Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980
Germany was represented by Katja Ebstein, with the song "Theater", at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 19 April in The Hague. "Theater" was the winner of the German national final, held on 20 March. This was Ebstein's third Eurovision appearance; she had previously represented Germany in 1970 and 1971, finishing third on both occasions.
| Eurovision Song Contest 1980 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Ein Lied für Den Haag | |||
| Selection date(s) | 20 March 1980 | |||
| Selected entrant | Katja Ebstein | |||
| Selected song | "Theater" | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 2nd, 128 points | |||
| Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Final
The final was held at the Bayerischer Rundfunk TV studios in Munich, hosted by Carolin Reiber and Thomas Gottschalk. 12 songs took part and the winner was chosen by a panel of approximately 1,000 people who had been selected as providing a representative cross-section of the German public.[1]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Votes | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mel Jersey | "Du bist nicht mehr frei" (You are not free anymore) | 3310 | 6 |
| 2 | Costa Cordalis | "Pan" | 4634 | 2 |
| 3 | Marianne Rosenberg | "Ich werd' da sein, wenn es Sturm gibt" (I will be there when there are storms) | 2169 | 12 |
| 4 | Roland Kaiser | "Hier kriegt jeder sein Fett" (Everybody gets his share here) | 2823 | 8 |
| 5 | Stefan Waggershausen & Co | "Verzeih'n Sie, Madame" (Excuse me, madam) | 3625 | 4 |
| 6 | Katja Ebstein | "Theater" (Theatre) | 4828 | 1 |
| 7 | Adam & Eve | "Hallo Adam, Hallo Eva" (Hello Adam, hello Eve) | 2847 | 7 |
| 8 | Montezuma | "Montezuma Castle" | 3586 | 5 |
| 9 | Tony & David | "Minnesänger - Mädchenfänger" (Minnesingers - Girl catchers) | 2784 | 9 |
| 10 | Stefan Hallberg | "Gib uns Zeit" (Give us time) | 2266 | 11 |
| 11 | Susanne Klee | "Wenn du nicht weißt, wohin" (If you do not know where to go) | 3968 | 3 |
| 12 | Viel-Harmoniker | "In der Oper" (At the opera) | 2462 | 10 |
At Eurovision
On the night of the final Ebstein performed 12th in the running order, following Norway and preceding the United Kingdom. The performance was memorable, featuring four mime artists, and at the close of voting "Theater" had received 128 points (including maximum 12s from Italy, the Netherlands and Spain), placing Germany second of the 19 entries. Only Greece and Norway failed to award the song any points at all. The German jury awarded its 12 points to contest winners Ireland.[2]
The 1980 result gave Ebstein the distinction of being the only Eurovision performer to date to have finished in the top 3 on three occasions.
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[3]
| 12 points |  |
| 10 points |  |
| 8 points |  |
| 7 points |  |
| 6 points |  |
| 5 points |  |
| 4 points |  |
| 3 points |  |
| 2 points |  |
| 1 point |  |