "Die Zeit ist einsam" German 18 12
1987 Gary Lux "Nur noch Gefühl" German 20 8
1988 Wilfried "Lisa Mona Lisa" German 21 ◁ 0
1989 Thomas Forstner "Nur ein Lied" German 5 97
1990 Simone "Keine Mauern mehr" German 10 58
1991 Thomas Forstner "Venedig im Regen" German 22 ◁ 0
1992 Tony Wegas "Zusammen geh'n" German 10 63
1993 Tony Wegas "Maria Magdalena" German 14 32 Kvalifikacija za Millstreet
1994 Petra Frey "Für den Frieden der Welt" German 17 19 No semi-finals
1995 Stella Jones "Die Welt dreht sich verkehrt" German 13 67
1996 George Nussbaumer "Weil's dr guat got" German[lower-alpha 4] 10 68 6 80
1997 Bettina Soriat "One Step" German[lower-alpha 5] 21 12 No semi-finals
1999 Bobbie Singer "Reflection" English 10 65
2000 The Rounder Girls "All to You" English 14 34
2002 Manuel Ortega "Say a Word" English 18 26
2003 Alf Poier "Weil der Mensch zählt" German[lower-alpha 6] 6 101
2004 Tie Break "Du bist" German 21 9 Top 11 in 2003 contest[lower-alpha 7]
2005 Global.Kryner "Y así" English, Spanish Failed to qualify 21 30
2007 Eric Papilaya "Get a Life – Get Alive" English 27 4
2011 Nadine Beiler "The Secret Is Love" English 18 64 7 69
2012 Trackshittaz "Woki mit deim Popo" German[lower-alpha 8] Failed to qualify 18 ◁ 8
2013 Natália Kelly "Shine" English 14 27
2014 Conchita Wurst "Rise Like a Phoenix" English 1 290 1 169
2015 The Makemakes "I Am Yours" English 26 0 Host country
2016 Zoë "Loin d'ici" French 13 151 7 170
2017 Nathan Trent "Running on Air" English 16 93 7 147
2018 Cesár Sampson "Nobody but You" English 3 342 4 231
2019 Paenda "Limits" English Failed to qualify 17 21
2020 Vincent Bueno "Alive" English Contest cancelled[lower-alpha 9] X
2021 Vincent Bueno "Amen" English Failed to qualify 12 66
2022 Lumix feat. Pia Maria "Halo" English 15 42
2023 Teya and Salena "Who the Hell Is Edgar?" English 15 120 2 137
2024 TBA 16 January 2024 †[14] TBA † Upcoming †

Hostings

Year Location Venue Presenter Photo
1967 Vienna Großer Festsaal der Wiener Hofburg Erica Vaal
2015 Wiener Stadthalle Mirjam Weichselbraun, Alice Tumler, Arabella Kiesbauer and Conchita Wurst

Awards

Marcel Bezençon Awards

Year Category Song Performer(s) Composer(s) Host city Ref.
2014 Press Award "Rise Like a Phoenix" Conchita Wurst Charley Mason, Joey Patulka, Ali Zuckowski, Julian Maas Denmark Copenhagen

Conductors

Year Conductor[lower-alpha 10] Musical Director Notes Ref.
1957 Carl de Groof N/A [16]
1958 Willy Fantel
1959 France Franck Pourcel [lower-alpha 11]
1960 Robert Stolz
1961 France Franck Pourcel [lower-alpha 12]
1962 Bruno Uher
1963 Erwin Halletz
1964 Johannes Fehring
1965 Italy Gianni Ferrio [lower-alpha 13]
1966 Hans Hammerschmid
1967 Johannes Fehring
1968 Robert Opratko N/A
1971 [17]
1972 Erich Kleinschuster
1976
1977 Christian Kolonovits
1978 Richard Oesterreicher
1979
1980 [18]
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988 Harald Neuwirth
1989 No conductor
1990 Richard Oesterreicher
1991
1992 Leon Ives
1993 Christian Kolonovits
1994 Germany Hermann Weindorf
1995 Michael F. Kienzl
1996 Mischa W. Krausz
1997 No conductor

Heads of delegation

Year Head of delegation Ref.
2019 Stefan Zechner

Commentators and spokespersons

Between the 1970 and 1998 contests, every contest was commentated by Austrian radio journalist and actor Ernst Grissemann, with the exception of the 1979 and 1990 contests. Grissemann admitted to future German commentator Peter Urban in 1995 that he only stayed for the dress rehearsal and then provided the Austrian commentary live from the ORF studios.[20] After 1998 Grissemann stepped down from the commentary and was replaced by Andi Knoll. Austria has also broadcast the contests which it did not compete in, except for the 2010 contest.

Year Television commentator Radio commentator Spokesperson Ref.
1957 Commentary via ARD GermanyNo radio broadcastKarl Bruck
1958
1959
1960 Emil Kollpacher
1961
1962
1963
1964 Willy KralikWalter Richard Langer
1965
1966
1967 Emil Kollpacher
1968 Willy Kralik
1969 Did not participate
1970 Ernst Grissemann
1971 Hubert GaisbauerNo spokesperson
1972
1973 No radio broadcastDid not participate
1974
1975
1976 Hubert GaisbauerJenny Pippal
1977
1978 Walter Richard Langer
1979 Max Schautzer
1980 Günther Ziesel
1981 Ernst Grissemann
1982 Tilia Herold
1983 Rudolf Klausnitzer
1984 No radio broadcast
1985 Walter Richard LangerChris Lohner
1986 Hans LeitingerTilia Herold
1987
1988
1989
1990 Barbara StöcklWalter Richard Langer
1991 Herbert DobrovolnyGabriele Haring
1992 Ernst GrissemannMartin BlumenauAndy Lee
1993
1994 Tilia Herold
1995 Stermann & Grissemann
1996 Martina Rupp
1997 Adriana Zartl
1998 Did not participate
1999 Andi KnollDodo Roščić
2000
2001 Did not participate
2002 Dodo Roščić
2003 Martin Blumenau
2004
2005
2006 No radio broadcastDid not participate
2007 Eva Pölzl
2008 Did not participate
2009 Benny Hörtnagl
2010 No broadcast
2011 Andi KnollMartin Blumenau and Benny HörtnaglKati Bellowitsch
2012 Stermann & Grissemann
2013 No radio broadcast
2014
2015
2016
2017 Kristina Inhof
2018 Kati Bellowitsch
2019 Philipp Hansa
2021
2022 Kurdwin Ayub, Florian Alexander,
Hannes Duscher and Roland Gratzer
2023 Jan Böhmermann and Olli Schulz

See also

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ↑ Contains lines in French
  2. ↑ Specifically Viennese German
  3. ↑ Although the song is in German, the English title is repeated throughout the song.
  4. ↑ Specifically Vorarlbergisch, a High Alemannic dialect
  5. ↑ Contains lines in English
  6. ↑ Specifically Styrian, a Southern Bavarian dialect
  7. ↑ According to the then-Eurovision rules, the top ten non-Big Four countries from the previous year along with the Big Four automatically qualified for the Grand Final without having to compete in semi-finals. For example, if Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the 11th and 12th spots were advanced to next year's Grand Final along with all countries ranked in the top ten.
  8. ↑ Specifically Mühlviertlerisch, a Central Bavarian dialect spoken in Upper Austria
  9. ↑ The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  10. ↑ All conductors are of Austrian nationality unless otherwise noted.
  11. ↑ Host conductor
  12. ↑ Host conductor
  13. ↑ Host conductor

References

  1. 1 2 Klier, Marcus (27 July 2010). "Austria will return to Eurovision in 2011". ESCToday. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Song Contest: Österreich tritt 2011 wieder an" (in German). ORF. 27 July 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  3. ↑ "Austria wins Eurovision Song Contest". BBC News. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 O'Connor, John Kennedy (2005). The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History.
  5. ↑ Philips, Roel (18 June 2005). "Austria withdraws from 2006 Eurovision Song Contest". Retrieved 10 December 2006.
  6. ↑ Philips, Roel (20 June 2005). "Austrian Broadcaster explains withdrawal". Retrieved 12 December 2006.
  7. ↑ Holyer, Steve (20 November 2007). "Austria will not go to Belgrade". Retrieved 20 November 2007.
  8. ↑ Klier, Marcus (2 January 2008). "ORF likely to broadcast Eurovision Song Contest 2008". Retrieved 1 March 2008.
  9. ↑ Kuipers, Michael (3 June 2008). "Austria: ORF will decide in the Autumn". ESCToday. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
  10. ↑ Klier, Marcus (18 September 2008). "Austria: No return to Eurovision in 2009". ESCToday. Retrieved 18 September 2008.
  11. ↑ Floras, Stella (13 January 2009). "EBU working for Eurovision full house in 2010". ESCToday. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
  12. ↑ Klier, Marcus (22 September 2009). "Confirmed: Austria will not take part in 2010". ESCToday. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  13. ↑ Wrabetz, Alexander (31 May 2010). "Wrabetz will ORF-Antreten "sicher überdenken"". derstandard.at (in German). Archived from the original on 5 June 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  14. ↑ Stephenson, James (8 January 2024). "Austria: Eurovision 2024 Artist Reveal on January 16". Eurovoix. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "Winners of the Marcel Bezençon Awards". eurovision.tv. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  16. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (2012). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. One: The 1950s and 1960s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 93–101. ISBN 978-1-84583-065-6.
  17. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 142–168. ISBN 978-1-84583-093-9.
  18. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (2016). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Three: The 1980s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84583-118-9.
  19. ↑ McCaig, Ewan (24 April 2019). "Austria: Vienna Hosts Eurovision Farewell Party For PÆNDA". eurovoix.com. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  20. ↑ "Begegnung in der Box | Das Erste: Eurovision Song Contest - News - Mein Grand Prix". Eurovision.de. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  21. ↑ "Austria – Tallinn 2002". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 "Andreas Knoll" (in German). ORF. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  23. ↑ "Der letzte Song Contest mit Grissemann & Stermann auf FM4". ORF (Press release) (in German). 8 May 2002. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2022 – via Austria Press Agency.
  24. ↑ "Austria – Riga 2003". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  25. ↑ "Tie-Breaks Chancen auf einen Song-Contest-Sieg stehen 80:1" (Press release) (in German). ORF. Austria Press Agency. 12 May 2004. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  26. ↑ "Noch ein Tag bis zum Song-Contest-Semifinale - Eric voll motiviert für seinen großen Auftritt" (Press release) (in German). ORF. 9 March 2007. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2023 – via Austria Press Agency.
  27. ↑ "Song Contest: ORF kombiniert Finalshow mit 'Life Ball'". Der Standard (in German). 6 May 2009. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  28. ↑ "Der Fahrplan zum Eurovision Song Contest 2011". cluboe3.orf.at. 23 April 2011. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  29. ↑ "Song Contest mit Stermann & Grissemann". ORF.at (in German). 1 May 2011. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  30. ↑ "Trackshittaz: Mit schlechter Quote gen Baku". Kurier (in German). 10 May 2012. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  31. ↑ "Lukas Plöchl kommentiert im TV". news.at (in German). 25 May 2012. Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  32. ↑ "Natália Kelly eröffnet den "Eurovision Song Contest 2013"" [Natália Kelly opened the "Euro Vision Song Contest 2013 ']. kundendienst.orf.at (in German). Archived from the original on 9 July 2012.
  33. ↑ "Österreich im zweiten Song-Contest-Semifinale am 8. Mai" [Austria in the second Eurovision Song Contest semi-final on May 8]. ORF (in German). 19 March 2014. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  34. ↑ "Startnummer 12 für Österreich im ersten ESC-Semifinale am 10. Mai". ots.at (in German). Austria Press Agency. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  35. ↑ "Farewell Party: Good Luck, Nathan!" (in German). eurovision-austria.com. 26 April 2017. Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  36. ↑ "Andi Knoll outet sich: "Ich bin seit 18 Jahren mit einem Mann zusammen"". kosmo.at (in German). 29 April 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  37. ↑ "Eurovision 2019 Spokespersons – Who will announce the points?". eurovisionworld.com. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  38. ↑ Granger, Anthony (6 May 2021). "Austria: Andi Knoll Confirmed as Commentator as ORF Reveals Eurovision Programming". Eurovoix. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  39. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 2022 im ORF: LUM!X feat. Pia Maria bei der "London Eurovision Party 2022"". der.ORF.at (in German). Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  40. ↑ "LUM!X feat. Pia Maria gehen mit "Halo" für Österreich beim Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin an den Start". tv.ORF.at (in German). Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  41. ↑ Golightly, Thomas (1 May 2022). "Austria: Andi Knoll Confirmed As Commentator for ORF". Eurovoix. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  42. ↑ "Melodien aus Turin - Der Song Contest auf FM4!". 15 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  43. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 2023: TEYA & SALENA treten für Österreich in Liverpool an". tv.ORF.at (in German). ORF. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  44. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 2023: "ESC – Der Countdown" und " ESC – Die Aftershow" live aus Liverpool am 13. Mai in ORF 1". der.ORF.at (in German). ORF. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  45. ↑ Farren, Neil (29 March 2023). "Germany, Austria and Switzerland to Broadcast Joint Eurovision Warm-Up and After Shows". Eurovoix. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  46. ↑ "Jan Böhmermann und Olli Schulz kommentieren für FM4 den Eurovision Song Contest". fm4.ORF.at (in German). 9 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.

Works cited

  • O'Connor, John Kennedy (2010). The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History (2nd ed.). London: Carlton Books. ISBN 978-1-84732-521-1.
  • Roxburgh, Gordon (2020). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Four: The 1990s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84583-163-9.
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