Munich 1983

  28º Eurovision Song Contest
 Si la Vie est Cadeau (Corinne Hermès) - Luxembourg


The Eurovision Song Contest 1983 was the 28th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on April 23, 1983 in Munich. The presenter was Marlene Charell, who delivered her presentations of the performers in German, English and French. The set that year was rather peculiar, with a quite small, arc-shaped stage surrounding the orchestra section, and large background resembling giant electric heaters, which lit up in different sequences and combinations depending on the nature and rhythm of the songs. Corinne Hermes was the winner of this Eurovision with the song, "Si la vie est cadeau".

This was Luxembourg's fifth victory in the contest which equalled the record set by France in 1977. Ofra Haza from Israel, who took the second place, had an enduring success with her song Chai which became a hit in Europe, launching her career. This year also marked the first performance of Sweden's Carola Häggkvist, who took the third place and went on to win the contest in 1991 and would represent her country again in 2006 (coming fifth). Her song, Främling, became very popular in Sweden, perhaps even more than her winning entry eight years later. The 4th placed Džuli, also became a mega hit in Europe.

This year's null points were shared by Spain and Turkey. Spain's Remedios Amaya presented a song which definitely was far from popular tastes and conventional perception of melody and harmony. Turkey's entry, Opera, performed by Çetin Alp & the Short Waves, could on the other hand be said to fit in well with the spirit of Eurovision of that time. Nevertheless, the overinterpretation of the theme of the song, as well as the fact that the lyrics of the song consisted for the most part of the often-repeated word "opera" and names of well-known operas and composers, and Çetin's breaking into operatic "lay lay la", prompted extensive derision of the song, including the usual sardonic words from BBC commentator Terry Wogan ("a nicely understated performance there").

See you in Luxemburg for the 29th Eurovision Song Contest in 1984