The Eurovision Song Contest 1983 was the 28th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 23 April 1983 at the Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle in Munich, West Germany, and presented by Marlene Charell. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (BR) on behalf of ARD, who staged the event after winning the for with the song "" by Nicole. Despite being that their first win at the contest, it was actually the second time that ARD had hosted the competition, having previously done so in in Frankfurt.
Broadcasters from twenty countries participated in the contest, with , , and all returning this year. (RTÉ) decided not to participate citing industrial action, making this 's first absence since its debut in 1965.
The winner was with the song "" by Corinne Hermes, which equalled the record of five victories set by . This record would in turn be beaten by . It was also the second year in a row where the winning entry was performed last on the night and the second year in a row in which won 2nd place. For the third year in a row at least one country ended up with nul points, in this case and .
The 1983 contest was the first to be televised in Australia, via Channel 0/28 (now SBS) in Sydney and Melbourne. The contest went on to become popular in Australia, leading to at the in 2015.
Location
thumb|200px|left|Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle, Munich – host venue of the 1983 contest.
Munich is a German city and capital of the Bavarian state. was chosen to host the contest. The hall opened in 1972 to host basketball events for the 1972 Summer Olympics.
Participants
Twenty countries took part in the contest, with , , and returning to the competition. On the other hand, was absent this year for the first time since its debut in 1965 because of the financial difficulties of the national broadcaster, (RTÉ).
Several of the performing artists had previously competed as lead artists representing the same country in past editions: Guy Bonnet had represented ; and Jahn Teigen had represented , and along Anita Skorgan. In addition, Sandra Reemer, who had represented the along with Andres Holten, , and ; Anita Skorgan who represented , , in 1982 along Jahn Teigen, and provided backing vocals ; and Izolda Barudžija, who represented as part of Aska; provided backing vocals for the same country in this contest.
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="clear:left"
|-
|+ Eurovision Song Contest 1983 participants
| Hoffmann and Hoffmann
| ""
| German
|
| Dieter Reith
|-
! scope="row" |
| ERT
| Christie
| "" <small>()</small>
| Greek
|
| Mimis Plessas
|-
! scope="row" |
| IBA
| Ofra Haza
| "" <small>()</small>
| Hebrew
|
|
|-
! scope="row" |
| RAI
| Riccardo Fogli
| ""
| Italian
|
| Maurizio Fabrizio
|-
! scope="row" |
| CLT
| Corinne Hermès
| ""
| French
|
| Michel Bernholc
|-
! scope="row" |
| NOS
| Bernadette
| "Sing Me a Song"
| Dutch
|
| Piet Souer
|-
! scope="row" |
| NRK
| Jahn Teigen
| "Do Re Mi"
| Norwegian
|
| Sigurd Jansen
|-
! scope="row" |
| RTP
| Armando Gama
| ""
| Portuguese
| Armando Gama
| Mike Sergeant
|-
! scope="row" |
| TVE
| Remedios Amaya
| ""
| Spanish
|
| José Miguel Évoras
|-
! scope="row" |
| SVT
| Carola Häggkvist
| ""
| Swedish
|
|
|-
! scope="row" |
| SRG SSR
| Mariella Farré
| ""
| Italian
|
| Robert Weber
|-
! scope="row" |
| TRT
| Çetin Alp and the Short Wave
| "Opera"
| Turkish
|
| Buğra Uğur
|-
! scope="row" |
| BBC
| Sweet Dreams
| "I'm Never Giving Up"
| English
|
| John Coleman
|-
! scope="row" |
| JRT
| Daniel
| "" <small>()</small>
| Serbo-Croatian
|
| Radovan Papović
|}
Production
The local production of the contest started in June 1982. The final was produced by Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) on behalf of ARD, with production costs of 1.2 million DM, further 1.5 million DM for the organisation and broadcaster, making a total of 2.7 million DM. With the help of donations and other contributions, Bayerischer Rundfunk was able to reduce the costs at its own expense to about 1 million DM. The city of Munich had to contribute 60,000 DM to a reception for the participating delegations.
The contest was directed by . Dieter Reith served as the general musical director of the 60-piece orchestra. Rehearsals started on 18 April 1983. A large and high steel construction with frames resembling giant electric heaters was used as the background. The Tourist Board also organised a bus tour for several participants to Linderhof Palace and Garmisch-Partenkirchen on 20 April 1983. Parties and receptions for the artists were also organised by the record labels Ariola, Polydor and Deutsche Grammophon.
A press centre with television monitors, typewriters, telephones and paper notebooks was installed for the 600 journalists covering the event.
German Bundespost installed a post office from 18 to 23 April at the Rudi-Sedlmayr-Halle and stamped letters from there with a special Eurovision Song Contest postmark.
Presentation format
Instead of pre-filmed "postcards", the production team for this edition chose not to produce the postcards for technical reasons. During the change of the stage elements, the name of the next country was shown on screen accompanied by music from the orchestra, followed by a presentation of the upcoming entry by Marlene Charell.
After the first rehearsals, the Austrian and British commentators complained that, since there were no postcards, they felt that there was not enough time to introduce the upcoming entry to their viewers, and subsequently threatened to withdraw from the contest. In addition, Charell made 13 language mistakes throughout the night, having been forced to make up a name on the spot after forgetting the conductor's name.
Contest overview<span class="anchor" id="Results"></span><span class="anchor" id="Participants and results"></span>
<!-- Anchors in the header are the old section names -->
The contest took place on 23 April 1983, beginning at 21:00 CEST (19:00 UTC). At the start of the broadcast, a 7-minutes-long film with views of various sights of Germany and of the host city Munich was shown. As part of the introduction, a parade of nations was called by the presenter Marlene Charell.
Considered the big favourite of the night by the press, the Luxembourgish entry did not enjoy the same prestige among the local public who considered it a bad joke, and this was reflected in a series of hostilities from the public in Munich, to the point that the show director and Roger Kreischer, their counterpart at the Luxembourgish broadcaster RTL, openly criticized the mocking tone of the local media and the public present at the venue towards the Luxembourgish entry.
After the show, a reception for 1,600 guests on behalf of the city of Munich took place in a tent of the International Garden Expo 83.
{| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
|+ Results of the Eurovision Song Contest 1983
|-
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Country
! scope="col" | Artist
! scope="col" | Song
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Points
! scope="col" | Place
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1
|
|
| ""
| 56
| 8
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2
|
|
| "Do Re Mi"
| 53
| 9
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 3
|
| Sweet Dreams
| "I'm Never Giving Up"
| 79
| 6
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 4
|
|
| ""
| 126
| 3
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 5
|
|
| ""
| 41
| 11
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 6
|
| and the Short Wave
| "Opera"
| 0
| 19
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 7
|
|
| ""
| 0
| 19
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 8
|
|
| ""
| 28
| 15
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 9
|
|
| ""
| 41
| 11
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 10
|
| Christie
| ""
| 32
| 14
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 11
|
| Bernadette
| "Sing Me a Song"
| 66
| 7
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 12
|
| Daniel
| ""
| 125
| 4
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 13
|
| Stavros and Constantina
| ""
| 26
| 16
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 14
|
| Hoffmann and Hoffmann
| ""
| 94
| 5
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 15
|
|
| ""
| 16
| 17
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 16
|
|
| ""
| 136
| 2
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 17
|
|
| ""
| 33
| 13
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 18
|
| Westend
| "Hurricane"
| 53
| 9
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 19
|
| Pas de Deux
| ""
| 13
| 18
|- style="font-weight:bold; background:gold;"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 20
|
|
| ""
| 142
| 1
|}
Spokespersons
Each participating broadcaster appointed a spokesperson who was responsible for announcing the votes for its respective country via telephone. Known spokespersons at the 1983 contest are listed below.
- Bent Evold
- Solveig Herlin
- Flip van der Schalie
- Rosa Campano
- Colin Berry
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
|+ Detailed voting results
|-
! colspan="2" |
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
|-
! rowspan="20"
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | France
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 56 || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || 3 || || || 10 || || || 10 || 6 || 7 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 4 || || 1 || 3 || || || 3
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Norway
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 53 || || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || 5 || 3 || || 6 || || || || || 8 || || || 1 || 8 || 4 || 6 || 3 || 7 || 2
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | United Kingdom
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 79 || 5 || 5 || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || 12 || 2 || 5 || || 8 || || 5 || 5 || || 6 || 3 || 5 || || 2 || 10 || || 6
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Sweden
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 126 || 6 || 12 || 8 || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || 8 || 7 || 2 || 5 || 10 || 10 || 3 || 1 || 7 || 12 || 10 || 8 || 4 || 8 || 5 ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Italy
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 41 || 7 || || || 2 || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || 4 || 3 || || 1 || 2 || || 8 || 1 || || || 6 || 7 || || ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Turkey
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 0 || || || || || || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Spain
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 0 || || || || || || || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Switzerland
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 28 || || 1 || || || 7 || || 1 || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || || || || 7 || || || || || || 6 || 1 || 5
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Finland
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 41 || 1 || 2 || 6 || || || 3 || || 4 || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || 8 || || || || 7 || || 7 || || 2 || || 1
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Greece
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 32 || 3 || || || || || || 12 || || 5 || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || || || 12 || || || || || || ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Netherlands
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 66 || 2 || 7 || 1 || 6 || 4 || 2 || || 12 || 3 || || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || 5 || 5 || 2 || 4 || 3 || || 4 || 2 || 4
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Yugoslavia
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 125 || || 8 || 12 || || 1 || 12 || 10 || || 12 || 6 || 7 || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || 8 || 6 || 12 || 10 || || 1 || 12 || 8
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Cyprus
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 26 || || 4 || || || || || || 1 || || || || 6 || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || 5 || 1 || 5 || || || 4 ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Germany
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 94 || 10 || 10 || 7 || 8 || 6 || || || 2 || 4 || 1 || 10 || || || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || 3 || || 8 || 7 || 6 || 12
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Denmark
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 16 || || || 2 || 7 || || 1 || 4 || || || || || || 2 || || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || || || || ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Israel
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 136 || 8 || 6 || 10 || 5 || 3 || || 6 || 7 || 7 || 3 || 12 || 10 || || 10 || 7 || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || 10 || 12 || 10 || 10
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Portugal
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 33 || 4 || || || 1 || || || 5 || 6 || 2 || || 6 || 2 || || || || || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || || || 7
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Austria
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 53 || || || 3 || 4 || 5 || 10 || || || || 4 || 4 || 4 || 3 || || 6 || 2 || 5 || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | || 3 ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Belgium
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 13 || || || 4 || || || || 8 || || || || || || || || || || 1 || || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" | ||
|- style="background:gold;"
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; font-weight:bold; background:gold;" | Luxembourg
| style="text-align:right; font-weight:bold;" | 142 || 12 || || || 10 || 12 || 8 || 7 || 3 || 8 || 12 || 1 || 12 || 10 || 8 || 2 || 12 || 12 || 5 || 8 || style="text-align:left; background:#aaaaaa;" |
|}
12 points
Below is a summary of all 12 points in the final:
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | N.
! scope="col" | Contestant
! scope="col" | Nation(s) giving 12 points
|-
! scope="row" | 6
| || , , , , ,
|-
! scope="row" | 5
| || , , , ,
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3" | 2
| || ,
|-
| || ,
|-
| || ,
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3" | 1
| ||
|-
| ||
|-
| ||
|}
Broadcasts<span class="anchor" id="Broadcasters and commentators"></span>
<!-- Anchor in the header is the old section name -->
Each participating broadcaster was required to relay the contest via its networks. Non-participating EBU member broadcasters were also able to relay the contest as "passive participants". Broadcasters were able to send commentators to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language and to relay information about the artists and songs to their television viewers. Host broadcaster BR provided 30 commentator boxes for this purpose. No official accounts of the global viewing figures are known to exist, with estimates given in the press at the time ranging from 300 to 600 million viewers. Known details on the broadcasts in each country, including the specific broadcasting stations and commentators are shown in the tables below.
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
|+ Broadcasters and commentators in participating countries
|-
! scope="col" | Country
! scope="col" | Broadcaster
! scope="col" | Channel(s)
! scope="col" | Commentator(s)
! scope="col" |
|-
! scope="row" |
| ORF
| FS2
| Ernst Grissemann
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="4" |
| rowspan="2" | BRT
| TV1
| Luc Appermont
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| BRT 2
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| rowspan="2" | RTBF
|
| Jacques Mercier
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
! scope="row" |
| CyBC
| RIK
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
! scope="row" |
| DR
| DR TV
| Jørgen de Mylius
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" |
| rowspan="2" | YLE
| TV1
| Erkki Pohjanheimo
| style="text-align:center" rowspan="2" |
|-
|
|
|-
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| Léon Zitrone
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| RFO
|