The Netherlands was represented at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1982 The Eurovision Song Contest 1982 was the 27th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Harrogate, United Kingdom, following the country's victory at the with the song " Making Your Mind Up" by Bucks Fizz. Organised by the Europ ...

with the song "", composed by Dick Bakker, with lyrics by Liselore Gerritsen, and performed by Bill van Dijk. The Dutch participating broadcaster, (NOS), selected its entry through a national final. The song and performer were chosen independently of each other at the national final. Although "" performed poorly at Eurovision and was forgotten immediately after, "", which had finished second in the Dutch national final, was picked up by British record producer

Tim Friese-Greene Timothy Alan Friese-Greene is an English musician and record producer, producer. He worked with the band Talk Talk from 1983 to their breakup in 1991. He currently releases solo albums under the name Heligoland. He is the grandson of filmmaker Cl ...

, recorded in English (as "Fantasy Island") by the group

Tight Fit Tight Fit are an English pop group who had several hits in the early 1980s, including a UK No.1 for three weeks with their cover version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in 1982. History In 1981, record producer Ken Gold came up with the idea to ...

, and became a top 5 hit in the UK and also a chart success in Ireland.

Before Eurovision

1982

(NOS) held the national final at the Circustheater in

Scheveningen Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...

, hosted by the 1969 Eurovision winner

Lenny Kuhr Helena Hubertina Johanna "Lenny" Kuhr (born 22 February 1950) is a Dutch singer-songwriter. Career In 1967, she started a singing career in the Netherlands, performing songs in the French chanson tradition. In 1969, she represented the Neth ...

. It consisted of three acts and three songs, with each act performing each song, giving nine performances in total. Firstly, a seven-member jury, which included former Eurovision entrants

Ben Cramer Ben Cramer (born Bernardus Kramer; 17 February 1947) is a Dutch singer who represented the Netherlands in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest. Music career Early years Cramer was born in Amsterdam. He made his television debut in 1966 with his b ...

and

Getty Kaspers Gertrude "Getty" Kaspers (born 5 March 1948) is an Austrian-born Dutch singer. She was the lead vocalist of the Dutch band Teach-In, with which she won the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 for the song " Ding-a-dong". Career Early career Kas ...

(lead singer of

Teach-In A teach-in is similar to a general educational forum on any complicated issue, usually an issue involving current political affairs. The main difference between a teach-in and a seminar is the refusal to limit the discussion to a specific tim ...

), each chose their favourite song; then the choice of performer was made by 12 regional juries who each had 10 points to divide between the artists.

At Eurovision

On the night of the final van Dijk performed 16th in the running order, following and preceding . At the close of voting "" had received just 8 points, placing the Netherlands 16th of the 18 entries, ahead only of and . The Dutch jury awarded its 12 points to . The Dutch conductor at the contest was

Rogier van Otterloo Willem Rogier van Otterloo (11 December 1941 – 29 January 1988) was a Dutch composer and conductor. Biography Van Otterloo was the eldest son of the conductor Willem van Otterloo, and was born in Bilthoven, Netherlands. He composed several so ...

Voting

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 1982

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1982

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster submits an origina ...