Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979
West Germany (performing under the banner Germany) was present at the Eurovision Song Contest 1979, held in Jerusalem, Israel.
| Eurovision Song Contest 1979 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Vorentscheid 1979[1] (Ein Lied für Jerusalem) | |||
| Selection date(s) | 17 March 1979 | |||
| Selected entrant | Dschinghis Khan | |||
| Selected song | "Dschinghis Khan" | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 4th, 86 points | |||
| Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
The German national final to select their entry, Vorentscheid 1979,[1] was held on 17 March at the Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle in Munich, and was hosted by Carolin Reiber and Thomas Gottschalk.
Twelve songs made it to the national final, which was broadcast by Bayerischer Rundfunk to ARD broadcasters across West Germany. The winner was decided by a sampling of 500 random West Germans who were meant to symbolize a fair representation of the country's population.
The winning entry was "Dschinghis Khan,"[1] performed by Dschinghis Khan and composed by Ralph Siegel with lyrics by Bernd Meinunger.
National final
| Draw | Artist | Song | Informal translation | Votes | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony Holiday | "Zuviel Tequila, zuviel schöne Mädchen" | Too much tequila, too many pretty girls | 2807 | 9th |
| 2 | Hanne Haller | "Goodbye, Chérie" | Goodbye, Chérie | 3009 | 7th |
| 3 | Gebrüder Blattschuß | "Ein Blick sagt mehr als jedes Wort" | A look says more than any word | 1673 | 12th |
| 4 | Ingrid Peters | "Du bist nicht frei" | You have no freedom | 2894 | 8th |
| 5 | Jerry Rix and Linda G. Thompson | "Wochenende" | Weekend | 1920 | 11th |
| 6 | Truck Stop | "Take it easy, altes Haus" | Take it easy, chap | 4394 | 2nd |
| 7 | Jeanne de Roy | "Was wir aus Liebe tun" | What we do for love | 2117 | 10th |
| 8 | Bernhard Brink | "Madeleine" | Madeleine | 3326 | 6th |
| 9 | Dschinghis Khan | "Dschinghis Khan" | Genghis Khan | 4807 | 1st |
| 10 | Paola | "Vogel der Nacht" | Bird of the night | 4127 | 3rd |
| 11 | Roberto Blanco | "Samba si, Arbeit no" | Samba yes, work no | 3461 | 4th |
| 12 | Orlando Riva Sound | "Lady lady lady" | Lady lady lady | 3336 | 5th |
At Eurovision
Dschinghis Khan performed ninth on the night of the contest, following Switzerland and preceding Israel. At the close of the voting the song had received 86 points, placing 4th in a field of 19 competing countries. It was the one of many Top Ten placings for Germany in the Contest (which would eventually include a win in 1982 and a win in 2010).
Points awarded to Germany
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
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Points awarded by Germany[2]
| 12 points |  |
| 10 points |  |
| 8 points |  |
| 7 points |  |
| 6 points |  |
| 5 points |  |
| 4 points |  |
| 3 points |  |
| 2 points |  |
| 1 point | .svg.png){kind=small} |