Country Germany Selected entrant Dschinghis Khan Final result 4th, 86 points | Selection date(s) 17 March 1979 Selected song "Dschinghis Khan" | |
Selection process Vorentscheid 1979
(Ein Lied für Jerusalem) Similar Sürpriz, Nora Nova, Wyn Hoop, Chris Kempers, Ulla Wiesner | ||
West Germany (performing under the banner Germany) was present at the Eurovision Song Contest 1979, held in Jerusalem, Israel.
The German national final to select their entry, Vorentscheid 1979, was held on 17 March at the Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle in Munich, and was hosted by Carolin Reiber and Thomas Gottschalk.
Twelve songs made it to the national final, which was broadcast by Bayerischer Rundfunk to ARD broadcasters across West Germany. The winner was decided by a sampling of 500 random West Germans who were meant to symbolize a fair representation of the country's population.
The winning entry was "Dschinghis Khan," performed by Dschinghis Khan and composed by Ralph Siegel with lyrics by Bernd Meinunger.
At Eurovision
Dschinghis Khan performed ninth on the night of the contest, following Switzerland and preceding Israel. At the close of the voting the song had received 86 points, placing 4th in a field of 19 competing countries. It was the one of many Top Ten placings for Germany in the Contest (which would eventually include a win in 1982 and a win in 2010).