German media is, to put it lightly, not happy with Germany’s decade-long string of poor results at the Eurovision Song Contest. With Lord of the Lost garnering yet another last-place finish this past May, the German press has discussed possible changes to Germany’s Eurovision participation–and DWDL has suggested that MDR, the broadcaster for central Germany, take over from the current organizer NDR.
A tale of two broadcasters
Germany’s Eurovision participation is organized through ARD, a confederation of eight regional broadcasters in Germany. Currently, the member station responsible for Germany’s participant selection is NDR, the North German broadcaster based in Hamburg. MDR, the broadcaster DWDL suggests could take over in 2025, covers Central Germany and is headquartered in Leipzig.
Thomas Lückerath for DWDL reports that ARD is actively seeking solutions for Germany’s recent Eurovision slump and is considering MDR, who had previously been responsible for Eurovision participation between 1992 and 1995. NDR took over in 1996 and selected such successful entries as “Guildo Hat Euch Lieb” (7th place in 1998), “Wadde Hadde Dudde Da” (5th place in 2000), and “Satellite” (first place in 2010).
Despite those early successes, Germany has only broken out of the bottom ranks once in the past decade, with Michael Schulte’s “You Let Me Walk Alone” placing fourth in 2018. MDR, meanwhile, contributes production for the popular crime drama Tatort and has organized a successful music festival since 1992.
Germany’s Eurovision future
Germany has confirmed its Eurovision 2024 participation, despite consternation from the media, and announced this week that a national final would take place on 16th February.
MDR has firmly denied rumors that they will participate in Eurovision in the future. A spokesman for MDR told DWDL that “there has been absolutely no conversation about it and therefore it is not a topic relevant to MDR”. For now, at least, Germany’s future at Eurovision is solidly in the hands of NDR.
Germany’s Eurovision journey
Germany has been part of Eurovision since the beginning, debuting in 1956. Their debut entries were Walter Andreas Schwarz’s “Im Wartesaal zum großen Glück” and Freddy Quinn’s “So geht das jede Nacht”. Germany has appeared at every Eurovision except for 1996, which means they have been at more Contests than any other country. They have a long history of success in Eurovision, finishing in the top 3 an impressive 13 times. Germany has won the contest twice: Nicole won in 1982 with her song “Ein bißchen Frieden”, taking home 161 points. Their second win came in 2010, when Lena scored 246 points with her song “Satellite”.
Germany’s most recent Eurovision entry was Lord of the Lost with “Blood and Glitter”. As Germany is part of the Big 5, they automatically qualified for the Grand Final. In the Final, the song received 18 points and finished last – 26th – for the second year in a row.
Would a change in broadcaster solve Germany’s poor results? Would you like to see MDR take the reigns? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tiktok as we look ahead to Eurovision 2024!
News Source: DWDR
Photo Credit: Berlinautor (Wikimedia)
