Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976
Encyclopedia
The Netherlands was represented by Sandra Reemer
, with the song '"The Party's Over", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague
, following Teach-In
's victory for the Netherlands the previous year. The song was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 18 February. This was the second of Reemer's three Eurovision appearances for the Netherlands: she had sung in the 1972 contest
in a duo with Dries Holten
(Andres), and would also take part in the 1979 contest
under the name of Xandra.
Prior to the contest, there was controversy when some other national delegations laid accusations that "The Party's Over" plagiarised
the 1968 Mary Hopkin
hit "Those Were the Days
". The allegations of plagiarism were considered and rejected by contest organisers the European Broadcasting Union
, who conceded that the songs were very similar in style and structure, but did not find any similarity between the actual melodies.
and preceding Norway
. At the close of voting "The Party's Over" had received 56 points from 14 countries (the highest being 8 from Israel
), placing the Netherlands 9th of the 18 entries The Dutch jury awarded its 12 points to France
.
Sandra Reemer
Barbara Alexandra "Sandra" Reemer is a Dutch Indo singer of Dutch, Chinese and Javanese extraction...
, with the song '"The Party's Over", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, following Teach-In
Teach-In
Teach-In was a Dutch band, best known for winning Eurovision Song Contest 1975 with the song Ding-A-Dong. The band was founded in 1969 and parted in 1980. Throughout this time there were several changes in lineup.-History:...
's victory for the Netherlands the previous year. The song was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 18 February. This was the second of Reemer's three Eurovision appearances for the Netherlands: she had sung in the 1972 contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1972
The Eurovision Song Contest 1972 was the 17th edition series. Monaco was unable to host this year's Eurovision as they were unable to provide the resources. They approached French TV, who agreed to produce the contest, but only if the contest was staged in France and not the planned Monte Carlo...
in a duo with Dries Holten
Dries Holten
Dries Holten is a Indonesian born Dutch singer, Songwriter. He represented the Netherlands at the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest alongside Sandra Reemer. After he and Reemer broke up Holten formed a new group with Rosy Pereira and called it Rosy & Andres...
(Andres), and would also take part in the 1979 contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1979
The Eurovision Song Contest 1979 was the 24th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 31 March 1979 in Jerusalem, Israel. The presenters were Daniel Pe'er and Yardena Arazi, and the event was staged at the International Convention Center. Representing Israel, Gali Atari and Milk and Honey were the...
under the name of Xandra.
Prior to the contest, there was controversy when some other national delegations laid accusations that "The Party's Over" plagiarised
Musical plagiarism
Music plagiarism is the use or close imitation of another author's music while representing it as one's own original work. Plagiarism in music now occurs in two contexts – with a musical idea or sampling...
the 1968 Mary Hopkin
Mary Hopkin
Mary Hopkin , credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti, is a Welsh folk singer best known for her 1968 UK number one single "Those Were The Days". She was one of the first musicians to sign to The Beatles' Apple label....
hit "Those Were the Days
Those Were the Days (song)
"Those Were the Days" is a song credited to Gene Raskin, who put English lyrics to the Russian song "Dorogoi dlinnoyu" , written by Boris Fomin with words by the poet Konstantin Podrevskii. It deals with reminiscence upon youth and romantic idealism...
". The allegations of plagiarism were considered and rejected by contest organisers the European Broadcasting Union
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union is a confederation of 74 broadcasting organisations from 56 countries, and 49 associate broadcasters from a further 25...
, who conceded that the songs were very similar in style and structure, but did not find any similarity between the actual melodies.
Final
The national final was held at the Congresgebouw in The Hague (the same venue where the Eurovision final was to take place) on 18 February, hosted by Willem Duys. Five songs took part, with the winner being decided by eleven regional juries who each had 10 points to allocate between the songs. All the acts were well-known hitmakers in the Netherlands, and an extra point of interest for viewers was that one of the other participants was Reemer's former singing partner Holten, now performing with his new partner Rosy: reportedly by 1976 Reemer and Holten were no longer on the best of terms, so there was much anticipation to see them competing against each other. In the event, "The Party's Over" emerged the winner while Holten's song "I Was Born to Love" could only manage fourth place.| Draw | Artist | Song | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spooky & Sue | "Do You Dig It" | 5 | 5 |
| 2 | Bolland & Bolland | "Souvenir" | 30 | 2 |
| 3 | Sandra Reemer | "The Party's Over" | 35 | 1 |
| 4 | Rosy & Andres | "I Was Born to Love" | 17 | 4 |
| 5 | Lucifer | "Someone Is Waiting for You" | 23 | 3 |
At Eurovision
On the night of the final Reemer performed 8th in the running order, following IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and preceding Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. At the close of voting "The Party's Over" had received 56 points from 14 countries (the highest being 8 from Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
), placing the Netherlands 9th of the 18 entries The Dutch jury awarded its 12 points to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.