Denmark has competed in the Eurovision Song Contest from 1957 to 1966 and from 1978 to the present day and has a good record, finishing in the top three seven times and winning on three of those occasions.
In 1963 they won the contest for the first time with the song Dansevise, performed by Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann. From 1967 until 1977, Denmark didn't participate in the contest. Denmark enjoyed mixed success in the 1980s. In 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989, the nation performed well.
However, in 1982 and 1983 it received some of its worst placings ever. The 1990s were mostly bad for Denmark. Due to poor performances in the previous years, the nation was eliminated from taking part in three contests (1994, 1996, 1998), and when present it mostly scored poorly, with the exceptions of 1990, 1995 and 1999. Its lowest score ever, was in 1962 with only 2 points, but the lowest score since their return in 1978, is just 5 points in 1982. Denmark's average score is 65.261 points.
The second Danish victory came in 2000, with the Olsen Brothers defying the odds (they were considerably older than their competitors and only one male duo had won before) to win with Fly on the Wings of Love.
The most recent victory came in 2013 with Only Teardrops performed by Emmelie de Forest. The song came to be Denmark's highest scoring song ever with 281 points. This was their first victory in the 21st century, but it made them the first country to host twice in the 21st century, hosting in both 2001 and 2014.
Gallery[]
Participants[]
Year | Artist | Song | Language | Place | Points | Semi | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1957 | Birthe Wilke & Gustav Winckler | Skibet skal sejle i nat | Danish | 3 | 10 | No Semi Finals | |
1958 | Raquel Rastenni | Jeg rev et blad ud af min dagbog | 8 | 3 | |||
1959 | Birthe Wilke | Uh, jeg ville ønske jeg var dig | 5 | 12 | |||
1960 | Katy Bødtger | Det var en yndig tid | 10 | 4 | |||
1961 | Dario Campeotto | Angelique | 5 | 12 | |||
1962 | Ellen Winther | Vuggevise | 10 | 2 | |||
1963 | Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann | Dansevise | 1 | 42 | |||
1964 | Bjørn Tidmand | Sangen om dig | 9 | 4 | |||
1965 | Birgit Brüel | For din skyld | 7 | 10 | |||
1966 | Ulla Pia | Stop - mens legen er goen | 14 | 4 | |||
1967–1977 | Didn't participate | ||||||
1978 | Mabel | Boom Boom | Danish | 16 | 13 | No Semi Finals | |
1979 | Tommy Seebach | Disco Tango | 6 | 76 | |||
1980 | Bamses Venner | Tænker altid på dig | 14 | 25 | |||
1981 | Tommy Seebach & Debbie Cameron | Krøller eller ej | 11 | 41 | |||
1982 | Brixx | Video Video | 17 | 5 | |||
1983 | Gry Johansen | Kloden drejer | 16 | ||||
1984 | Hot Eyes | Det' lige det | 4 | 101 | |||
1985 | Sku' du spørg' fra no'en? | 11 | 41 | ||||
1986 | Lise Haavik | Du er fuld af løgn | 6 | 77 | |||
1987 | Anne-Cathrine Herdorf & Bandjo | En lille melodi | 5 | 83 | |||
1988 | Hot Eyes | Ka' du se hva' jeg sa'? | 3 | 92 | |||
1989 | Birthe Kjær | Vi maler byen rød | 3 | 111 | |||
1990 | Lonnie Devantier | Hallo Hallo | 8 | 64 | |||
1991 | Anders Frandsen | Lige der hvor hjertet slår | 19 | 8 | |||
1992 | Lotte Nilsson & Kenny Lübcke | Alt det som ingen ser | 12 | 47 | |||
1993 | Tommy Seebach Band | Under stjernerne på himlen | 22 | 9 | |||
1994 | Relegated from participation | ||||||
1995 | Aud Wilken | Fra Mols til Skagen | Danish | 5 | 92 | No Semi Final | |
1996 | Martin Loft & Dorte Andersen | Kun Med Dig | -- | -- | 25 | 22 | |
1997 | Kølig Kaj | Stemmen i mit liv | 16 | 25 | No Semi Final | ||
1998 | Relegated from participation | ||||||
1999 | Michael Teschl & Trine Jepsen | This Time I Mean It | English | 8 | 71 | No Semi Finals | |
2000 | Olsen Brothers | Fly on the Wings of Love | 1 | 195 | |||
2001 | Rollo & King | Never Ever Let You Go | 2 | 177 | |||
2002 | Malene | Tell Me Who You Are | 24 | 7 | |||
2003 | Relegated from participation | ||||||
2004 | Thomas Thordarsson | Shame on You | English | -- | -- | 13 | 56 |
2005 | Jakob Sveistrup | Talking to You | 9 | 125 | 3 | 185 | |
2006 | Sidsel Ben Semmane | Twist of Love | 18 | 26 | Top 11 in 2005 | ||
2007 | DQ | Drama Queen | -- | -- | 19 | 45 | |
2008 | Simon Mathew | All Night Long | 15 | 60 | 3 | 112 | |
2009 | Niels Brinck | Believe Again | 13 | 74 | 8 | 69 | |
2010 | Chanée & N'evergreen | In a Moment Like This | 4 | 149 | 5 | 101 | |
2011 | A Friend in London | New Tomorrow | 5 | 134 | 2 | 135 | |
2012 | Soluna Samay | Should've Known Better | 23 | 21 | 9 | 63 | |
2013 | Emmelie de Forest | Only Teardrops | 1 | 281 | 1 | 167 | |
2014 | Basim | Cliché Love Song | 9 | 74 | Host of 2014 | ||
2015 | Anti Social Media | The Way You Are | -- | -- | 13 | 33 | |
2016 | Lighthouse X | Soldiers of Love | -- | -- | 17 | 34 | |
2017 | Anja Nissen | Where I Am | 20 | 77 | 10 | 101 | |
2018 | Rasmussen | Higher Ground | 9 | 226 | 5 | 204 | |
2019 | Leonora | Love is Forever | English, French, German, Danish | 12 | 120 | 10 | 94 |
2020 | Ben & Tan | Yes | English | Contest cancelled | |||
2021 | Fyr & Flamme | Øve os på Hinanden | Danish | -- | -- | 11 | 89 |
2022 | REDDI | The Show | English | -- | -- | 13 | 55 |
2023 | Reiley | Breaking My Heart | -- | -- | 14 | 6 | |
2024 | Saba | Sand |
Trivia[]
- The country is one of four to have selected all of their entries via a national final, the others being Albania, Estonia and Finland.