Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008

Background

Main article: Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2008 contest, ARD had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Germany fifty-one times since its debut in . It has won the contest on one occasion: with the song "Ein bißchen Frieden" performed by Nicole. Germany, to this point, has been noted for having competed in the contest more than any other country; they have competed in every contest since the first edition in 1956 except for when it was eliminated in a pre-contest elimination round. In , the German entry "Frauen regier'n die Welt" performed by Roger Cicero placed nineteen out of twenty-four competing songs.

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, ARD organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. Since 1996, ARD had delegated the participation in the contest to its member Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). NDR confirmed that it would participate in the 2008 contest on 26 September 2007. Since 1996, NDR had set up national finals with several artists to choose both the song and performer to compete at Eurovision for Germany. On 22 December 2007, the broadcaster announced that it would organise a multi-artist national final to select the German entry.

Before Eurovision

{{lang|de|Der deutsche Vorentscheid 2008 – Wer singt für Deutschland?}}

Der deutsche Vorentscheid 2008 – Wer singt für Deutschland? (English: The German Preliminary Decision 2008 – Who sings for Germany?) was the competition that selected the German entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. The competition took place on 6 March 2008 at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, hosted by Thomas Hermanns. Five acts competed during the show with the winner being selected through a public televote. The show was broadcast on Das Erste as well as online via the broadcaster's Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.de. The national final was watched by 3.47 million viewers in Germany with a market share of 11%.

Competing entries

Five acts were selected by a panel consisting of representatives of NDR from proposals received by the broadcaster from record companies. The five participating acts were announced on 10 January 2008. A celebrity also supported each of the artists: Cinema Bizarre by actor Tetje Mierendorf, Carolin Fortenbacher by Katja Ebstein (who represented , , and ), Marquess by comedian Oliver Pocher, No Angels by Tagesschau news anchor Marc Bator, and Tommy Reeve by singer and presenter Kim Fisher.

Final

The televised final took place on 6 March 2008. The winner was selected through two rounds of public televoting, including options for landline and SMS voting. In the first round of voting, the top two entries were selected to proceed to the second round. In the second round, the winner, "Disappear" performed by No Angels, was selected. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Roger Cicero (who represented Germany in 2007) as well as former winners of the Eurovision Song Contest Charlotte Perrelli (), Ruslana (), Marija Šerifović () performed their respective entries.

At Eurovision

It was announced in September 2007 that the competition's format would be expanded to two semi-finals in 2008. According to the rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top nine songs from each semi-final as determined by televoting progress to the final, and a tenth was determined by back-up juries. As a member of the "Big Four", Germany automatically qualified to compete in the final on 24 May 2008. In addition to their participation in the final, Germany is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. During the semi-final allocation draw on 24 January 2008, Germany was assigned to broadcast and vote in the first semi-final on 20 May 2008.

In Germany, the two shows were broadcast on Das Erste which featured commentary by Peter Urban. The final was also broadcast on hr3 which featured commentary by Tim Frühling and on NDR 2 which featured commentary by Thomas Mohr. The final was watched by 6.4 million viewers in Germany, which meant a market share of 28 per cent. NDR appointed Thomas Hermanns as its spokesperson to announced the top 12-point score awarded by the German televote during the final.

Final

No Angels took part in technical rehearsals on 17 and 18 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 23 and 24 May. During the running order draw for the semi-finals and the final on 17 March 2008, Germany was placed to perform in position 4 in the final, following the entry from and before the entry from .

The German performance featured the members of No Angels performing a choreographed routine on stage. Two of the group members, Jessica Wahls and Lucy Diakovska, wore a bright blue outfit, while the other two members, Nadja Benaissa and Sandy Mölling, wore a purple outfit. The LED screens displayed flying feathers on a blue ground and the performance featured the use of wind machines as well as smoke and pyrotechnic effects. An off-stage backing vocalist, Katie Okwuazu, also joined No Angels. Germany placed twenty-third in the final, scoring 14 points.

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Germany and awarded by Germany in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the voting conducted during the two shows. Germany awarded its 12 points both in the first semi-final and the grand final of the contest to .

Points awarded to Germany

Points awarded by Germany

Notes

References

References

1. "Germany Country Profile". [[European Broadcasting Union.
2. Klier, Marcus. (26 September 2007). "Germany: NDR prepares 2008 national final".
3. Hondal, Victor. (22 December 2007). "Germany: National final set for March 6".
4. Klier, Marcus. (6 March 2008). "Live: Germany decides for Belgrade".
5. Krei, Alexander. (2008-03-07). "ARD: Herbe Verluste für Grand Prix-Vorentscheid".
6. "EUROVISION Song Contest 2008 - Seite 2 - Das 80er Jahre Forum im Netz ... best of 80s".
7. Klier, Marcus. (10 January 2008). "Germany: national final participants revealed".
8. Müller, Mario. (25 February 2008). "Grand Prix-Vorentscheid mit Promi-Paten".
9. "No Angels gewinnen den ESC Vorentscheid 2008".
10. "Das Erste: Eurovision Song Contest- Eurovision Song Contest 2008".
11. "TV-Reichweite des Eurovision Song Contests in den Jahren 1976 bis 2023 nach der Anzahl der Zuschauer".
12. (14 May 2023). "Durchschnittlicher Zuschauermarktanteil der Übertragungen des Eurovision Song Contests in den Jahren 2001 bis 2023".
13. "Schräg und schrill: Das Grand Prix-Fieber kehrt zurück". quotenmeter.de.
14. Sietse Bakker. (2008-03-17). "Belgrade 2008: The running order!". Eurovision.tv.
15. "Disappear - info - Diggiloo Thrush".
16. (2008-05-17). "Germany's No Angels on the way to heaven?".
17. (2008-05-18). "UK, Germany and France drive by".
18. "Germany".
19. "Grand Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union.
20. "Results of the Grand Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union.
21. "Results of the First Semi-Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union.