Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest

Luxembourg has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 38 times since its debut at the first contest in 1956. The nation participated in all but one event between 1956 and 1993, only missing the 1959 contest. After finishing among the bottom seven countries in 1993, Luxembourg was relegated and prevented from competing in 1994. The nation did not return to the contest in 1995, and would make no further appearances over the next three decades. The country returned to the event for the first time in 31 years in 2024, qualifying for the final.

With five wins, Luxembourg is one of the contest's most successful nations, and between 1983 and 1994 the nation jointly held the record for most contest wins by a single country. Luxembourg won the contest in 1961, with the song "Nous les amoureux" performed by Jean-Claude Pascal, in 1965, with the song "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" performed by France Gall, recorded back-to-back wins in 1972 and 1973, when the nation was represented by "Après toi" by Vicky Leandros and "Tu te reconnaîtras" by Anne-Marie David, and most recently in 1983, with the song "Si la vie est cadeau" performed by Corinne Hermès. The contest has been held in Luxembourg four times, in 1962, 1966, 1973 and 1984, all of which took place in Luxembourg City. In addition to its five wins, Luxembourg recorded two third-place finishes in 1962 and 1986, and in total has placed within the top five 13 times and within the top ten 20 times. Luxembourg's fortunes in the contest changed in later years, with the nation's final seven appearances in the 1980s and 1990s resulting in four placements in the bottom five, ultimately leading to the nation's relegation and subsequent non-participation.

The Luxembourgish national broadcaster, RTL Luxembourg, is responsible for organising the country's participation in the contest. It organised the Luxembourg Song Contest in January 2024 to determine the Luxembourgish entry for the 2024 event.

Contest history

Participation in the Eurovision Song Contest is open to members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), of which Luxembourg is presently a member through RTL Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: RTL Lëtzebuerg), a division of the RTL Group. Luxembourg was one of seven countries to take part in the inaugural edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, and has competed in the contest on 37 occasions since its debut entry. The nation participated in all but one event between 1956 and 1993, with no Luxembourgish entry having participated in the 1959 contest. On each occasion that Luxembourg participated in the contest the country was represented by one song, with the exception of the first contest when each nation was represented by two songs.

Luxembourg has won the contest on five occasions, marking it as one of the contest's most successful nations. The country's first win was recorded in 1961 with the song "Nous les amoureux" performed by Jean-Claude Pascal. Four years later the nation were awarded a second victory, with the song "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" performed by France Gall winning the contest in 1965. Luxembourg recorded back-to-back victories in 1972 and 1973 – becoming the second country to win the event in two consecutive events – when the nation was represented by Vicky Leandros and the song "Après toi", and Anne-Marie David and the song "Tu te reconnaîtras" respectively. The nation achieved its most recent victory in 1983, with the song "Si la vie est cadeau" performed by Corinne Hermès. With its fifth win Luxembourg became the joint-most successful Eurovision nation at that time, equalling the record for the most number of victories by a single country previously set by France – a record which would remain until Ireland recorded their sixth win in 1994. All of Luxembourg's winners, however, were not of Luxembourgish descent, with four of the five artists being French and one, Leandros, being Greek.

During its original participation run between 1956 and 1993 the rules of the contest for the majority of those editions stated that each country was required to perform in one of the national languages of that country. The large majority of Luxembourgish entries were performed in French, which is one of the official languages of Luxembourg and the main language of communication in the country, while Luxembourgish, the country's national language, has featured in only three of the country's entries, in 1960, 1992 and 1993.

Including its five wins, Luxembourg has placed within the top five on 13 occasions and within the top ten on 20 occasions, including two third-place finishes in 1962 and 1986. The majority of the country's top placings, however, were recorded prior to its fifth contest win, and in the decade following its most recent victory Luxembourg's fortunes in the contest began to shift, leading to four appearances in the bottom five between 1987 and 1993.

Relegation, absence and return

After finishing among the bottom seven countries at the 1993 event, Luxembourg was relegated under a new system to accommodate entries from new nations wishing to compete for the first time, and was thus prevented from participating in the 1994 contest. Luxembourg subsequently declined to participate in the 1995 event and continued to be absent from the contest for three decades, with the increased costs of participating in the event cited as a main contributing factor for the country's absence. Ahead of the 2004 event Luxembourg was featured within a preliminary participants list for that edition, however, RTL subsequently reconsidered due to the scale of the participation fee, with Luxembourg ultimately absent from the final list of participating countries. RTL had been approached on several occasions in subsequent years about the possibility of Luxembourg returning to the contest, and participation in the contest was the subject of discussion within the Luxembourgish parliament in the years following Luxembourg's last entry, as well as the subject of fan-led petitions run both in Luxembourg and in other countries. The organisation however varyingly identified high participation costs, organisational difficulties, the cost and logistical issues of staging the event should Luxembourg win, format incompatibilities at the broadcaster, disinterest among the Luxembourgish viewing public, and poor results towards the end of Luxembourg's participation among the reasons future participation was consistently ruled out. In an interview with Luxemburger Wort in April 2024, Luxembourgish singer Thierry Mersch revealed that he had been contacted by Sammarinese broadcaster San Marino RTV to create a duet that would represent both countries jointly in the 2015 contest. Despite the initial availability of Luxembourgish minister of Culture, the project was ultimately discarded for financial reasons.

On 15 December 2022, it was reported that Xavier Bettel, the Luxembourgish prime minister and minister for communications and media, had instigated discussions with RTL regarding the return of Luxembourg to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2024, with a team within the Luxembourgish government formed to facilitate the country's return to the event. On 12 May 2023, ahead of the final of the 2023 contest, the 30th anniversary of Luxembourg's last entry and the 40th anniversary of Luxembourg's last win, RTL and the EBU announced that Luxembourg would return to the contest in 2024. As part of the announcement RTL and the Luxembourgish government highlighted the promotion of Luxembourgish culture, the development of the cultural section of Luxembourgish society, as well as economic and touristic benefits which participation in the event could bring.

We are delighted that Luxembourg is returning to the Eurovision Song Contest – and even more excited that RTL Luxembourg will take on the exhilarating task of selecting the 2024 delegation. As a media company that is dedicated to the people of Luxembourg, we are looking forward to broadcasting the starstudded live shows. Viewers will be able to experience the Eurovision Song Contest in its full glory.

In July 2023, RTL launched its national selection process, with a televised final held on 27 January 2024 at the Rockhal in Esch-sur-Alzette. Interested artists were able to apply to compete in the event, with applicants required to be Luxembourgish citizens, long-term residents, or those with a proven connection to the Luxembourgish music scene and strong involvement with Luxembourgish culture. This marked a change from the majority of previous Luxembourgish Eurovision selections, which were predominantly held internally and were often led by the RTL organisation in Paris rather than by the local Luxembourgish broadcaster. As a result, a large number of the artists which represented Luxembourg at Eurovision were not of Luxembourgish descent, including all five of the nation's winning artists. The Luxembourg Song Contest was officially launched on 1 December, with RTL highlighting the event as a showcase for Luxembourgish talent and a platform for established and emerging artists within the Luxembourgish music scene. Following qualification to the final and a thirteenth place finish at the contest in Malmö, Sweden, the Luxembourgish Head of Delegation David Gloesener confirmed that Luxembourg would participate in the 2025 contest in Switzerland, and that work had already begun to determine its entrant.

Participation overview

Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest

A special competition was held in October 2005 to celebrate the contest's fiftieth anniversary, with fourteen songs from Eurovision history competing to determine the most popular song from the contest's first 50 years, with the winner determined through the combined votes of the viewing public and juries over two rounds. The contest was not relayed by a Luxembourgish broadcaster, however Luxembourg's winning song from 1965, "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" performed by France Gall, was featured among the fourteen selected songs.

Hostings

As is customary the winning broadcaster is offered the opportunity to organise the following year's event, which has resulted in Luxembourg hosting the contest on four occasions. On each occasion the contest was held in Luxembourg City, and coincided with one of Luxembourg's victories. The 1962 and 1966 events were held in the Grand Auditorium of Villa Louvigny and presented by Mireille Delannoy and Josiane Shen respectively. The 1973 and 1984 contests were held in the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg (also known at the time as the Nouveau Théâtre and Théâtre Municipal) and presented by Helga Guitton and Désirée Nosbusch respectively. Although Luxembourg won the contest in 1973 and were offered the opportunity to stage the 1974 event, RTL declined the offer due to the financial strain of hosting two consecutive events, leading to the United Kingdom's BBC to step in as organiser and staging the event in Brighton.

Related involvement

Heads of delegation

The public broadcaster of each participating country in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the contestants, songwriters, composers and backing vocalists, among others.

Conductors

In contests where an orchestra was provided, a conductor was required to lead the musicians during each country's performance. Broadcasters were able to provide their own conductors, or could call upon the services of the conductor appointed by the host broadcaster. The conductors which led the orchestra during the Luxembourgish entries each year are listed below.

Jury members

A five-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals is assembled for every participating country for the Eurovision Song Contest, ranking all entries except for their own country's contribution. The modern incarnation of jury voting was introduced beginning with the 2009 contest, and as of 2023, the juries' votes constitute 50% of the overall result in the final alongside televoting.

Commentators and spokespersons

RTL has broadcast the contest on various television and radio channels during its participation history, and has provided commentary in different languages for the local audiences. On occasion commentary has been relayed from the broadcast feed of other participating countries. Between 1956 and 1991 the contest was broadcast on the French-language television channel of RTL (presently known as RTL9), and was also broadcast on the German-language television channel (previously known as RTL plus, now titled RTL) between 1984 and 1988; in 1992 and 1993 the contest was broadcast on the Luxembourgish-language channel RTL Hei Elei. The contest is also known to have been broadcast on RTL's radio stations, in 1966 on the French-language Radio Luxembourg, in 1973 on the Luxembourgish-language Radio Luxembourg and English-language Radio Luxembourg, and in 1979 on the German-language RTL Radio. Upon its return to the contest in 2024, RTL provided a wide array of broadcast options through television, radio and online streaming, with English, French and Luxembourgish language commentators recruited to provide context during the live shows.

As part of the contest's voting procedure, each participating broadcaster nominates a spokesperson which announces the results of their country's vote during the final. Since 1994 the spokespersons have been connected through satellite links, which replaced the use of telephone lines in previous events. Désirée Nosbusch, who had previously presented the 1984 contest, served as Luxembourg's spokesperson upon the country's return in 2024, and thus became the first Luxembourgish spokesperson to be seen in person during the contest.

Stage directors

Photo gallery

Notes and references

Notes

References