Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968
Germany was represented by Norwegian singer Wencke Myhre, with the song '"Ein Hoch der Liebe", at the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 6 April in London. For a third consecutive year, the German entry was chosen internally, rather than through a public final, by broadcaster NDR. Myhre had previously taken part in the Norwegian Eurovision selections of 1964 and 1966, and would later also participate in the German selection of 1983 and the Norwegian selections of 1992 and 2009.
The 1968 Eurovision is particularly noted for the controversy, which has proved to be ongoing into the 21st century, surrounding the voting of the German jury, which handed victory to Spain at the expense of the United Kingdom.
At Eurovision
On the night of the final Myhre performed second last in the running order, following Spain and preceding Yugoslavia. At the close of voting "Ein Hoch der Liebe" had received 11 points (5 of which came from the United Kingdom jury), placing Germany 6th of the 17 entries, the country's highest finish since 1962.[1]
The voting in the 1968 contest proved to be one of the most controversial in Eurovision history. With two countries left to vote, the hot favourite the United Kingdom was leading Spain by 26 points to 23. The German jury, voting next, gave 2 points to the United Kingdom, but then caused gasps of disbelief in the hall by awarding 6 points to Spain, giving them a 1-point advantage. The final jury in Yugoslavia then failed to award any points to either country, and Spain earned their first Eurovision victory. Rumours and allegations of vote-rigging have circulated ever since, with the German jury being particularly implicated. As recently as 2008, the issue rose to prominence once more when a Spanish journalist alleged that General Franco had engineered the result by promising to buy programmes from certain foreign TV stations in exchange for votes. Although no proof has ever been put forward, and the European Broadcasting Union have never suggested any wrongdoing, it remains one of the most discussed issues in Eurovision history.
See also
References
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