1.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
2.
Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest
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The Netherlands has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 57 times since making its debut as one of the seven countries competing in the very first contest in 1956. It has missed only four contests so far, the preselection process was often done through the Nationaal Songfestival, with the winner qualifying to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest. The Netherlands has won the contest four times, with four victories, the Netherlands ranks in the top 10 most successful Eurovision countries. The countrys first two came in the 1950s, with Corry Brokken in 1957 and Teddy Scholten in 1959. Sandra & Andres finished fourth in 1972 and Mouth & MacNeal were third in 1974, the Netherlands best result of the 1980s was fifth, achieved by both Maggie MacNeal in 1980 and Marcha in 1987. In the 1990s, Ruth Jacott, with sixth place in 1993 and Edsilia Rombley, with fourth in 1998, the Netherlands have finished last in the contest final on four occasions, in 1958,1962,1963 and 1968. They also finished last in the semi-final in 2011, since the semi-finals were introduced in 2004, the Netherlands has reached the final on only four occasions, failing to reach the final for eight years in a row, from 2005–2012. Opting for a selection has fared well for the Netherlands since 2013, when Anouk became the first Dutch entry in nine years to qualify for the final. In 2016, the Netherlands once again qualified for the final, the Netherlands has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest four times, in 1958,1970,1976 and 1980. The first three times were after winning the year, while the 1980 contest was staged in the Netherlands. Similarly, the Netherlands had declined the right to organise the 1960 contest, the Netherlands has missed only four contests in its Eurovision history. The first of these was at the 1985 contest, held in Gothenburg, the contest, held on 4 May conflicted with the Dutch Remembrance of the Dead and as such the Netherlands withdrew. In 1991 the contest was held on 4 May. There was no Dutch participation in the 1995 and 2002 contests, the Netherlands did compete in 2000. But at 22,00 on Saturday 13 May, the broadcast was cancelled because of the Enschede fireworks disaster which happened a few hours before. The points awarded by the Netherlands were taken from the jury vote. Table key NOTE, The full results for the first contest are unknown, the official Eurovision site lists all the other songs as being placed second. Willem van Beusekom provided NOS TV commentary every year from 1987 until 2005, however, on November 7,2005 it was announced that Van Beusekom would quit his role as Dutch commentator saying Its good to step back
3.
Luxembourg
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Luxembourg /ˈlʌksəmbɜːrɡ/, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east and its culture, people and languages are highly intertwined with its neighbours, making it essentially a mixture of French and Germanic cultures. It comprises two regions, the Oesling in the north as part of the Ardennes massif. With an area of 2,586 square kilometres, it is one of the smallest sovereign states in Europe, Luxembourg had a population of 524,853 in October 2012, ranking it the 8th least-populous country in Europe. As a representative democracy with a monarch, it is headed by a Grand Duke, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a country, with an advanced economy and the worlds highest GDP per capita. Luxembourg is a member of the European Union, OECD, United Nations, NATO, and Benelux, reflecting its political consensus in favour of economic, political. The city of Luxembourg, which is the capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions. Luxembourg served on the United Nations Security Council for the years 2013 and 2014, around this fort, a town gradually developed, which became the centre of a state of great strategic value. In the 14th and early 15th centuries, three members of the House of Luxembourg reigned as Holy Roman Emperors, in the following centuries, Luxembourgs fortress was steadily enlarged and strengthened by its successive occupants, the Bourbons, Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns and the French. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Luxembourg was disputed between Prussia and the Netherlands and this arrangement was revised by the 1839 First Treaty of London, from which date Luxembourgs full independence is reckoned. In 1842 Luxembourg joined the German Customs Union, the King of the Netherlands remained Head of State as Grand Duke of Luxembourg, maintaining a personal union between the two countries until 1890. At the death of William III, the throne of the Netherlands passed to his daughter Wilhelmina and this allowed Germany the military advantage of controlling and expanding the railways there. In August 1914, Imperial Germany violated Luxembourgs neutrality in the war by invading it in the war against France and this allowed Germany to use the railway lines, while at the same time denying them to France. Nevertheless, despite the German occupation, Luxembourg was allowed to maintain much of its independence, in 1940, after the outbreak of World War II, Luxembourgs neutrality was again violated when the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany entered the country, entirely without justification. A government in exile based in London supported the Allies, sending a group of volunteers who participated in the Normandy invasion. Luxembourg was liberated in September 1944, and became a member of the United Nations in 1945. Luxembourgs neutral status under the constitution formally ended in 1948, in 2005, a referendum on the EU treaty establishing a constitution for Europe was held
4.
Norway
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The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land, until 1814, the kingdom included the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. It also included Isle of Man until 1266, Shetland and Orkney until 1468, Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres and a population of 5,258,317. The country shares a long border with Sweden. Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east, Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. King Harald V of the Dano-German House of Glücksburg is the current King of Norway, erna Solberg became Prime Minister in 2013, replacing Jens Stoltenberg. A constitutional monarchy, Norway divides state power between the Parliament, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court, as determined by the 1814 Constitution, the kingdom is established as a merger of several petty kingdoms. By the traditional count from the year 872, the kingdom has existed continuously for 1,144 years, Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels, counties and municipalities. The Sámi people have an amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament. Norway maintains close ties with the European Union and the United States, the country maintains a combination of market economy and a Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system. Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the countrys gross domestic product. On a per-capita basis, Norway is the worlds largest producer of oil, the country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world on the World Bank and IMF lists. On the CIAs GDP per capita list which includes territories and some regions, from 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2009 to 2017, Norway had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world. It also has the highest inequality-adjusted ranking, Norway ranks first on the World Happiness Report, the OECD Better Life Index, the Index of Public Integrity and the Democracy Index. Norway has two names, Noreg in Nynorsk and Norge in Bokmål. The name Norway comes from the Old English word Norðrveg mentioned in 880, meaning way or way leading to the north. In contrasting with suðrvegar southern way for Germany, and austrvegr eastern way for the Baltic, the Anglo-Saxon of Britain also referred to the kingdom of Norway in 880 as Norðmanna land. This was the area of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway, and because of him
5.
Indonesia
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Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a unitary sovereign state and transcontinental country located mainly in Southeast Asia with some territories in Oceania. Situated between the Indian and Pacific oceans, it is the worlds largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands. At 1,904,569 square kilometres, Indonesia is the worlds 14th-largest country in terms of area and worlds 7th-largest country in terms of combined sea. It has an population of over 260 million people and is the worlds fourth most populous country. The worlds most populous island, Java, contains more than half of the countrys population, Indonesias republican form of government includes an elected legislature and president. Indonesia has 34 provinces, of which five have Special Administrative status and its capital and countrys most populous city is Jakarta, which is also the most populous city in Southeast Asia and the second in Asia. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, other neighbouring countries include Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the second highest level of biodiversity. The country has abundant natural resources like oil and natural gas, tin, copper, agriculture mainly produces rice, palm oil, tea, coffee, cacao, medicinal plants, spices and rubber. Indonesias major trading partners are Japan, United States, China, the Indonesian archipelago has been an important region for trade since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Indonesia consists of hundreds of native ethnic and linguistic groups. The largest – and politically dominant – ethnic group are the Javanese, a shared identity has developed, defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a Muslim-majority population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesias national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, articulates the diversity that shapes the country, Indonesias economy is the worlds 16th largest by nominal GDP and the 8th largest by GDP at PPP, the largest in Southeast Asia, and is considered an emerging market and newly industrialised country. Indonesia has been a member of the United Nations since 1950, Indonesia is a member of the G20 major economies and World Trade Organization. The name Indonesia derives from the Greek name of the Indós, the name dates to the 18th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia. In 1850, George Windsor Earl, an English ethnologist, proposed the terms Indunesians—and, his preference, in the same publication, one of his students, James Richardson Logan, used Indonesia as a synonym for Indian Archipelago. However, Dutch academics writing in East Indies publications were reluctant to use Indonesia, they preferred Malay Archipelago, the Netherlands East Indies, popularly Indië, the East, and Insulinde
6.
Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Austria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 49 times since its debut in 1957. The country has won twice, in 1966, with the song Merci Chérie by Udo Jürgens, Austria currently holds the record for longest gap between wins, with 48 years between victories. Austria finished last at its first attempt in the contest in 1957, before Liane Augustin gave the country its first top five result in 1958, having finished sixth in 1964 and fourth in 1965, Udo Jürgens won the contest at his third attempt in 1966. This would be Austrias only top three result of 20th century, the countrys best result over the next 46 years would be fifth place, which it achieved with Milestones in 1972, Waterloo & Robinson in 1976 and Thomas Forstner in 1989. Austria has finished last in the final a total of seven times, the country also finished last in the semi-final in 2012. After a three-year absence, ORF announced on 28 July 2010 that Austria would return to the contest in 2011, because of this, Austria became the first host country to receive nul points. Austria has opted out of participation in several Contests, the first of these was the 1969 Contest, which was staged in Madrid. As Spain was ruled at that time by Francisco Franco, Austria chose to boycott the Contest, the following year, Austria was again absent. This was due to the result in 1969 in which four songs tied for first place. From 1973 to 1975, Austria stayed away as well, the exact reason for this is unclear, however the scoring system in use at one of these Contests - allowing all entrants a guaranteed number of points - may have been a factor. The country was ineligible to compete in 1998 and 2001, as it had not achieved high placings in the five previous years. They returned for the 2007 contest in Helsinki, but came second to last in the semi-final, despite withdrawing, the final of the 2008 contest was screened on ORF. ORF decided not to participate in the 2009 contest, but did broadcast the final as in 2008, the EBU announced that they would work harder to bring Austria back to the contest in 2010, along with former participants Monaco and Italy. It was, however, confirmed that Austria would not participate in the 2010 Contest in Oslo, in July 2010, the chairman of ORF, Alexander Wrabetz, stated that Austria would return for the 2011 contest, due to it being held in its neighbour Germany. In 2011, Austria reached the final for the first time since 2004, ^ Specifically Styrian, a Southern Bavarian dialect spoken in Styria. ^ Specifically Mühlviertlerisch, a Central Bavarian dialect spoken in Upper Austria, ^ While Austria and Germany both finished with no points, Austria is listed as finishing ahead of Germany due to the tiebreaker rule that favours the song performed earliest in the running order. Therefore, Germany finished in 27th place, with Austria in 26th, if a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. In addition, back in 2004-2007, the top ten countries who were not members of the big four did not have to compete in the finals the following year
7.
Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Portugal has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 48 times since its debut in the 1964 contest. Since then it has missed five contests,1970,2000,2002,2013 and 2016, Portugal has yet to win the contest and holds the record for most appearances in the contest without a win. In fact, the country has yet to reach the top five of any contest, the contest is broadcast in Portugal by Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. Portugals debut entry was António Calvário with Oração, it was not a successful debut for the country, with Calvário coming last in the contest. Since then Portugal has come last on two occasions, in 1974, when Paulo de Carvalho sang E depois do adeus. Prior to Moniz finishing sixth in 1996, Portugals best result in the contest was two seventh-place finishes, for Carlos Mendes in 1972 and José Cid in 1980,1996 remains the last time that Portugal reached the top ten. Despite having some really weak results the 90s were the most successful decade for the country reaching the top 10 four times, Portugal had admission to take part in the 2000 and 2002 contest but refused. Its place was taken by Latvia both times, which ended up winning the contest in the latter year, since semi-finals were introduced in 2004, Portugal has failed to reach the final eight times, including from 2004 to 2007. The country did reach the final from 2008 to 2010, in 2008, Vânia Fernandes finished 13th with the song Senhora do Mar, Portugals best outcome since 1998. As of 2016,2010 remains the last time Portugal participated in the Eurovision final, having failed to qualify from the four more times. Portugal has been absent from five contests since their first participation, the countrys first absence was in 1970 where Portugal, along with four other countries, boycotted the contest due to the result of the previous year, when four countries were announced the winner. Portugal missed the 2000 contest due to their poor results over the past five years. Despite being eligible to enter the 2002 contest, RTP declined to enter, the fourth absence was in 2013, when Portugal didnt participate for financial reasons. The fifth absence was in 2016, Festival da Canção is the Portuguese national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, organized by RTP, and is normally held in February/March of the year of the contest. It is one of the longest-running Eurovision selection methods, previously a number of regional juries selected the winner, however recently the winner has been selected through televoting. In 2009 and 2010, a 50-50 system between district juries and televote has been used. In the years when Portugal was absent from the contest, the Festival da Canção hasnt been held and it is worth noticing that three out of five times that Portugal was absent the contest was held in Sweden. Table key NOTE, If a country had won the previous year, in addition from 2004-2007, the top ten countries who were not members of the big four did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year
8.
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 57 times since making its debut at the first contest in 1956, missing only four contests, in 1995,1999,2001 and 2003. Switzerland hosted the first contest in 1956, and won it themselves, Switzerland won the contest again in 1988. Lys Assia won the very first contest in Lugano in 1956 with the song Refrain and she returned to place second in 1958. In 1993, Annie Cotton gave the country its eighth top three result, when she placed third, in the 21st century, Switzerland has only once reached the top ten, in 2005 with the girl band Vanilla Ninja finishing eighth. Since the introduction of the round in 2004, Switzerland has failed to qualify for the final nine times. At the 2014 contest, Sebalter gave the country its second best result of the century, Switzerland had been absent from Eurovision four times since their participation began in the first contest. These absences, in 1995,1999,2001 and 2003 were caused by poor results in previous contests that relegated Switzerland from the contest, Switzerland has four official languages, French, German, Italian, and Romansh. For decades, the requirements stated that the song had to be performed in a national language. Out of their 55 appearances in the Contest, Switzerland has sent 52 songs,24 of which were in French,12 in German, nine in Italian, nine in English, both of Switzerlands winning songs have been sung in French. ^ The full results for the first contest in 1956 are unknown, the official Eurovision site lists all the other songs as being placed second. If a country had won the year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. In addition from 2004-2007, the top ten countries who were not members of the big four did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. If, for example, Germany and France placed inside the top ten, as of 2016, Switzerlands voting history is as follows, Over the years Switzerland has broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest on three television stations, SRF, RTS and RSI. Table key Points to and from Switzerland eurovisioncovers. co. uk
9.
Eurovision Song Contest 1964
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1964 was the ninth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, after the victory in the 1963 edition. Italy won the contest for the first time scoring 49 points with the song Non ho letà, the host venue for the contest was Tivolis Koncertsal in Denmarks capital city Copenhagen, which lies within Denmarks famous amusement park and pleasure garden Tivoli Gardens. Each country had 10 jury members who distributed three points among their one, two, or three favourite songs, the points were totaled and the first, second, and third placed songs were awarded 5,3, and 1 votes in order. If only one song got every point within the jury it would get all 9 points, if only two songs were chosen, the songs would get 6 and 3 points in order. A political protest occurred after the Swiss entry, a man trespassed onto the stage holding a banner that read Boycott Franco & Salazar, whilst this was going on, television viewers were shown a shot of the scoreboard, once the man was removed the contest went on. Her performance was given a repeat on British television the following afternoon. As with the 1956 contest, no recording of the actual contest performance is known to survive. Reports say that this is there was a fire at the studios of DR. No other broadcaster recorded the show other than for the Winners reprise. It has been speculated that the BBC once held a copy of the show, as an empty tape canister marked Eurovision 1964 was found during a storage cleanup, but the tape was missing, presumably wiped. The audio of the show however is still intact. Sweden did not participate because of a boycott by singers, portugal made its début in the contest, however they became the first country to score nul points on their début. Germany, Switzerland, and Yugoslavia also scored nul points for the first time, the Netherlands became the first country to send a singer of non-European ancestry, Anneke Grönloh was of Indonesian descent. The Spanish group Los TNT was the first group of three or more participants of the history of the ESC, one artist returned to the contest this year, Switzerlands Anita Traversi that represented the country in 1960. Each national broadcaster sent a commentator to the contest, in order to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language. Details of the commentators and the station for which they represented are also included in the table below
10.
Conny Vandenbos
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Conny Vandenbos was a popular Dutch singer. She had her first radio hit in 1966 and continued to make hit recordings through the 1970s, notably, in her later career she released an entire album of Janis Ian songs in 1980. Conny Vandenbos was born Jacoba Adriana Hollestelle in The Hague, the Netherlands and she made her solo debut in the KRO-Springboard radio show, a show case for young talent, in which she performed French chansons. After her performance in the Belgian Knokkefestival of 1961 Conny signed a contract at Philips Phonogram. In 1964 she made a television series Zeg Maar Conny for the Dutch public broadcaster NCRV, in 1965 she represented the Netherlands in Naples, Italy, at the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song t Is genoeg, the Netherlands placing eleventh. A year later Vandenbos finally achieved success with her first hit single. In the early 1970s Conny parted company from Phonogram Records and signed with Basart Records in January 1973, during her contract at Basart several albums were released and her singles charted frequently in the Dutch Hit Charts. In this period she covered many well known songs with Dutch lyrics. The duet with Janis Ian Dont Leave Tonight reached number 17 in the Dutch charts in December 1980, in 1976 she received an Edison Golden Harp for the album Zo Wil Ik Leven. In 1993 she was awarded a gold disc for her album 14 Grootste Hits Van Conny Vandenbos, in the 1990s she presented radio programs, including Radio Radio North Sea and West. In 2000 there was a tile of her placed in the Rotterdam Walk Of Fame, Conny Vandenbos first marriage was to Wim van den Bos, together they had a daughter Karin. Her second marriage was to the player from the Leedy Trio, Ger Faber, they had one son. Conny Vandenbos died in Amsterdam on 7 April 2002, two weeks after it was announced that she was suffering from lung cancer
"Jij bent mijn leven"