Eurovision Song Contest 1983
The Eurovision Song Contest 1983 was the 28th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Munich, then West Germany, on 23 April 1983. The presenter was Marlene Charell. Corinne Hermes was the winner of this Eurovision with the song, "Si la vie est cadeau". This was Luxembourg's fifth victory in the contest which equalled the record set by France in 1977. It was also the second year in a row where the winning entry was performed last on the night and the second year in a row in which Israel won 2nd place. For the third year in a row, at least one country ended up with nul points, and in this case, it happened to be two countries, Spain and Turkey, neither of whom were able to get off the mark.
| Eurovision Song Contest 1983 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dates | |
| Final | 23 April 1983 |
| Host | |
| Venue | Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle, Munich, West Germany |
| Presenter(s) | Marlene Charell |
| Conductor | Dieter Reith |
| Directed by | Rainer Bertram |
| Executive supervisor | Frank Naef |
| Executive producer | Christian Hayer Gunther Lebram |
| Host broadcaster | Arbeitsgemeinschaft Rundfunkanstalten Deutschland (ARD) Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) |
| Opening act | Marlene Charell introducing each act and calling all of them on stage together. |
| Interval act | Classical music films medley performed by Marlene Charell. |
| Website | eurovision |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 20 |
| Debuting countries | None |
| Returning countries |    |
| Non-returning countries |  |
Participation map
| |
| Vote | |
| Voting system | Each country awarded 12, 10, 8-1 point(s) to their 10 favourite songs |
| Nul points |   |
| Winning song |  "Si la vie est cadeau" |
The set that year was a quite small, arc-shaped stage surrounding the orchestra section, and a large background resembling giant electric heaters, which lit up in different sequences and combinations depending on the nature and rhythm of the songs. The 1983 contest was the first to be televised in Australia, via Channel 0/28 (now SBS Television) in Sydney and Melbourne. The contest went on to become a very popular show in Australia, leading to the country's debut at the 60th anniversary contest in 2015. Ireland was not in the contest because RTÉ was in strike action at that time.[1]
Location
Munich is a German city and capital of the Bavarian state. As the capital, Munich houses the parliament and state government. Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle was chosen to host the contest. It was initially named after the president of the Bavarian State Sport Association. The 6,700-seat hall opened in 1972 to host basketball events for the 1972 Summer Olympics.
Voting
Each country had a jury who awarded 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 point(s) to their top ten songs.
Language troubles
Due to Charell's choice to announce points in three languages instead of two, the voting went on for nearly an hour, stretching the Eurovision contest past three hours for the second time ever, after 1979.[2] In addition, Charell made 13 language mistakes throughout the voting,[2] some as innocuous as mixing up the words for "points" between the three languages, some as major as nearly awarding points to "Schweden" (Sweden) that were meant for "Schweiz" (Switzerland).
The language problems also occurred during the contest introductions, as Charell introduced the Finnish singer Ami Aspelund as "Ami Aspesund", furthermore she introduced the Norwegian conductor Sigurd Jansen as "...Johannes...Skorgan...",[3] having been forced to make up a name on the spot after forgetting the conductor's name.
Song success
Ofra Haza from Israel, who took the second place, had an enduring success with her song "Hi" (חי) which became a hit in Europe, launching her career. This year also marked the first performance of Sweden's Carola Häggkvist, who took the third place, went on to win the contest in 1991 and represented her country again in 2006 (coming fifth). Her song, "Främling", became very popular in Sweden and in various other European countries. In the Netherlands, the song reached the top five, coupled with a Dutch-language version ("Je ogen hebben geen geheimen") which was performed by Carola herself. The 4th placed "Džuli", also became a hit in Europe. Singer Daniel released an English-language version as "Julie".
Nul points
This year's nul points were shared by Spain and Turkey. Spain's Remedios Amaya presented a song which was a stark departure from pop tastes and conventional perception of melody and harmony as it was a flamenco one, a style traditionally tied with the international image of Spain. Additionally, she sang her song barefoot. Some olés were heard from the present audience when she ended her performance. Turkey's entry, Opera, performed by Çetin Alp & the Short Waves, could on the other hand be said to fit in well with the spirit of Eurovision of that time. Nevertheless, the overinterpretation of the theme of the song, as well as the fact that the lyrics of the song consisted for the most part of the often-repeated word "opera" and names of well-known operas and composers, and Çetin's breaking into operatic "lay lay la", prompted extensive derision of the song, including the usual sardonic words from BBC commentator Terry Wogan ("a nicely understated performance there").
Interval act
The interval show was a dance number set to a medley of German songs which had become internationally famous, including "Strangers in the Night". The host, Marlene Charell, was the lead dancer.
Conductors
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Returning artists
| Artist | Country | Previous year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Guy Bonnet | |
1970 |
| Jahn Teigen | |
1978, 1982 |
| Anita Skorgan (with Jahn Teigen) | 1977, 1979, 1982 |
Results
Scoreboard
| Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 56 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||
| Norway | 53 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 2 | ||||||||||
| United Kingdom | 79 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 6 | |||||||
| Sweden | 126 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 5 | |||
| Italy | 41 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 7 | |||||||||||
| Turkey | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Spain | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Switzerland | 28 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||||||||
| Finland | 41 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Greece | 32 | 3 | 12 | 5 | 12 | |||||||||||||||||
| Netherlands | 66 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | |||||
| Yugoslavia | 125 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 8 | ||||||
| Cyprus | 26 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Germany | 94 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 12 | |||||||
| Denmark | 16 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Israel | 136 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 10 | ||||
| Portugal | 33 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 7 | |||||||||||||
| Austria | 53 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 3 | |||||||||
| Belgium | 13 | 4 | 8 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Luxembourg | 142 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 8 | ||||
12 points
Below is a summary of all 12 points in the final:
| N. | Contestant | Voting nation |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Luxembourg | France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Yugoslavia |
| 5 | Yugoslavia | Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Turkey, United Kingdom |
| 2 | Greece | Cyprus, Spain |
| Israel | Austria, Netherlands | |
| Sweden | Germany, Norway | |
| 1 | Germany | Luxembourg |
| Netherlands | Switzerland | |
| United Kingdom | Sweden |
Commentators
Television
Participating countries
Non-participating countries
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Radio
Participating countries
Some participating countries did not provide radio broadcasts for the event; the ones who did are listed below.
Non-participating countries
Spokespersons
Each country announced their votes in the order of performance. The following is a list of spokespersons who announced the votes for their respective country.[21]
National jury members
References
- "Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest". Best Irish Facts. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- Eurovision 1983 facts
- Boom-Bang-a-Bang: Eurovision's Funniest Moments, BBC-TV, hosted by Terry Wogan
- "Robert Weber". andtheconductoris.eu. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- "Eurovision Song Contest 1984". The Diggiloo Thrush. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- Christian Masson. "1983 - Munich". Songcontest.free.fr. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- "Hvem kommenterte før Jostein Pedersen? - Debattforum". Nrk.no. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- Eurovision Song Contest 1983 BBC Archives
- "Infosajten.com". Infosajten.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- "FORO FESTIVAL DE EUROVISIÓN • Ver Tema - Uribarri comentarista Eurovision 2010". Eurosongcontest.phpbb3.es. Archived from the original on 2012-03-17. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- KleinReport.ch. "Ehemalige "SF-DRS-Stimme Englands" Theodor Haller gestorben - Klein Report - News, alles über Kommunikation und Medien". KleinReport.ch. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- "Selostajat ja taustalaulajat läpi vuosien? • Viisukuppila". Viisukuppila.fi. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- "Η Μακώ Γεωργιάδου και η EUROVISION (1970-1986)". Retromaniax.gr. Archived from the original on 2017-10-17. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- "Welkom op de site van Eurovision Artists". Eurovisionartists.nl. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- Savvidis, Christos (OGAE Cyprus)
- "Forside". esconnet.dk. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- "Comentadores Do ESC - escportugalforum.pt.vu | o forum eurovisivo português". 21595.activeboard.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- Archived October 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- Adriaens, Manu & Loeckx-Van Cauwenberge, Joken. Blijven kiken!. Lannoo, Belgium. 2003 ISBN 90-209-5274-9
- Roxburgh, Gordon (2017). Songs For Europe - The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest Volume Three: The 1980's. UK: Telos Publishing. p. 166. ISBN 978-1-84583-118-9.
- "Cast in credits order". Eurovision Song Contest 1983. IMDb. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- Dyrseth, Seppo (OGAE Norway)
- "Remedios Amaya actúa en séptimo lugar en el Festival de Eurovisión | Edición impresa | EL PAÍS". Elpais.com. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- Baumann, Peter Ramón (OGAE Switzerland)
- "Selostajat ja taustalaulajat läpi vuosien? • Viisukuppila". Viisukuppila.fi. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- "פורום אירוויזיון". Sf.tapuz.co.il. 1999-09-13. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
- "000webhost.com - free web hosting provider". Eurofestival.host22.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-15. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
External links
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