Denmark
Member station	DR
National selection events	Dansk Melodi Grand Prix
Appearances
Appearances	42 (40 finals)
First appearance	1957
Best result	1st: 1963, 2000
Worst result	Last: 2002
External links
DR page
Denmark's page at Eurovision.tv

Denmark has competed in the Eurovision Song Contest from 1957 to 1966 and from 1978 to the present day and has a good record, finishing in the top three six times and winning twice. From 1967 until 1977, Denmark didn't participate in the contest.

Denmark enjoyed mixed success in the 1980s. In 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989, Denmark placed well. However in 1982 and 1983 it received some of its worst placings ever. The 1990s were mostly bad for Denmark. It was disqualified from three contests (1994, 1996, 1998), and when present it mostly scored poorly, with the exceptions of 1990, 1995 and 1999.

The most recent Danish victory came in 2000, with the Olsen Brothers defying the odds (they were considerably older than their competitors and only one male duo had won before) to win with "Fly on the Wings of Love". The Olsens' win however, is Denmark's highest scoring ever, with 195 points. Its lowest score ever, was in 1962 with only 2 points, but they lowest score since 1975 (1978) is just 5 points in 1982. Denmark's average score is 65.261 points.

In 2005, Copenhagen hosted Congratulations, the 50th Anniversary special of the Contest.

The Danish qualifying preliminary contest for the Eurovision Song Contest is the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix.

History [edit]

Denmark's debut [edit]

Denmark first participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 1957, held in Frankfurt, Germany. Denmark had wanted to compete at the first contest in 1956, but had submitted their application past the deadline, and did not compete. Denmark was the first Nordic country to participate at the contest, with Sweden, Norway and Finland following soon after. (Iceland, however, did not take part until 1986).

Denmark's first participants were Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler, with the song "Skibet skal sejle i nat" (English: The Ship Is Leaving Tonight). Their performance was controversial as, at the end of the song, the couple performed an 11-second kiss, that caused outcry in some countries. Nevertheless, the performance achieved a respectable 3rd place.

Its first victory [edit]

Denmark won Eurovision for the first time in 1963, when Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann sang "Dansevise" (Dance Ballad).

However controversy arose again for Denmark. After Norway announced the votes, Katie Boyle, the host, said that she could not hear them and would go back to them later. However everyone else did hear them, and when Boyle went back to Norway again the votes had been changed, thus changing the outcome of the contest and giving the victory to Denmark at Switzerland's expense. In fact, the reason why Norway had to announce their votes again was that the Norwegian spokesperson didn't use the right procedure the first time and therefore there was doubt whether he gave the correct votes on the first occasion.

However, the votes still stood and the victory went to Denmark. The contest was therefore held in Denmark for the first time, in 1964 after their victory.

Absence and return [edit]

After the 1966 contest and a record low of 14th place, Denmark withdrew from the contest indefinitely. DR did not view the contest as being quality entertainment. Dansk MGP was not held from that year onwards as well.

However, in the 1978 contest, after 12 years, Denmark returned to the contest sending Mabel with the song "Boom Boom". Dansk MGP returned as well, and Denmark continues to participate to this day.

Success [edit]

Denmark's most successful time at the contest was between 1984 and 1990. During this time Denmark achieved 4 top-five places, with 2 of them being 3rd. The duo of Kirsten Siggard and Søren Bundgaard represented Denmark three times during this period, under the name "Hot Eyes". In 1984 they sang the song "Det' lige det" (That's Just It) and came in at 4th place. In 1985 they won Dansk MGP for a second time, becoming the only act to win twice in a row. They sang "Sku' du spørg' fra no'en?" (What Business Is It Of Yours?), but could not repreat their success of the previous year, and came 11th.

Hot Eyes again won Dansk MGP in 1988 with "Ka' du se hva' jeg sa'?" (Don't You See That's What I Told You?), and competed for Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 in Dublin, Ireland. At Dublin they managed to beat their previous placing and came in at 3rd place, losing only to Celine Dion and Scott Fitzgerald (singer).

Denmark's fall [edit]

After 1989 Denmark fell from their high positions of the 1980s, and was relegated from the contest on three occasions in the 1990s. In 1993 Tommy Seebach, who had previously represented Denmark in 1979 and 1981, could only manage a 22nd placing, with Denmark being relegated from the contest in 1994. Aud Wilken sang for Denmark at the 1995 contest with "Fra Mols til Skagen" (From Mols to Skagen) and came 5th, but this high placing could not be repeated in 1996, as Denmark couldn't even come out of the pre-selection process of the contest.

Victory for Denmark [edit]

With another bad placing in 1997, Denmark was forced again to skip the 1998 contest. The abolition of the language rule, where a country could only sing in their official languages, in 1999 brought a return to success for Denmark, when Michael Teschl and Trine Jepsen came 8th with "This Time I Mean It".

Denmark won the contest again in 2000, when brothers Jørgen and Niels Olsen came from nowhere and stole the title for Denmark, with "Fly on the Wings of Love". The song went on to enjoy huge success around Europe.

At the 2001 contest, held in Copenhagen, Rollo & King came second with the song "Never Ever Let You Go". However Denmark fell from above again in 2002 when, despite being a favourite to win the contest, Malene Mortensen came last for Denmark with "Tell Me Who You Are". This was the first time that Denmark came last. Denmark were again relegated from the 2003 contest.

Since the introduction of semifinals in 2004 Denmark has qualified for the final 8 out of 10 times. In 2010 they came 4th with "In a moment like this" performed by Chanée and N'evergreen and in 2011 5th with "New tomorrow" performed by the band A Friend In London.

Contestants [edit]

Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler in Frankfurt (1957)

Raquel Rastenni in Hilversum (1958)

Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann (1963)

DQ at Helsinki (2007)

Simon Mathew at Belgrade (2008)

Chanée and N'evergreen at Oslo (2010)

A Friend in London at Düsseldorf (2011)

• In 1996 Denmark failed to qualify for the contest. There was an audio only pre-qualification round for all countries (excluding hosts Norway). The Danish entrant that year would have been Dorthe Andersen and Martin Loft with "Kun med dig". The official Eurovision site does not count 1996 in Denmark's total list of appearances.
• XX on the semi-finals denotes auto-qualification. This could be the result of one of the following two reasons; if a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. The other reason being that back in 2004-2007, the top ten countries who were not members of the big four did not have to compete in the semi finals the following year. If, for example, Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the countries who placed 11th and 12th were advanced to the following year's grand final along with the rest of the top ten countries.
• XX on the finals denotes an unsuccessful attempt at qualifying to the final.

Voting history (1978-2012) [edit]

Denmark has given the most points to...

Rank	Country	Score
1	Sweden	232
2	Germany	159
3	Ireland	132
3	United Kingdom	128
5	Norway	103

Denmark has received the most points from...

Rank	Country	Score
1	Norway	170
2	Iceland	159
3	Sweden	154
4	Ireland	113
5	United Kingdom	99

NOTE: The totals in the above tables include only points awarded in Eurovision finals, and not the semi-finals since 2004.

Since introducing the semi-finals in 2004 until 2012 [edit]

Denmark has given the most points to...

Rank	Country	Points
1	Sweden	95
2	Iceland	70
3	Turkey	60
4	Norway	47
5	Germany	45
6	Bosnia and Herzegovina	40
7	Ireland	37
	Finland	37
8	Romania	27
9	Netherlands	23

Denmark has received the most points from...

Rank	Country	Points
1	Iceland	86
2	Norway	69
3	Sweden	65
4	Ireland	56
5	Latvia	45
6	Estonia	39
7	Netherlands	36
8	Malta	35
9	Poland	32

NOTE: The tables with points from 2004 include points awarded in both finals and semi-finals where the highest point from the final/semi-final is picked.

Hostings [edit]

Year	Location	Venue	Presenters
1964	Copenhagen	Tivolis Koncertsal	Lotte Wæver
2001	Copenhagen	Parken Stadium	Natasja Crone Back and Søren Pilmark

Winner by OGAE members [edit]

Commentators and spokespersons [edit]

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2012)

Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest [edit]

See also [edit]

• Dansk Melodi Grand Prix
• Dansk Melodi Grand Prix winners

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Points to and from Denmark eurovisioncovers.co.uk

v t e Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest   Participation 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 to 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013   Artists 1950s 1956 Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler Raquel Rastenni Birthe Wilke 1960s Katy Bødtger Dario Campeotto Ellen Winther Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann Bjørn Tidmand Birgit Brüel Ulla Pia 1967 to 1969 1970s 1970 to 1977 Mabel Tommy Seebach 1980s Bamses Venner Tommy Seebach and Debbie Cameron Brixx Gry Johansen Hot Eyes Hot Eyes Lise Haavik Anne-Cathrine Herdorf and Bandjo Hot Eyes Birthe Kjær 1990s Lonnie Devantier Anders Frandsen Lotte Nilsson and Kenny Lübcke Tommy Seebach Band 1994 Aud Wilken Dorthe Andersen & Martin Loft Kølig Kaj 1998 Michael Teschl and Trine Jepsen 2000s Olsen Brothers Rollo & King Malene 2003 Thomas Thordarsson Jakob Sveistrup Sidsel Ben Semmane DQ Simon Mathew Niels Brinck 2010s Chanée and N'evergreen A Friend In London Soluna Samay Emmelie de Forest   Songs 1950s 1956 "Skibet skal sejle i nat" "Jeg rev et blad ud af min dagbog" "Uh, jeg ville ønske jeg var dig" 1960s "Det var en yndig tid" "Angelique" "Vuggevise" "Dansevise" "Sangen om dig" "For din skyld" "Stop - mens legen er go'" 1967 to 1969 1970s 1970 to 1977 "Boom Boom" "Disco Tango" 1980s "Tænker altid på dig" "Krøller eller ej" "Video, Video" "Kloden drejer" "Det' lige det" "Sku' du spørg' fra no'en?" "Du er fuld af løgn" "En lille melodi" "Ka' du se hva' jeg sa'?" "Vi maler byen rød" 1990s "Hallo Hallo" "Lige der hvor hjertet slår" "Alt det som ingen ser" "Under stjernerne på himlen" 1994 "Fra Mols til Skagen" "Kun med dig" "Stemmen i mit liv" 1998 "This Time I Mean It" 2000s "Fly on the Wings of Love" "Never Ever Let You Go" "Tell Me Who You Are" 2003 "Shame on You" "Talking to You" "Twist of Love" "Drama Queen" "All Night Long" "Believe Again" 2010s "In a Moment Like This" "New Tomorrow" "Should've Known Better" "Only Teardrops" (Note: Entries scored out are when Denmark did not compete)

v t e Eurovision Song Contest Discography History Languages Marcel Bezençon Awards OGAE Presenters Rules Voting Winners Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest   Countries Active Albania Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Italy Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands Norway Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukraine United Kingdom Inactive Andorra Bosnia and Herzegovina Czech Republic Luxembourg Monaco Morocco Poland Portugal Slovakia Turkey Former Serbia and Montenegro Yugoslavia Unsuccessful attempts Kosovo Lebanon Liechtenstein Soviet Union Tunisia Qatar   Contests 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014   Host cities 1950s Lugano Frankfurt Hilversum Cannes 1960s London Cannes Luxembourg London Copenhagen Naples Luxembourg Vienna London Madrid 1970s Amsterdam Dublin Edinburgh Luxembourg Brighton Stockholm The Hague London Paris Jerusalem 1980s The Hague Dublin Harrogate Munich Luxembourg Gothenburg Bergen Brussels Dublin Lausanne 1990s Zagreb Rome Malmö Millstreet Dublin Dublin Oslo Dublin Birmingham Jerusalem 2000s Stockholm Copenhagen Tallinn Riga Istanbul Kiev Athens Helsinki Belgrade Moscow 2010s Oslo Düsseldorf Baku Malmö   Venues 1950s Teatro Kursaal Großer Sendesaal des hessischen Rundfunks AVRO Studio Palais des Festivals 1960s Royal Festival Hall Palais des Festivals Villa Louvigny BBC Television Centre Tivoli Gardens RAI Concert Hall Villa Louvigny Hofburg Palace Royal Albert Hall Teatro Real 1970s RAI Congrescentrum Gaiety Theatre Usher Hall Grand Théâtre Brighton Dome Stockholm International Fairs Nederlands Congrescentrum Wembley Conference Centre Palais des Congrès International Convention Center 1980s Nederlands Congrescentrum RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion Harrogate International Centre Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle Grand Théâtre Scandinavium Grieg Hall Centenary Palace RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion Palais de Beaulieu 1990s Koncertna dvorana Vatroslav Lisinski Studio 15 di Cinecittà Malmö Isstadion Green Glens Arena Point Theatre Point Theatre Oslo Spektrum Point Theatre National Indoor Arena International Convention Center 2000s Ericsson Globe Parken Stadium Saku Suurhall Arena Skonto Hall Abdi İpekçi Arena Palace of Sports Olympic Indoor Hall Hartwall Areena Belgrade Arena Olimpiisky Indoor Arena 2010s Telenor Arena Esprit Arena Baku Crystal Hall Malmö Arena Congratulations: 50 Years of Eurovision Forum Copenhagen Portal Project