Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957

Eurovision Song Contest 1957
Country	Denmark
National selection
Selection process	Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 1957
Selection date(s)	17 February 1957
Selected entrant	Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler
Selected song	"Skibet skal sejle i nat"
Finals performance
Final result	3rd, 10 points

Denmark took part in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time at the Eurovision Song Contest 1957, held in Frankfurt, Germany. The Danish entry was chosen during a national final called Dansk Melodi Grand Prix.

Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 1957 was held on February 17, 1957 at the Radiohouse in Copenhagen. The host was Volmer Sørensen

The country was represented by Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler with the song "Skibet skal sejle i nat", written by Erik Fiehn and Poul Sørensen. Denmark had wanted to take part in the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956 but was disqualified because no entry was submitted right in time.

Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 1957

Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 1957

Date:	17 February 1957
Presenter:	Volmer Sørensen
Venue:	Radiohouse, Copenhagen
Voting:	10-person jury
Winner:	Skibet skal sejle i nat performed by Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler

The first Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 1957, was held in Copenhagen on February 17, 1957. The show was hosted by Volmer Sørensen. 117 songs had been submitted to the broadcaster and six of them were chosen for the national final. Two singers were competing in the selection - Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler. Both performed two songs as soloists and they also performed two songs as a duo. A jury of ten people selected the winner and only the top two were announced, which turned out to be the two duets. "Skibet skal sejle i nat" was the overall winner and would become Denmark's first entry in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Participants

#	Artist	Song	Translation	Songwriters	Place
1	Birthe Wilke	Chanson Ordinaire	Ordinary Song	Otto Francker	-
2	Gustav Winckler	Fata Morgana	Mirage	Sophus Brandeholt, Poul Christoffersen	-
3	Birthe Wilke	Hele Verden Venter På Vår	The Whole World Is Waiting For Spring	Eric Christiansen, Anni Weimar	-
4	Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler	Kærlighedens Cocktail	The Cocktail of Love	Otto Ligton, Carl Andersen	2nd
5	Gustav Winckler	Længslernes Veje	The Roads of Longing	Eric Christiansen, Carl Andersen	-
6	Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler	Skibet skal sejle i nat	The Ship Leaves Tonight	Erik Fiehn, Poul Sørensen	1st

Releases

"Skibet skal sejle i nat" was recorded and released on a EP of the same title. The runner-up entry "Kærlighedens Cocktail" was included on this record too^[1]. After the contest, Gustav Winkler has recorded a German version of the song ("Das Schiff Geht in See Heute Nacht") with Bibi Johns^[2]. Winkler himself appeared as Gunnar Winkler on this record, the name under which he was popular in Germany in these days.

At Eurovision

Denmark was the first Scandinavian country in the competition. At the Eurovision Song Contest in Frankfurt, the Danish entry was visually one of the most impressive ones that year: to illustrate the content of the song, which is about a sailor who has to say goodbye to a woman he met and fell in love with during a shore leave^[3], Winkler was dressed up as a sailor and Wilke as a woman standing at the harbour wearing a coat with a purse in her hand. Furthermore, a tar vat was brought on stage to create a harbour atmosphere. The Danish entry was performed ninth (2nd last) on the night following France and preceding Switzerland. At the close of voting, Denmark had received ten points in total placing the country third among the ten participants. Denmark would remain the most successful debuting country in the Eurovision Song Contest until Poland finished second on its debut in 1994. However, Denmark has only received points from three of the other nine countries, most notably five points from the Netherlands.

Voting

Every country had a jury of ten people. Every jury member could give one point to his or her favourite song.

Points given 3 points to the Netherlands 2 points to Belgium 2 points to France 2 points to Switzerland 1 point to Italy

Points received 5 points from the Netherlands 3 points from Italy 2 points from the United Kingdom

Sources

• The Danish final of esconnet.dk
• Information about the national final

References

1. ^ Album covers of Eurovision 1957
2. ^ Diggiloo Thrush - Das Schiff Geht in See Heute Nacht
3. ^ Skibet skal sejle i nat - Lyrics from Diggiloo Thrush