Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 1963

Eurovision Song Contest 1963

Country|  Denmark
National selection
Selection process| Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 1963
Selection date(s)| 24 February 1963
Selected entrant| Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann
Selected song| "Dansevise"
Selected songwriter(s)|

* Otto Francker
* Sejr Volmer-Sørensen

Finals performance
Final result| 1st, 42 points
Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest
| ◄1962 • | 1963 | • 1964►

|
|

Denmark was represented by Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann, with the song "Dansevise", at the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 23 March in London. "Dansevise" was chosen as the Danish entry at the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix on 24 February, and went on to win the contest for Denmark in the most controversial of circumstances, when it was alleged that the Norwegian jury had altered their votes in order to hand victory to Denmark at the expense of Switzerland.

## Before Eurovision[edit]

### Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 1963[edit]

The DMGP was held at the Tivoli in Copenhagen, hosted by Marianne Birkelund. Eight songs took part with the winner being chosen by a 10-member jury. Other past and future Eurovision entrants competing were Birthe Wilke (1957 & 1959), Dario Campeotto (1961), Bjørn Tidmand (1964) and Gitte Hænning (1973, for Germany).[1]

Final – 24 February 1963 Draw  | Artist  | Song  | Place

|
|
|

1  | Preben Marth  | "Abstrakt"  | 8
2  | Bjørn Tidmand | "Amiga mia"  | 2
3  | Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann | "Dansevise"  | 1
4  | Melody Mixers  | "Harlekin og Colmbine"  | 6
5  | Dario Campeotto | "Kære du"  | 5
6  | Gitte Hænning | "Lille sarte kvinde"  | 4
7  | Birthe Wilke | "Pourquoi"  | 3
8  | Grethe Sønck | "Verden er en gammal bekendt"  | 7

## At Eurovision[edit]

### Voting controversy[edit]

On the night of the final the Ingmanns performed 8th in the running order, following Finland and preceding Yugoslavia. "Dansevise" was a very sophisticated, atmospheric song, unlike anything previously heard in Eurovision. The pre-contest betting had suggested a two-horse race between Denmark and Switzerland, and the two songs quickly separated themselves from the pack in the early rounds of voting, which was done by each national jury awarding 5-4-3-2-1 to their top 5 songs. Host Katie Boyle then contacted Norway, the fifth jury due to vote, and the Norwegian spokesman clearly and confidently announced their votes as 5 to the United Kingdom, 4 to Italy, 3 to Switzerland, 2 to Denmark and 1 to Germany. However, as the spokesman had not given the results in the required format (by firstly giving the performance number of the song), Boyle asked him to repeat the votes. This appeared to confuse him, and Boyle agreed that to avoid any delay, they would come back to the Norwegian jury after all the other countries had voted.

After the last scheduled jury in Luxembourg had given their votes, Switzerland was ahead of Denmark by 39 points to 38. Had the votes originally announced by Norway been allowed to stand, Switzerland would have won by 42 points to 40. Boyle then went back to the spokesman in Oslo who now announced 5 to the United Kingdom, 4 to Denmark, 3 to Italy, 2 to Germany and 1 to Switzerland, giving the victory to Denmark by 2 points. In response to the controversy which followed the show, the European Broadcasting Union investigated the role of the Norwegian jury and concluded that there was no evidence of wrongdoing, with the confusion arising from misunderstandings. Notwithstanding, an element of suspicion has hung over the 1963 result ever since and it remains, along with 1968, the most contentious contest outcome in Eurovision history.[2]

"Dansevise" has a very high reputation in Eurovision circles. The song often features prominently in polls to determine the best Eurovision winners, and is cited as one of the best examples of a Eurovision winner which does not date and still holds wide appeal.

### Voting[edit]

Points awarded to Denmark[3] | Score  | Country

|

5 points  |

* Belgium
* Finland
* Luxembourg
* Netherlands
* Sweden

4 points  |  Norway
3 points  |

* Austria
* Switzerland
* United Kingdom

2 points  |

* Germany
* Italy

1 point  |
Points awarded by Denmark[3] | Score  | Country

|

5 points  |  Italy
4 points  |  Switzerland
3 points  |  United Kingdom
2 points  |  Luxembourg
1 point  |  Austria

## References[edit]

1. ^ ESC National Finals database 1963
2. ^ ESC History - Denmark 1963
3. ^ a b "Results of the Final of London 1963". Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.

* v
* t
* e

Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest

Dansk Melodi Grand Prix

Participation|

* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1995
* ~~1996~~
* 1997
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* ~~2020~~
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

Artists|

* ~~Dorthe Andersen~~
* Anja
* Anti Social Media
* Bamses Venner
* Bandjo
* Basim
* ~~Ben and Tan~~
* Katy Bødtger
* Brinck
* Brixx
* Birgit Brüel
* Debbie Cameron
* Dario Campeotto
* Chanée
* Lonnie Devantier
* DQ
* Emmelie de Forest
* Anders Frandsen
* A Friend in London
* Fyr og Flamme
* Lise Haavik
* Anne-Cathrine Herdorf
* Hot Eyes
* Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann
* Trine Jepsen
* Gry Johansen
* Birthe Kjær
* Kølig Kaj
* Leonora
* Lighthouse X
* ~~Martin Loft~~
* Kenny Lübcke
* Mabel
* Malene
* Simon Mathew
* N'evergreen
* Lotte Nilsson
* Olsen Brothers
* Rasmussen
* Raquel Rastenni
* Reddi
* Reiley
* Rollo and King
* Soluna Samay
* Tommy Seebach
* Sidsel Ben Semmane
* Jakob Sveistrup
* Michael Teschl
* Tomas Thordarson
* Bjørn Tidmand
* Ulla Pia
* Birthe Wilke
* Aud Wilken
* Gustav Winckler
* Ellen Winther

Songs|

* "All Night Long"
* "Alt det som ingen ser"
* "Angelique"
* "Believe Again"
* "Boom Boom"
* "Breaking My Heart"
* "Cliche Love Song"
* "Dansevise"
* "Det var en yndig tid"
* "Det' lige det"
* "Disco Tango"
* "Drama Queen"
* "Du er fuld af løgn"
* "Fly on the Wings of Love"
* "For din skyld"
* "Fra Mols til Skagen"
* "Hallo Hallo"
* "Higher Ground"
* "In a Moment like This"
* "Jeg rev et blad ud af min dagbog"
* "Ka' du se hva' jeg sa'?"
* "Kloden drejer"
* "Krøller eller ej"
* ~~" Kun med dig"~~
* "Lige der hvor hjertet slår"
* "En lille melodi"
* "Love Is Forever"
* "Never Ever Let You Go"
* "New Tomorrow"
* "Only Teardrops"
* "Øve os på hinanden"
* "Sangen om dig"
* "Shame on You"
* "Should've Known Better"
* "The Show"
* "Skibet skal sejle i nat"
* "Sku' du spørg' fra no'en?"
* "Soldiers of Love"
* "Stemmen i mit liv"
* "Stop – mens legen er go'"
* "Tænker altid på dig"
* "Talking to You"
* "Tell Me Who You Are"
* "This Time I Mean It"
* "Twist of Love"
* "Uh, jeg ville ønske jeg var dig"
* "Under stjernerne på himlen"
* "Vi maler byen rød"
* "Video-video"
* "Vuggevise"
* "The Way You Are"
* "Where I Am"
* ~~"Yes"~~

* Note: Entries scored out signify where Denmark did not compete

* v
* t
* e

Eurovision Song Contest 1963

Countries|

* Austria
* Belgium
* Denmark
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Italy
* Luxembourg
* Monaco
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* United Kingdom
* Yugoslavia

Artists|

* Alain Barrière
* Heidi Brühl
* Ronnie Carroll
* Carmela Corren
* José Guardiola
* Laila Halme
* Françoise Hardy
* Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann
* Nana Mouskouri
* Esther Ofarim
* Annie Palmen
* Emilio Pericoli
* Jacques Raymond
* Anita Thallaug
* Vice Vukov
* Monica Zetterlund

Songs|

* "À force de prier"
* "Algo prodigioso"
* "L'Amour s'en va"
* "Brodovi"
* "Dansevise"
* "Elle était si jolie"
* "En gång i Stockholm"
* "Marcel"
* "Muistojeni laulu"
* "Say Wonderful Things"
* "Solhverv"
* "Een speeldoos"
* "T'en va pas"
* "Uno per tutte"
* "Vielleicht geschieht ein Wunder"
* "Waarom?"

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template