Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1994

The Netherlands was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1994 with the song "Waar is de zon" composed by Edwin Schimscheimer, with lyrics by Coot van Doesburgh, and performed by Willeke Alberti. The Dutch participating broadcaster, Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), selected its entry for the contest through a national final, after having previously selected the performer internally.

Eurovision Song Contest 1994
Participating broadcasterNederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS)
Country Netherlands
National selection
Selection processArtist: Internal selection
Song: Nationaal Songfestival 1994
Selection date(s)Artist: 2 November 1993
Song: 26 March 1994
Selected artist(s)Willeke Alberti
Selected song"Waar is de zon"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Edwin Schimscheimer
  • Coot van Doesburgh
Finals performance
Final result23rd, 4 points
Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1993 1994 1996►

NOS announced Alberti's appointment as its representative on 2 November 1993, while it organised the national final Nationaal Songfestival 1994 in order to select the song. Eight songs competed in the national final on 26 March 1994 where "Waar is de zon" was selected as the winning song following the votes from twelve regional juries.

The Netherlands competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 30 April 1994. Performing during the show in position 13, the Netherlands placed twenty-third out of the 25 participating countries, scoring 4 points.

Background

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Prior to the 1994 contest, Nederlandse Televisie Stichting (NTS) unitl 1969, and Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) since 1970, had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing the Netherlands thirty-six times since NTS début in the inaugural contest in 1956.[1] They have won the contest four times: in 1957 with the song "Net als toen" performed by Corry Brokken;[2] in 1959 with the song "'n Beetje" performed by Teddy Scholten;[3] in 1969 as one of four countries to tie for first place with "De troubadour" performed by Lenny Kuhr;[4] and finally in 1975 with "Ding-a-dong" performed by the group Teach-In.[5] The Dutch least successful result has been last place, which they have achieved on four occasions, most recently in the 1968 contest.[6] They has also received nul points on two occasions; in 1962 and 1963.[7]

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, NOS organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The Dutch broadcasters had used various methods to select the Dutch entry in the past, such as the Nationaal Songfestival, a live televised national final to choose the performer, song or both to compete at Eurovision. However, internal selections have also been held on occasion. In 1993, NOS has internally selected its artist for the contest, while Nationaal Songfestival 1993 was organised in order to select the song. The same method was continued for the 1994 Dutch entry.[8]

Before Eurovision

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Artist selection

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Willeke Alberti (pictured in 2006) was internally selected to represent the Netherlands in 1994

Following Ruth Jacott's sixth place in 1993 with the song "Vrede", the Dutch broadcaster continued to internally select the artist for the Eurovision Song Contest. Artists that were rumoured in Dutch media to be in talks with NOS included singer Gordon Heuckeroth.[9] On 2 November 1993, NOS announced that they had selected singer Willeke Alberti to represent the Netherlands at the 1994 contest.[10] The proposal of Alberti as the Dutch representative came from television personality and singer Paul de Leeuw, while the selection occurred through the decision of a selection commission that included VARA director Willem van Beusekom.[11][12] It was also revealed that her Eurovision song would be selected through the national final Nationaal Songfestival 1994.[13]

Nationaal Songfestival 1994

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A submission period was opened by the Association of Professional Light Music Authors (PALM) where its members were able to submit their songs. 300 songs were received by the association at the closing of the deadline and the eight selected competing songs were announced on 7 March 1994.[14][15] The selection of the songs for the competition occurred through the decision of a selection commission consisting of Willeke Alberti, Ruth Jacott, Willem van Beusekom, conductor Harry van Hoof and producer Roy Beltman.[16] The national final took place on 26 March 1994 at the AT&T Danstheater in The Hague, hosted by Paul de Leeuw and was broadcast on Nederland 3.[17] All eight competing songs were performed by Alberti, accompanied by the Metropole Orchestra conducted by Harry van Hoof, and the winning song, "Waar is de zon", was selected by the votes of 12 regional juries.[13][18] The winning songwriters, Edwin Schimscheimer and Coot van Doesburgh, received a monetary prize of 10,000 Dutch guilders from the Conamus music organisation.[14]

Final – 26 March 1994
Draw Song Songwriter(s) Points Place
1 "Zonder jou" Ben Drossaers, Angelo Smulders 56 4
2 "Champagne" Pim Koopman, Jeroen Englebert 47 6
3 "Dromen" Peter van Asten, Mieke Melgers 55 5
4 "Laat ons dansen" Peter van Asten, Paul de Leeuw 37 8
5 "Tussen jou en mij" Jochem Fluitsma, Eric van Tijn, Hans van Pol 57 3
6 "Zomaar een dag" Cor Bakker, Dirk Keijzer, Paul de Leeuw 78 2
7 "Déjà vu" Pim Koopman, Jeroen Englebert 47 6
8 "Waar is de zon" Edwin Schimscheimer, Coot van Doesburgh 91 1
Detailed Regional Jury Votes
Draw Song
Friesland
Drenthe
Overijssel
Gelderland
Utrecht
Flevoland
North Holland
South Holland
Zeeland
North Brabant
Limburg
Groningen
Total
1 "Zonder jou" 5 5 5 5 10 1 8 2 2 3 8 2 56
2 "Champagne" 2 3 3 3 5 8 4 10 1 6 1 1 47
3 "Dromen" 3 10 2 6 8 2 5 5 3 2 6 3 55
4 "Laat ons dansen" 6 1 1 4 1 4 6 1 4 1 3 5 37
5 "Tussen jou en mij" 4 2 4 8 6 6 3 3 6 4 5 6 57
6 "Zomaar een dag" 8 6 8 2 4 10 10 8 5 5 4 8 78
7 "Déjà vu" 1 4 6 1 3 3 1 4 10 8 2 4 47
8 "Waar is de zon" 10 8 10 10 2 5 2 6 8 10 10 10 91

At Eurovision

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Eurovision Song Contest 1994 took place at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, on 30 April 1994.

The Eurovision Song Contest 1994 took place at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, on 30 April 1994.[19] According to the Eurovision rules, the 25-country participant list for the contest was composed of: the winning country from the previous year's contest and host country Ireland, the seven lowest-scoring countries in the 1993 contest, and any eligible countries which didn't participate in 1993 contest. As the Netherlands placed sixth in the 1993 contest, the nation was thus permitted to participate.[20] On 16 November 1993, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and the Netherlands was set to perform in position 13, following the entry from Malta and before the entry from Germany.[21][22] The Dutch conductor at the contest was Harry van Hoof, and the Netherlands finished in twenty-third place with 4 points.[23][24]

The contest was broadcast in the Netherlands on Nederland 3 with commentary by Willem van Beusekom.[25] NOS appointed Joop van Os as its spokesperson to announce the votes of the Dutch jury during the final.

Voting

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Below is a breakdown of points awarded to the Netherlands and awarded by the Netherlands in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Ireland in the contest.

References

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  1. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1956". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  2. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1957". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  3. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1959". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1969". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1975". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  6. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2011 Semi-Final (2)". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  7. ^ "History by Country - The Netherlands". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  8. ^ "50 jaar songfestival: NSF 1994" (in Dutch). 11 November 2004. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Willeke Alberti naar Eurovisie Songfestival 1994". Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant (in Dutch). 3 November 1993. p. 7. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Willeke Alberti voor Nederland naar het Eurovisie Songfestival". Trouw. 3 November 1993. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  11. ^ Soes, Jelmer (1 April 2017). "Willeke Alberti: Het songfestival breekt je niet". Eurostory. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  12. ^ "De etalageruimte voor Nederlandse muziek is absoluut groot". Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Willeke Alberti naar Eurovisie Songfestival". de Stem (in Dutch). 3 November 1993. p. 16. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Het nationaal songfestival: 300 liedjes". Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant (in Dutch). 21 January 1994. p. 7. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Willeke Alberti kiest Songfestival-liedjes". de Stem (in Dutch). 7 March 1994. p. 8. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Nationaal Songfestival 1994". eurovisionartists.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  17. ^ "Willeke Alberti zingt acht liedjes op Nationaal Songfestival". Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant (in Dutch). 3 March 1994. p. 7. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  18. ^ ESC National Finals database 1994
  19. ^ "Dublin 1994 – Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  20. ^ Roxburgh 2020, pp. 168–170.
  21. ^ Harding, Peter (November 1993). The Point Depot, Dublin city (1993) (Photograph). Point Theatre, Dublin, Ireland. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023 – via RTÉ Libraries and Archives.
  22. ^ Harding, Peter (April 1994). Eurovision Song Contest draw (1993) (Photograph). Point Theatre, Dublin, Ireland. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023 – via RTÉ Libraries and Archives.
  23. ^ "Final of Dublin 1994". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  24. ^ ESC History - Netherlands 1994
  25. ^ "Programma's RTV Zaterdag" [Radio TV programmes on Saturday]. Leidsch Dagblad (in Dutch). 30 April 1994. p. 8. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  26. ^ a b "Results of the Final of Dublin 1994". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
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