The Netherlands was represented at the
Eurovision Song Contest 1978
The Eurovision Song Contest 1978 was the 23rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Paris, France, following the country's victory at the with the song "L'Oiseau et l'Enfant" by Marie Myriam. Organised by the European Broadcas ...
with the song ", composed by
Eddy Ouwens, with lyrics by Toon Gispen and Dick Kooiman, and performed by the band Harmony. The Dutch participating broadcaster, (NOS), selected its entry through a national final.
Before Eurovision
1978
The final was held at the
Congresgebouw in
The Hague
The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
, hosted by
Willem Duys
Willem Duys (17 August 1928 – 2 June 2011) was a Dutch people, Dutch radio personality, radio and television presenter, commentator, tennis player and music producer.
Duys was born in Bussum. He first started a career as a tennis player. Havi ...
. Four acts took part performing two songs each and voting was by 10-member juries in the eleven Dutch provinces, with an additional jury made up of ten former Dutch Eurovision participants (
Teddy Scholten
Dorothea Margaretha "Teddy" Scholten (; 11 May 1926 – 8 April 2010) was a Dutch singer and television presenter. She is known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 with the song " Een beetje", representing the Netherlands.
Career
In ...
,
Greetje Kauffeld,
De Spelbrekers,
Conny Vandenbos,
Lenny Kuhr,
Maggie MacNeal,
Getty Kaspers of
Teach-In,
Sandra Reemer
Barbara Alexandra "Sandra" Reemer (17 October 1950 – 6 June 2017) was an Indo-Dutch singer and television presenter. She represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest on three occasions, tying with Corry Brokken for most appeara ...
, and
Heddy Lester
Heddy Lester (born Heddy Affolter, 18 June 1950 – 29 January 2023) was a Dutch singer and actress of Jewish-Surinamese origin, best known outside the Netherlands for her participation in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest.
Early career
Lester ...
). Each juror awarded one point to his/her favourite song, with 120 points available in total. After a rather confused voting procedure (during which the juries in
Gelderland
Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...
and
South Holland
South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...
originally tried to award more than 10 points apiece), " emerged the winner by a 12-point margin.
At Eurovision
On the night of the final Harmony performed 11th in the running order, following and preceding . At the close of voting " had received 37 points from eight countries, placing the Netherlands 13th of the 20 entries.
The Dutch jury reciprocated the Israeli 12 points by awarding its 12 to contest winner "
A-Ba-Ni-Bi
"A-Ba-Ni-Bi" (; bet-language language game for the word ''aní'', meaning "I" in Hebrew) is a song recorded by Israeli group Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta, with music composed by Nurit Hirsh and Hebrew lyrics written by Ehud Manor. It in ...
".
The Dutch conductor at the contest was
Harry van Hoof.
Voting
References
{{Eurovision Song Contest 1978
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978
Eurovision