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The Eurovision Song Contest 1979 was the 24th edition held on 31 March 1979 at the Binyanei Ha'ouma in Jerusalem, Israel due to Izhar Cohen & Alpha Beta's win in Paris the previous year. It was presented by Yardena Arazi (who became the second former contestant to act as host) and Daniel Pe'er.

This was the first contest to be staged outside of Europe. As well as transmitting to the 19 participating nations, the show was also broadcast in Romania, Iceland and Hong Kong.

Israel won for the second consecutive year with the song Hallelujah performed by Gali Atari and Milk and Honey, successfully defending their title on home ground. Down by 1 point to Spain going into the final round of voting, it was the Spanish jury that caused their own defeat by giving 10 points to the Israeli entry.

Participants[]

Draw Country Artist Song Language Translation Place Points
01 Flag of Portugal Portugal Manuela Bravo Sobe, sobe, balão sobe Portuguese Rise, rise, balloon rise 9 64
02 Flag of Italy Italy Matia Bazar Raggio di luna Italian Moonbeam 15 27
03 Flag of Denmark Denmark Tommy Seebach Disco Tango Danish -- 6 76
04 Flag of Ireland Ireland Cathal Dunne Happy Man English 5 80
05 Flag of Finland Finland Katri Helena Katson sineen taivaan Finnish I'm looking into the blue of the sky 14 38
06 Flag of Monaco Monaco Laurent Vaguener Notre vie c'est la musique French Our life is music 16 12
07 Flag of Greece Greece Elpida Sokrati Greek Socrates 8 69
08 Flag of Switzerland Switzerland Peter, Sue & Marc ft. Pfuri,
Gnorps
& Kniri
Trödler und Co German Second-handers and Company 10 60
09 Flag of Germany Germany Dschinghis Khan Dschinghis Khan Genghis Khan 4 86
10 Flag of Israel Israel Gali Atari & Milk and Honey Hallelujah Hebrew -- 1 125
11 Flag of France France Anne Marie David Je Suis L'Enfant Soleil French I am the sun child 3 106
12 Flag of Belgium Belgium Micha Marah Hey Nana Dutch -- 18 5
13 Flag of Luxembourg Luxembourg Jeane Manson J'ai déjà vu ça dans tes yeux French I've already seen that in your eyes 13 44
14 Flag of The Netherlands The Netherlands Xandra Colorado Dutch -- 12 51
15 Flag of Sweden Sweden Ted Gärdestad Satellit Swedish Satellite 17 8
16 Flag of Norway Norway Anita Skorgan Oliver Norwegian -- 11 57
17 Flag of United Kingdom United Kingdom Black Lace Mary Ann English 7 73
18 Flag of Austria Austria Christina Simon Heute in Jerusalem German Today in Jerusalem 18 5
19 Flag of Spain Spain Betty Missiego Su canción Spanish Your song 2 116

Trivia[]

  • Anne Marie David, Anita Skorgan, Peter, Sue & Marc, Sandra Reemer (performing as Xandra) and Tommy Seebach have all participated in another contest. The former four participated in other contests in the 1970s with David winning for Luxembourg in 1973.
  • The stage in Jerusalem was one of many stages to come that will have a moving feature. 1980, 1984, and 1999 are most noticeable.
  • Spain would have won by one point if the Spanish jury hadn't given any points to Israel. It was the first time in the contest that the country in the lead caused its own defeat.
  • This was the last year the points were awarded in performance order during the voting results. Starting the following year, points would be allocated to countries in ascending numerical order.
  • The contest took place five days after the historic Egyptian-Israeli peace signing.
Eurovision Song Contest
Editions
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Winning Songs
RefrainNet Als ToenDors, mon amourEen beetjeTom PillibiNous les amoureuxUn premier amourDanseviseNon ho l'etàPoupée de Cire, Poupée de SonMerci, ChériePuppet on a StringLa, La, LaBoom Bang-a-BangVivo CantandoUn jour, un enfantDe TroubadourAll Kinds of EverythingUn banc, un arbre, une rueAprès ToiTu Te ReconnaîtrasWaterlooDing-a-DongSave Your Kisses For MeL'Oiseau et l'enfantA-Ba-Ni-BiHallelujahWhat's Another YearMaking Your Mind UpEin bißchen FriedenSi la vie est cadeauDiggiloo DiggileyLa Det SwingeJ'aime La VieHold Me NowNe Partez Pas Sans MoiRock MeInsieme: 1992Fångad av en stormvindWhy Me?In Your EyesRock 'n' Roll KidsNocturneThe VoiceLove Shine a LightDivaTake Me To Your HeavenFly on the Wings of LoveEverybodyI WannaEveryway That I CanWild DancesMy Number OneHard Rock HallelujahMolitvaBelieveFairytaleSatelliteRunning ScaredEuphoriaOnly TeardropsRise Like a PhoenixHeroes1944Amar pelos doisToyArcadeZitti e buoniStefaniaTattoo
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Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song ContestEurovision's Greatest HitsEurope Shine a Light
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Big FiveCurse of 43Curse of Number TwoCurse of GreenDouze Points!ESCRadio AwardsESC Top 250Eurovision AgainEurovision National BroadcastersEurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire SagaFounding SevenLGBT visibilityLynda WoodruffMarcel Bezençon AwardsNul PointsOGAERecordsStand-insThe Reorder BoardTie SituationTop Scoring SongsVoting DiasporaWinner's CurseWithdrawn SongsYou're a Vision Award
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