The Netherlands was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 with the song "Colorado", composed by Rob Bolland and Ferdi Bolland, with lyrics by Gerard Cox, and performed by Xandra. The Dutch participating broadcaster, Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), selected its entry through a national final, after having previously selected the performer internally.
| Eurovision Song Contest 1979 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participating broadcaster | Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) | |||
| Country |  Netherlands | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Artist: Internal selection Song: Nationaal Songfestival 1979 | |||
| Selection date(s) | 7 February 1979 | |||
| Selected artist(s) | Xandra | |||
| Selected song | "Colorado" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) |
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| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 12th, 51 points | |||
| Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Although it was claimed at the time that Xandra was the name of a six-piece band, in reality it was merely a name adopted by Eurovision veteran Sandra Reemer, who had previously represented the Netherlands in 1972 and 1976. The cover sleeves on the various domestic and international record issues of "Colorado" for example all pictured Reemer on her own without any "band members".
Before Eurovision
editNationaal Songfestival 1979
editThe final was held at the RAI Congrescentrum in Amsterdam, hosted by Martine Bijl. Five songs took part, all performed by Xandra, with the winner being decided by eleven juries who each had 50 points to distribute between the songs. Ten of the juries consisted of people from various professions (politicians, musical conductors, carnival workers, nurses, chefs, local mayors, media presenters, actors, footballers, and firefighters) while the eleventh was made up of members of the Sandra Reemer fan club.[1]
| Draw | Song | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Lieveling" | 109 | 2 |
| 2 | "Lila Lavendel" | 66 | 5 |
| 3 | "Intercity" | 104 | 3 |
| 4 | "Waar ben je heen" | 68 | 4 |
| 5 | "Colorado" | 203 | 1 |
At Eurovision
editOn the night of the final Xandra performed 14th in the running order, following Luxembourg and preceding Sweden. At the close of voting, "Colorado" had received 51 points from 10 countries, placing the Netherlands 12th of the 19 entries.[2] The Dutch jury awarded its 12 points to France.[3]
The Dutch conductor at the contest was Harry van Hoof.
Voting
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References
edit- ^ ESC National Finals database 1979
- ^ "Final of Jerusalem 1979". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ ESC History - Netherlands 1979
- ^ a b "Results of the Final of Jerusalem 1979". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.