Final 24 April 1982 Executive supervisor Frank Naef | ||
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Venue Harrogate International CentreHarrogate, United Kingdom | ||
The Eurovision Song Contest 1982 was the 27th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held on 24 April 1982 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom. The presenter was Jan Leeming.
Contents
The German entrant, Nicole, was winner with the song "Ein bißchen Frieden". Germany received 1.61 times as many points as runner-up Israel, which was a record under the current scoring system until 2009, when Norway received 1.78 times as many points as Iceland. The song also cemented Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger, the song's composers, into German Eurovision tradition, writing 18 Eurovision songs between them before and after "Ein bißchen Frieden", 13 of which were for Germany.
This was the first time that Germany won the contest. They have competed in the finals every year (with exception of 1996) since the contest's inception. Germany won again in 2010.
The opening of the contest showed a map of Europe, with the translation "Where is Harrogate?" popping up on-screen from the languages of the various countries. The question was always in the language in which the respective country's song was performed, with the exception of Ireland. The Irish entry was sung in English, but the translation of the question in the map was in Irish. Then the map zoomed into Harrogate's location in Yorkshire, followed by an introduction video spotlighting the town.
Greece was due to participate in the contest with the song "Sarantapente Kopelies" performed by Themis Adamantidis. Although drawn to perform in second place, ERT withdrew the entry a few weeks before the contest.
In November 1981, France's national broadcaster, TF1, declined to enter the Eurovision Song Contest for 1982, with the head of entertainment, Pierre Bouteiller, saying, "The absence of talent and the mediocrity of the songs were annoyance set in. [Eurovision is] a monument to insanity [sometimes translated as "drivel"]." Antenne 2 became the new broadcaster for Eurovision after public outcry, returning the country to the Contest in 1983.
The tradition of previous year's winners handing over the prize to current winners was not followed by Bucks Fizz, winners in 1981.
Irish band Chips lost out in their national finals, which would, had they been successful, have led to the unique situation of two bands in the same Eurovision with the same name (the other being Sweden).
Location
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters and RHS Harlow Carr gardens. Nearby is the Yorkshire Dales national park and the Nidderdale AONB. Harrogate grew out of two smaller settlements, High Harrogate and Low Harrogate, in the 17th century. The town became known as 'The English Spa' in the Georgian Era, after its waters were discovered in the 16th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries its 'chalybeate' waters (containing iron) were a popular health treatment, and the influx of wealthy but sickly visitors contributed significantly to the wealth of the town.
The Harrogate International Centre was chosen as the host venue for the contest. The grand convention and exhibition centre opened short time prior to the contest, and was the first big event held in the main 2000-seat auditorium.
Results
There were 18 competitors in this year's final. No year since has had this few competitors in the final of the competition.
Voting structure
Each country had a jury who awarded 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 point(s) for their top ten songs.
Germany had the advantage of performing last. After coming second in 1980 and second in Dublin the year previously, Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger took the first Grand Prix for Germany. The winner, Nicole, beat the nearest competition by 61 points and over 13 million West Germans watched her victory on television. Germany was the commanding leader for nearly the entire voting process.
Nicole went on to sing the reprise of her song in English, French and Dutch, as well as German, to the delight of the invited audience in Harrogate Conference Centre who stood to applaud her. The English version of her Eurovision winner, A Little Peace, subsequently shot to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart.
12 points
Below is a summary of all 12 points in the final:
Conductors
Host conductor in bold