Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest

For Monaco's most recent participation, see Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006.
Monaco

Monaco

Member station TMC
National selection events
Appearances
Appearances 24 (21 finals)
First appearance 1959
Last appearance 2006
Best result 1st: 1971
Worst result Last: 1959, 1966
Nul points: 1966
External links
Monaco's page at Eurovision.tv

Monaco has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 24 times since its debut in 1959. The country's only win in the contest came in 1971 when Séverine performed "Un banc, un arbre, une rue". In 1972, Monaco was expected to host the contest, but declined. Monaco is still today, the only microstate which won the Eurovision Song Contest.

Monaco finished last at its first contest in 1959 before achieving three top three results in the 1960s. Two of these were achieved by François Deguelt, who finished third in 1960 and second in 1962. Romuald also finished third in 1964. Severine's victory in 1971 was the first of five top four results in eight years. The others were achieved by Romauld (who returned to place fourth in 1974), Mary Christy who was third in 1976, Michèle Torr, fourth in 1977 and Caline & Olivier Toussaint who were fourth in 1978. After participating in 1979, Monaco was absent from the contest for 25 years.

Monaco returned to the contest for three years from 2004 to 2006 but failed to qualify from the semi-finals. The Monegasque broadcaster then withdrew from the contest saying that regional voting patterns in the contest have effectively given Monaco no chance of qualifying for the final.[1][2]

History

Marjorie Noël performing "Va dire à l'amour" in Naples

Monaco participated in the contest 21 times between its debut in 1959 and 1979. Afterwards the country withdrew from the contest for financial reasons. It only returned in 2004, 25 years after its last participation.[3] It withdrew again in 2007, after failing to qualify for the final for three consecutive years.[4]

Monaco won the contest in 1971, with the song "Un banc, un arbre, une rue", performed by Séverine.[5] The Monegasque victory is rather particular in the history of Eurovision because the songwriter, the singer and the director were not from the country they represented, but from France. Séverine even declared to journalists that she had never set foot in Monaco, forgetting that the video-clip was filmed there.[6] Séverine's producer was dishonest with her and stole her prize, thus she never got paid for her victory, even after suing him.[7] Nevertheless, the singer is still a great fan of the contest.[8]

Monaco's next best placing has been second which it has achieved once at the 1962. It has been third three times, in 1960, 1964 and 1976; and last twice, in 1959 and 1966.[9] Monaco is among the eight countries which finished last on their first participation, the others being Austria, Portugal, Malta, Turkey, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and San Marino.

Host country

Monaco never organised the contest. After winning in 1971, the country decided to organise the 1972 contest as an open-air show, setting the date in June rather than early spring.[10] However, because of a lack of funds and material, Télé Monte Carlo sought help from the French public broadcaster, ORTF, which accepted to organise the contest. Because TMC wanted the show to be held in Monaco while ORTF wanted it in France, negotiations never succeeded. Monaco left it up to the EBU.[11] The EBU asked Spain and Germany, who respectively finished second and third at the 1971 contest, but the countries were not interested in organising the 1972 contest. It was eventually organised by the BBC in Edinburgh.[10]

Absence

Monaco was absent from the contest between 1980 and 2004, before returning for three years from 2004–2006, but Maryon (2004), Lise Darly (2005) and Séverine Ferrer (2006) all failed to progress from the semi-finals. TMC broadcast the 2007 contest opening the way for participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. However, TMC decided against it.[12][13]

TMC had announced that it was possible Monaco would return to the contest in 2009 after a two-year absence, following talks with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organiser of the contest, as well as new voting measures implemented in the contest that year.[14] Despite this, Monaco did not compete in Moscow in 2009.[15] The EBU announced they would work harder to bring Monaco back into the Contest in 2010 alongside other lapsed participants.

Officials have denounced geopolitical voting between the countries in East Europe and the ones in Scandinavia, leaving practically no chance for the principality to qualify. They also regret that the contest is now more about the show than singing. Furthermore, Monaco does not really have a public broadcaster anymore. TMC is now part of the TF1 Group, the leading private broadcaster in France and is now available everywhere in France. TMC programs no longer revolve around the principality. TF1 Group being the biggest competitor to the French public channels, it is very unlikely that TMC will broadcast again the Eurovision Song Contest. When TMC did so between 2004 and 2006, its audience was much lower than the one of the French public channel. In those years, it was the government and the municipality of Monaco who chose the contestant and funded the delegation, while it is usually the responsibility of a broadcaster or a producer.[16]

Contestants

Due to the country's very small size, all Monaco's entrants came from outside the principality. The large majority of them were French, with also one Yugoslavian, Tereza Kesovija, and one Italian, Mary Christy. Several singers selected to represent Monaco are key figures of the French scene, such as Françoise Hardy and Michèle Torr. Luxembourg, another small country, also sent a great number of French artists to the contest. At the 1967 contest, the Monegasque entry, "Boum Badaboum", sang by Minouche Barelli, was written by Serge Gainsbourg. He had already composed the winning entry in 1965, "Poupée de cire, poupée de son", sang by France Gall for Luxembourg.[17] Jean Jacques, who represented Monaco in 1969, was the first child to take part in Eurovision. He was 12.[18]

Table key
  Winner
  Second place
  Third place
  Last place
Year Artist Language Title Final Points Semi Points
1959 Jacques Pills French "Mon ami Pierrot" 11 1 No semi-finals
1960 François Deguelt French "Ce soir-là" 3 15
1961 Colette Deréal French "Allons, allons les enfants" 10 6
1962 François Deguelt French "Dis rien" 2 13
1963 Françoise Hardy French "L'amour s'en va" 5 25
1964 Romuald French "Où sont-elles passées" 3 15
1965 Marjorie Noël French "Va dire à l'amour" 9 7
1966 Téréza French "Bien plus fort" 17 0
1967 Minouche Barelli French "Boum-Badaboum" 5 10
1968 Line & Willy French "À chacun sa chanson" 7 8
1969 Jean Jacques French "Maman, Maman" 6 11
1970 Dominique Dussault French "Marlène" 8 5
1971 Séverine French "Un banc, un arbre, une rue" 1 128
1972 Peter McLane & Anne-Marie Godart French "Comme on s'aime" 16 65
1973 Marie French "Un train qui part" 8 85
1974 Romuald French "Celui qui reste et celui qui s'en va" 4 14
1975 Sophie French "Une chanson c'est une lettre" 13 22
1976 Mary Christy French "Toi, la musique et moi" 3 93
1977 Michèle Torr French "Une petite française" 4 96
1978 Caline & Olivier Toussaint French "Les jardins de Monaco" 4 107
1979 Laurent Vaguener French "Notre vie c'est la musique" 16 12
Did not participate between 1980 and 2003
2004 Maryon French "Notre planète" Failed to qualify 20 10
2005 Lise Darly French "Tout de moi" 24 22
2006 Séverine Ferrer French, Tahitian "La Coco-Dance" 21 14
Did not participate from 2007 to present

Voting history

Between 1959 and 2006, Monaco's voting history was as follows:

Most points given in the grand finals only
Rank Country Points
1  France 99
2  United Kingdom 79
3  Germany 59
4  Italy 55
5  Spain 54
Most points received in the grand finals only
Rank Country Points
1=  Germany 56
 Italy 56
3  United Kingdom 55
4  Sweden 47
5  Netherlands 46

Most points given in the semis and finals
Rank Country Points
1  France 99
2  United Kingdom 79
3  Germany 59
4  Italy 55
5=  Spain 54
  Switzerland 54
Most points received in the semis and finals
Rank Country Points
1  France 60
2=  Italy 56
 Germany 56
4  United Kingdom 55
5  Sweden 47

Commentators and spokespersons

From 1959 to 1979, Monaco did not have its own commentators in the festival, Télé Monte Carlo used French commentary instead (RTF 1959–1964, ORTF 1965–1974 and TF1 1975–1979). Between 2004 and 2006, TMC did broadcast the contest with its own commentators, but they were French. As TMC had been available in the South-East of France since the 1980s and by digital terrestrial television throughout the country since 2005, French audience was able to watch the Eurovision Song Contest on both France 3 and TMC in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Year(s) Commentator Spokesperson
1959 Claude Darget TBC
1960 Pierre Tchernia TBC
1961 Robert Beauvais TBC
1962 Pierre Tchernia TBC
1963 TBC
1964 Robert Beauvais TBC
1965 Pierre Tchernia TBC
1966 François Deguelt TBC
1967 Pierre Tchernia TBC
1968 TBC
1969 TBC
1970 TBC
1971 Georges de Caunes N/A
1972 Pierre Tchernia
1973
1974 Sophie Hecquet
1975 Georges de Caunes Carole Chabrier
1976 Jean-Claude Massoulier
1977 Georges de Caunes
1978 Léon Zitrone and Denise Fabre
1979 Marc Menant
19802003 No broadcast Monaco did not participate
2004 Bernard Montiel and Génie Godula Anne Allegrini
2005
2006 Bernard Montiel and Églantine Eméyé Églantine Eméyé
2007 Unknown (final) Monaco did not participate
20082016 No broadcast

References

  1. Kasapoglou, Yiorgos (2006-12-12). "Monaco withdraws". ESCToday. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
  2. Viniker, Barry (2006-12-14). "Monaco - it's not the money!". ESCToday. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
  3. http://www.eurovision.tv/page/history/by-year/contest?event=296#About%20the%20show
  4. http://www.eurovision.tv/page/history/by-year/contest?event=434#About%20the%20show
  5. http://www.eurovision.tv/page/history/by-year/contest?event=287#About%20the%20show
  6. John Kennedy O'Connor (2005). The Eurovision Song Contest. 50 Years. The Official History. Carlton Books Limited. p. 47.
  7. Jean-Pierre Hautier (2010). La folie de l’Eurovision. Éditions de l’Arbre. p. 37.
  8. Jan Feddersen and Ivor Lyttle (2005). Congratulations. 50 Years of The Eurovision Song Contest. The Official DVD. 1956-1980. CMC Entertainment. p. 7.
  9. http://www.eurovision.tv/page/history/by-country/country?country=36
  10. 1 2 http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=seeking_out_more_about_the_1972_contest
  11. John Kennedy O'Connor (2005). The Eurovision Song Contest. 50 Years. The Official History. Carlton Books Limited. p. 48.
  12. Kuipers, Michael (2006-12-26). "Monaco to show Eurovision 2007". ESCToday. Retrieved 2006-12-26.
  13. Floras, Stella (2007-12-06). "Monaco will not return in 2008". ESCToday. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  14. Kuipers, Michael (2008-11-19). "Monaco back in Moscow?". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
  15. Konstantopoulos, Fotis (2008-11-27). "San Marino & Monaco out?". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
  16. Adrien Paredes (2011). "Eurovision : Monaco, 40 ans plus tard". Monaco Hebdo.
  17. Jan Feddersen and Ivor Lyttle (2005). Congratulations. 50 Years of The Eurovision Song Contest. The Official DVD. 1956-1980. CMC Entertainment. p. 12.
  18. John Kennedy O'Connor (2005). The Eurovision Song Contest. 50 Years. The Official History. Carlton Books Limited. p. 37.

External links

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