With the exception of 1996, Germany has participated in every Eurovision Song Contest since its beginning in 1956. No other country was represented as often. France and the United Kingdom come in a close second, missing only two contests each.

Although German contestants have had limited success in the past, public interest remains high and the contest is one of the most watched events each year.

1982 Contest

The only winner was teenage star Nicole in 1982 when she performed Ein bisschen Frieden , written by Ralph Siegel. The song held to number one position in the German Singles Charts for five weeks and remained in the top ten for 16 weeks. The contest was held in the United Kingdom and Nicole won with 161 points, a 61 point margin over runner-up Avi Toledano from Israel. Siegel has written 12 of the songs performed by German performers, including "I can't live without music" in 2003 and "Let's get happy" in 2004.

1998 Contest

The peak of the contest in Germany may very well have been the 1998 version. Guildo Horn started out his campaign for the nomination as a very controversial singer. He was criticized for his lack of seriousness and his 'average' looks. However, public opinion soon turned and Horn won the nomination with over 60% of the vote. Leading up to the Eurovision Contest the Guildo-Fever spread even more across Germany and the event was front page material for over a week leading up to the contest. Horn was noticed in other countries as well and the early criticism found in Germany resurfaced in newspapers across Europe. Horn performed together with his band the Orthopädischen Strümpfe, singing Guildo hat euch lieb , written by Stefan Raab. Even though the seventh place finish was disappointing to many in Germany it was a revival for the Eurovision Contest within the country and was the beginning of four consecutive top ten finishes.

Voting

Germany traditionally gives high marks to Turkey. This can be traced back to the large Turkish minority living in the country. From 1997 through 1999 Turkey was the top country in the German poll. This was no surprise in 1997 as Turkey received 12 points from two other countries and totaled 121 votes. In 1998 however the country was only able to garner 25 total points and in 1999 more than half of the 21 points came from Germany.

Contestants

External links

• Eurovision official website
• Eurovision Club Germany