Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981
Encyclopedia
The Netherlands was represented by Linda Williams
, with the song '"Het is een wonder
", at the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Dublin on 4 April. "Het is een wonder" was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 11 March. Previous Dutch entrant Ben Cramer (1973
) and future representative Maribelle
(1984
) were among the acts taking part.
, hosted by Fred Oster and Elles Berger. Five acts took part performing two songs each and voting was by 12 regional juries, who each had 10 points to divide between the songs. "Het is een wonder" was the only song to receive votes from every jury and emerged the winner by a 7-point matgin.
and preceding Ireland
. At the close of voting "Het is een wonder" had received 51 points from 12 countries (the highest being 7s from Denmark
, Portugal
and Spain), placing the Netherlands 9th of the 20 entries. The Dutch jury awarded its 12 points to contest winners the United Kingdom
.
Linda Williams (singer)
Linda Williams is a Dutch singer, best known for her participation in the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest....
, with the song '"Het is een wonder
Het Is Een Wonder
"Het is een wonder" was the Dutch entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981, performed in Dutch by Linda Williams.The song is a ballad, with Williams singing about the effect that meeting her lover has had on her. She explains that she had not previously experienced happiness, but now she is...
", at the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Dublin on 4 April. "Het is een wonder" was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 11 March. Previous Dutch entrant Ben Cramer (1973
Eurovision Song Contest 1973
The Eurovision Song Contest 1973 was the eighteenth Eurovision Song Contest and was held in Luxembourg. The language rule forcing countries to enter songs sung in any of their national languages was dropped, so performers from some countries sang in English....
) and future representative Maribelle
Maribelle
Maribelle is a Dutch singer, best known for her participation in the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest....
(1984
Eurovision Song Contest 1984
The Eurovision Song Contest 1984 was the 29th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 5 May 1984 in Luxembourg. The presenter was Désirée Nosbusch. Nosbusch, only 19 years old at the time, hosted the show in a lax manner, which was quite unusual for this show back then...
) were among the acts taking part.
Final
The national final was held at the Theater Zuidplein in RotterdamRotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, hosted by Fred Oster and Elles Berger. Five acts took part performing two songs each and voting was by 12 regional juries, who each had 10 points to divide between the songs. "Het is een wonder" was the only song to receive votes from every jury and emerged the winner by a 7-point matgin.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucy Steymel | "Een nieuw begin" | 8 | 5= |
| 2 | Lucy Steymel | "Stap voor stap" | 8 | 5= |
| 3 | Maribelle | "Marionette" | 27 | 2 |
| 4 | Maribelle | "Fantasie" | 23 | 3 |
| 5 | Ben Cramer | "Retour" | 3 | 8 |
| 6 | Ben Cramer | "Marianne" | 0 | 10 |
| 7 | The Familee | "Sim sa la bim" | 2 | 9 |
| 8 | The Familee | "Festival" | 9 | 4 |
| 9 | Linda Williams | "Het is een wonder" | 34 | 1 |
| 10 | Linda Williams | "Zo is het leven" | 6 | 7 |
At Eurovision
On the night of the final Williams performed 11th in the running order, following SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and preceding Ireland
Ireland
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...
. At the close of voting "Het is een wonder" had received 51 points from 12 countries (the highest being 7s from Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and Spain), placing the Netherlands 9th of the 20 entries. The Dutch jury awarded its 12 points to contest winners the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.