Austria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 56 times since its debut in 1957. The country has won twice, in 1966 and 2014, and such it holds the record for the longest gap between consecutive wins — 48 years. The Austrian participant broadcaster in the contest is Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF). Vienna was the host city on both of the occasions that the contest was held in Austria, in 1967 and 2015.
| Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest | |
|---|---|
| |
| Participating broadcaster | Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) |
| Participation summary | |
| Appearances | 56 (49 finals) |
| First appearance | 1957 |
| Highest placement | 1st: 1966, 2014 |
| Host | 1967, 2015 |
| External links | |
Austria's page at Eurovision.tv  | |
 For the most recent participation seeAustria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 | |
Having finished sixth at the 1964 contest and fourth in 1965, Udo Jürgens won at his third attempt in 1966 with the song "Merci, Chérie". This was Austria's only top three result of the 20th century. Austria won again in 2014, with "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. Austria has finished last in the contest final seven times (1957, 1961, 1962, 1979, 1984, 1988, and 1991) and finished last in the semi-final in 2012. "Nobody but You" by Cesár Sampson achieved Austria's eighth top five result and second-best result of the 21st century at the 2018 contest, finishing third.
History
editÖsterreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) is a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Austria.
ORF finished last at its debut in the contest in 1957, before Liane Augustin gave the country the first of its eight top five results in 1958, with fifth. Having finished sixth in 1964 and fourth in 1965, Udo Jürgens won the contest at his third attempt in 1966. This would be Austria's only top three result of 20th century. The country's best result over the next 46 years (1967–2013) would be fifth place, which it achieved with The Milestones in 1972, Waterloo and Robinson in 1976 and Thomas Forstner in 1989. Austria has finished last in the final a total of seven times, in 1957, 1961, 1962, 1979, 1984, 1988, 1991. The country also finished last in the semi-final in 2012. Austria's best result of the 1990s was four tenth-place finishes, in 1990, 1992, 1996 and 1999. Austria's best result of the 2000s was Alf Poier's sixth-place in 2003, which was Austria's best placement since 1989.
After a three-year absence, ORF announced on 28 July 2010 that Austria would return to the contest in 2011,[1][2] where the country reached the final for the first time since 2004, finishing 18th.[citation needed]
Austria achieved its second victory in the contest at the 2014 contest, with Conchita Wurst winning with 290 points.[3] In a complete reversal of fortunes in 2015, following a tie-break rule Austria was placed 26th and scored nul points along with Germany (27th), they became the first countries since the United Kingdom in 2003 to score nul points at the final. Because of this, Austria became the first host country to receive nul points. Austria qualified for the final for the next three years, finishing 13th in 2016, 16th in 2017 and in 2018, when "Nobody but You" by Cesár Sampson finished third. The country's fortunes were once again reversed afterwards, with Paenda (2019), Vincent Bueno (2021) and Lumix feat. Pia Maria (2022) all failing to qualify. Teya and Salena returned Austria to the final in 2023, finishing 15th.
Absences
editAustria has opted out of participation in several contests. The first of these was the 1969 contest, which was staged in Madrid. As Spain was ruled at that time by Francisco Franco, Austria chose to boycott the contest. Contest historian John Kennedy O'Connor points out, however, that Austria had given Spain two points in the previous event and since Spain only won by one point, the political protest was seen as disingenuous.[4]
The following year, Austria was again absent. This was due to the unprecedented result in 1969 in which four songs tied for first place, a result which prompted several other countries to opt out as well.[4]
From 1973 to 1975, Austria stayed away as well. The exact reason for this is unclear, however the scoring system in use at one of these contests, which allowed all entrants a guaranteed number of points, may have been a factor.
The country was ineligible to compete in 1998 and 2001, as it had not achieved sufficiently high placings in the five previous years.[4]
Prior to the 2006 contest, Austria announced that it would not enter a performer in protest at their poor results in previous years, arguing that the musical talent of the performers was no longer the determining factor in success at the event.[5][6] The country returned for the 2007 contest in Helsinki, but came second to last in the semi-final. National broadcaster ORF cited the 2007 result, as well as declining interest in the contest among Austrian viewers, as the reason Austria would not return to the contest in 2008. ORF programme director Wolfgang Lorenz also hinted that Austria may withdraw from the contest indefinitely, stating "ORF has no desire to send more talent out of Austria to a competition where they have no chances...Should the situation change, we'll be happy to take part again".[7] Despite withdrawing, the final of the 2008 contest was shown on ORF.[8]
In 2008, the EBU introduced two semi-finals to the contest, hoping that spreading countries out by random draw would prevent the kind of bloc voting that had warded Austria off. Additionally, juries were reintroduced to determine 50% of each country's result in 2009 (albeit not in the semi-finals, in which all but one of the qualifiers were decided entirely by televote). However, Edgar Böhm, director of entertainment for ORF, said that the semi-final format "still incorporates a mix of countries who will be politically favoured in the voting process" and "that, unless a clear guideline as to how the semifinals are organised is made by the EBU, Austria will not be taking part in Moscow 2009".[9] ORF decided not to participate in the 2009 contest, but did broadcast the final as in 2008.[10] The EBU announced that they would work harder to bring Austria back to the contest in 2010, along with former participants Monaco and Italy.[11] It was, however, confirmed that Austria would not participate in the 2010 contest in Oslo.[12] In July 2010, the chairman of ORF, Alexander Wrabetz, stated that Austria would return for the 2011 contest, due to it being held in its neighbour Germany.[1][2][13] In 2011, Austria reached the final for the first time since 2004.
Participation overview
edit| 1 | First place |
| 2 | Second place |
| 3 | Third place |
| ◁ | Last place |
| X | Entry selected but did not compete |
| † | Upcoming event |
Hostings
edit| Year | Location | Venue | Presenter | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Vienna | Großer Festsaal der Wiener Hofburg | Erica Vaal | |
| 2015 | Wiener Stadthalle | Mirjam Weichselbraun, Alice Tumler, Arabella Kiesbauer and Conchita Wurst | 
|
Awards
editMarcel Bezençon Awards
edit| Year | Category | Song | Performer(s) | Composer(s) | Host city | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Press Award | "Rise Like a Phoenix" | Conchita Wurst | Charley Mason, Joey Patulka, Ali Zuckowski, Julian Maas |  Copenhagen
|
Related involvement
editConductors
edit| Year | Conductor[g] | Musical Director | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Carl de Groof | N/A | [16] | |
| 1958 | Willy Fantel | |||
| 1959 |  Franck Pourcel
|
[h] | ||
| 1960 | Robert Stolz | |||
| 1961 | Franck Pourcel
|
[i] | ||
| 1962 | Bruno Uher | |||
| 1963 | Erwin Halletz | |||
| 1964 | Johannes Fehring | |||
| 1965 |  Gianni Ferrio
|
[j] | ||
| 1966 | Hans Hammerschmid | |||
| 1967 | Johannes Fehring | |||
| 1968 | Robert Opratko | N/A | ||
| 1971 | [17] | |||
| 1972 | Erich Kleinschuster | |||
| 1976 | ||||
| 1977 | Christian Kolonovits | |||
| 1978 | Richard Oesterreicher | |||
| 1979 | ||||
| 1980 | [18] | |||
| 1981 | ||||
| 1982 | ||||
| 1983 | ||||
| 1984 | ||||
| 1985 | ||||
| 1986 | ||||
| 1987 | ||||
| 1988 | Harald Neuwirth | |||
| 1989 | No conductor | |||
| 1990 | Richard Oesterreicher | |||
| 1991 | ||||
| 1992 | Leon Ives | |||
| 1993 | Christian Kolonovits | |||
| 1994 |  Hermann Weindorf
|
|||
| 1995 | Michael F. Kienzl | |||
| 1996 | Mischa W. Krausz | |||
| 1997 | No conductor | |||
Heads of delegation
edit| Year | Head of delegation | Refs. |
|---|---|---|
| 2019–2024 | Stefan Zechner |
Commentators and spokespersons
editThis section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2019) |
Between the 1970 and 1998 contests, every contest was commentated by Austrian radio journalist and actor Ernst Grissemann, with the exception of the 1979 and 1990 contests. Grissemann admitted to future German commentator Peter Urban in 1995 that he only stayed for the dress rehearsal and then provided the Austrian commentary live from the ORF studios.[21] After 1998 Grissemann stepped down from the commentary and was replaced by Andi Knoll. Austria has also broadcast the contests which it did not compete in, except for the 2010 contest.
| Year | Television commentator | Radio commentator | Spokesperson | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Commentary via ARD Germany | No radio broadcast | Karl Bruck | |
| 1958 | ||||
| 1959 | ||||
| 1960 | Emil Kollpacher | |||
| 1961 | ||||
| 1962 | ||||
| 1963 | ||||
| 1964 | Willy Kralik | Walter Richard Langer | ||
| 1965 | ||||
| 1966 | ||||
| 1967 | Emil Kollpacher | |||
| 1968 | Willy Kralik | |||
| 1969 | Did not participate | |||
| 1970 | Ernst Grissemann | |||
| 1971 | Hubert Gaisbauer | No spokesperson | ||
| 1972 | ||||
| 1973 | No radio broadcast | Did not participate | ||
| 1974 | ||||
| 1975 | ||||
| 1976 | Hubert Gaisbauer | Jenny Pippal | ||
| 1977 | ||||
| 1978 | Walter Richard Langer | |||
| 1979 | Max Schautzer | |||
| 1980 | Günther Ziesel | |||
| 1981 | Ernst Grissemann | |||
| 1982 | Tilia Herold | |||
| 1983 | Rudolf Klausnitzer | |||
| 1984 | No radio broadcast | |||
| 1985 | Walter Richard Langer | Chris Lohner | ||
| 1986 | Hans Leitinger | Tilia Herold | ||
| 1987 | ||||
| 1988 | ||||
| 1989 | ||||
| 1990 | Barbara Stöckl | Walter Richard Langer | ||
| 1991 | Herbert Dobrovolny | Gabriele Haring | ||
| 1992 | Ernst Grissemann | Martin Blumenau | Andy Lee | |
| 1993 | ||||
| 1994 | Tilia Herold | |||
| 1995 | Stermann & Grissemann | |||
| 1996 | Martina Rupp | |||
| 1997 | Adriana Zartl | |||
| 1998 | Did not participate | |||
| 1999 | Andi Knoll | Dodo Roščić | ||
| 2000 | ||||
| 2001 | Did not participate | |||
| 2002 | Dodo Roščić | |||
| 2003 | Martin Blumenau | |||
| 2004 | ||||
| 2005 | ||||
| 2006 | No radio broadcast | Did not participate | ||
| 2007 | Eva Pölzl | |||
| 2008 | Did not participate | |||
| 2009 | Benny Hörtnagl | |||
| 2010 | No broadcast | |||
| 2011 | Andi Knoll | Martin Blumenau and Benny Hörtnagl | Kati Bellowitsch | |
| 2012 | Stermann & Grissemann | |||
| 2013 | No radio broadcast | |||
| 2014 | ||||
| 2015 | ||||
| 2016 | ||||
| 2017 | Kristina Inhof | |||
| 2018 | Kati Bellowitsch | |||
| 2019 | Philipp Hansa | |||
| 2021 | ||||
| 2022 | Kurdwin Ayub, Florian Alexander, Hannes Duscher and Roland Gratzer | |||
| 2023 | Jan Böhmermann and Olli Schulz | |||
| 2024 |
Photo gallery
edit
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See also
edit- Austria in Eurovision Choir – A competition organised by the EBU for non-professional choirs.
- Austria in the Eurovision Dance Contest – Dance version of the Eurovision Song Contest.
- Austria in the Eurovision Young Dancers – A competition organised by the EBU for younger dancers aged between 16 and 21.
- Austria in the Eurovision Young Musicians – A competition organised by the EBU for musicians aged 18 years and younger.
Notes and references
editNotes
edit- ^ Specifically Viennese German
- ^ Specifically Vorarlbergisch, a High Alemannic dialect
- ^ Specifically Styrian, a Southern Bavarian dialect
- ^ According to the then-Eurovision rules, the top ten non-Big Four countries from the previous year along with the Big Four automatically qualified for the Grand Final without having to compete in semi-finals. For example, if Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the 11th and 12th spots were advanced to next year's Grand Final along with all countries ranked in the top ten.
- ^ Specifically Mühlviertlerisch, a Central Bavarian dialect spoken in Upper Austria
- ^ The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- ^ All conductors are of Austrian nationality unless otherwise noted.
- ^ Host conductor
- ^ Host conductor
- ^ Host conductor
References
edit- ^ a b Klier, Marcus (27 July 2010). "Austria will return to Eurovision in 2011". ESCToday. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ a b "Song Contest: Österreich tritt 2011 wieder an" (in German). ORF. 27 July 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ "Austria wins Eurovision Song Contest". BBC News. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
- ^ a b c O'Connor, John Kennedy (2005). The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History.
- ^ Philips, Roel (18 June 2005). "Austria withdraws from 2006 Eurovision Song Contest". Retrieved 10 December 2006.
- ^ Philips, Roel (20 June 2005). "Austrian Broadcaster explains withdrawal". Retrieved 12 December 2006.
- ^ Holyer, Steve (20 November 2007). "Austria will not go to Belgrade". Retrieved 20 November 2007.
- ^ Klier, Marcus (2 January 2008). "ORF likely to broadcast Eurovision Song Contest 2008". Retrieved 1 March 2008.
- ^ Kuipers, Michael (3 June 2008). "Austria: ORF will decide in the Autumn". ESCToday. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
- ^ Klier, Marcus (18 September 2008). "Austria: No return to Eurovision in 2009". ESCToday. Retrieved 18 September 2008.
- ^ Floras, Stella (13 January 2009). "EBU working for Eurovision full house in 2010". ESCToday. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
- ^ Klier, Marcus (22 September 2009). "Confirmed: Austria will not take part in 2010". ESCToday. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ^ Wrabetz, Alexander (31 May 2010). "Wrabetz will ORF-Antreten "sicher überdenken"". derstandard.at (in German). Archived from the original on 5 June 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (7 September 2024). "Austria confirms participation at Eurovision 2025". ESCToday. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ "Winners of the Marcel Bezençon Awards". eurovision.tv. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (2012). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. One: The 1950s and 1960s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 93–101. ISBN 978-1-84583-065-6.
- ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 142–168. ISBN 978-1-84583-093-9.
- ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (2016). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Three: The 1980s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84583-118-9.
- ^ McCaig, Ewan (24 April 2019). "Austria: Vienna Hosts Eurovision Farewell Party For PÆNDA". Eurovoix. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
- ^ Conte, Davide (24 April 2024). "Austria: Farewell Party for Kaleen Held in Vienna". Eurovoix. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ^ "Begegnung in der Box | Das Erste: Eurovision Song Contest - News - Mein Grand Prix". Eurovision.de. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
- ^ "Austria – Tallinn 2002". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "Andreas Knoll" (in German). ORF. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ "Der letzte Song Contest mit Grissemann & Stermann auf FM4". ORF (Press release) (in German). 8 May 2002. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2022 – via Austria Press Agency.
- ^ "Austria – Riga 2003". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "Tie-Breaks Chancen auf einen Song-Contest-Sieg stehen 80:1" (Press release) (in German). ORF. Austria Press Agency. 12 May 2004. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
- ^ "Noch ein Tag bis zum Song-Contest-Semifinale - Eric voll motiviert für seinen großen Auftritt" (Press release) (in German). ORF. 9 March 2007. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2023 – via Austria Press Agency.
- ^ "Song Contest: ORF kombiniert Finalshow mit 'Life Ball'". Der Standard (in German). 6 May 2009. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ "Der Fahrplan zum Eurovision Song Contest 2011". cluboe3.orf.at. 23 April 2011. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ "Song Contest mit Stermann & Grissemann". ORF.at (in German). 1 May 2011. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ "Trackshittaz: Mit schlechter Quote gen Baku". Kurier (in German). 10 May 2012. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ "Lukas Plöchl kommentiert im TV". news.at (in German). 25 May 2012. Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- ^ "Natália Kelly eröffnet den "Eurovision Song Contest 2013"" [Natália Kelly opened the "Euro Vision Song Contest 2013 ']. kundendienst.orf.at (in German). Archived from the original on 9 July 2012.
- ^ "Österreich im zweiten Song-Contest-Semifinale am 8. Mai" [Austria in the second Eurovision Song Contest semi-final on May 8]. ORF (in German). 19 March 2014. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
- ^ "Startnummer 12 für Österreich im ersten ESC-Semifinale am 10. Mai". ots.at (in German). Austria Press Agency. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ^ "Farewell Party: Good Luck, Nathan!" (in German). eurovision-austria.com. 26 April 2017. Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- ^ "Andi Knoll outet sich: "Ich bin seit 18 Jahren mit einem Mann zusammen"". kosmo.at (in German). 29 April 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
- ^ "Eurovision 2019 Spokespersons – Who will announce the points?". eurovisionworld.com. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (6 May 2021). "Austria: Andi Knoll Confirmed as Commentator as ORF Reveals Eurovision Programming". Eurovoix. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2022 im ORF: LUM!X feat. Pia Maria bei der "London Eurovision Party 2022"". der.ORF.at (in German). Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- ^ "LUM!X feat. Pia Maria gehen mit "Halo" für Österreich beim Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin an den Start". tv.ORF.at (in German). Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- ^ Golightly, Thomas (1 May 2022). "Austria: Andi Knoll Confirmed As Commentator for ORF". Eurovoix. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ "Melodien aus Turin - Der Song Contest auf FM4!". 15 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2023: TEYA & SALENA treten für Österreich in Liverpool an". tv.ORF.at (in German). ORF. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2023: "ESC – Der Countdown" und " ESC – Die Aftershow" live aus Liverpool am 13. Mai in ORF 1". der.ORF.at (in German). ORF. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ Farren, Neil (29 March 2023). "Germany, Austria and Switzerland to Broadcast Joint Eurovision Warm-Up and After Shows". Eurovoix. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- ^ "Jan Böhmermann und Olli Schulz kommentieren für FM4 den Eurovision Song Contest". fm4.ORF.at (in German). 9 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (9 April 2024). "Austria: Jan Böhmermann & Olli Schulz to Host FM4's Eurovision 2024 Coverage". Eurovoix. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2024: Finale - Vorstellung der Songs 1-7" [Eurovision Song Contest 2024: Final - Presentation of songs 1-7]. TV-Programm (in Austrian German). ORF. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ Van Dijk, Sem Anne (8 May 2024). "Austria: Philipp Hansa Spokesperson for Eurovision 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
Works cited
edit- O'Connor, John Kennedy (2010). The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History (2nd ed.). London: Carlton Books. ISBN 978-1-84732-521-1.
- Roxburgh, Gordon (2020). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Four: The 1990s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84583-163-9.