Eurovision Song Contest 1983
| Eurovision Song Contest 1983 | |
|---|---|
| Date and venue | |
| Final |
|
| Venue | Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle Munich, West Germany |
| Organisation | |
| Organiser | European Broadcasting Union (EBU) |
| Scrutineer | Frank Naef |
| Production | |
| Host broadcaster | ARD – Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) |
| Director | Rainer Bertram |
| Executive producers |
|
| Musical director | Dieter Reith |
| Presenter | Marlene Charell |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 20 |
| Returning countries | |
| Non-returning countries | Ireland |
Participation map
| |
| Vote | |
| Voting system | Each country awarded 12, 10, 8-1 point(s) to their 10 favourite songs |
| Winning song | Luxembourg "Si la vie est cadeau" |
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 Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) on behalf of ARD, who staged the event after winning the 1982 contest for Germany with the song "Ein bißchen Frieden" 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 1957 in Frankfurt.
Broadcasters from twenty countries participated in the contest, with France, Greece, and Italy all returning this year. Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) decided not to participate citing industrial action, making this Ireland's first absence since its debut in 1965.
The winner was Luxembourg with the song "Si la vie est cadeau" by Corinne Hermes, which equalled the record of five victories set by France in 1977. This record would in turn be beaten by Ireland in 1994. 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 Israel won 2nd place. For the third year in a row, at least one country ended up with nul points, and in this case, it happened to be two countries, Spain and Turkey, neither of whom were able to get off the mark.
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 their eventual debut at the 60th anniversary contest in 2015.