# Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest

Denmark has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 52 times, making its first appearance in 1957. Having competed in ten consecutive contests until 1966, Denmark was absent for eleven consecutive contests from 1967 to 1977. Since 1978, it has been absent from only four contests. Denmark has won the contest three times: in 1963, 2000 and 2013. The Danish participant broadcaster in the contest is the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR), which select its entrant with the national competition Dansk Melodi Grand Prix.
Denmark finished third on its debut in 1957 with Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler, before winning the contest for the first time in 1963 with the song "Dansevise" performed by Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann. The country returned to the top three 25 years later, with third-place finishes for Hot Eyes in 1988 and Birthe Kjær in 1989, while Denmark's only top five result of the 1990s was Aud Wilken's fifth place in 1995.
Denmark won the contest for the second time in 2000 with "Fly on the Wings of Love" performed by the Olsen Brothers. Denmark then finished second as hosts in 2001 with "Never Ever Let You Go" performed by Rollo and King, before Malene Mortensen became the first Danish entry to finish last in 2002. Denmark won the contest for the third time in 2013, with "Only Teardrops" performed by Emmelie de Forest. Denmark has placed in the top five 14 times.

## History
### Denmark's debut

The Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) is a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Denmark.
DR first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957, held in Frankfurt, Germany. It had intended to compete at the first contest in 1956, but had submitted its application past the deadline and was, therefore, not allowed to compete. Denmark was the first Nordic country to take part in the contest, with Sweden, Norway, and Finland following soon after. Iceland, however, did not take part until 1986.
Denmark's first participants were Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler, who sang the song "Skibet skal sejle i nat". Their performance was controversial as, at the end of the song, the couple performed an 11-second kiss, which caused outcry in some countries. Nevertheless, the performance achieved third place.

### First victory

Denmark won the contest for the first time in 1963, when Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann sang "Dansevise". The victory, however, was controversial. When Norway announced its votes, the presenter Katie Boyle had to correct the spokesperson and said that she would call them again later. Viewers around Europe could then see the votes had been changed, changing the outcome of the contest and giving the victory to Denmark at the expense of Switzerland. In fact, the reason why Norway had to announce its votes again was that the Norwegian spokesperson did not follow the right procedure the first time and, therefore, there was doubt whether he gave the correct votes on the first occasion.
The final result was valid and the victory went to Denmark. Accordingly, in 1964, the contest was held in Denmark for the first time.

### Absence and return

After the 1966 contest and a record low 14th place, Denmark withdrew from the contest, as DR's new head of entertainment Niels Jørgen Kaiser did not view the contest as being quality entertainment citing dissatisfaction from the viewers. Dansk Melodi Grand Prix was not held from that year onwards.
However, in the 1978 contest, after 11 years of absence, and following Niels Jørgen Kaisers departure from DR, Denmark returned to the contest, represented by Mabel and the song "Boom Boom".

### 1980s

Denmark's most successful time at the contest came between 1984 and 1990, with the country reaching the top eight in six out of seven contests, including four top-five placings. The duo of Hot Eyes represented the nation three times during this period. In 1984, they sang the song "Det' lige det" and finished fourth. In 1985, they became the first and, as of 2020 only act to represent Denmark in two consecutive years. Singing "Sku' du spørg' fra no'en?", they could not repeat their success of the previous year and came 11th. In 1988, Hot Eyes represented Denmark again with "Ka' du se hva' jeg sa'?". The duo scored its best result to date, finishing in third place, losing only to Céline Dion and Scott Fitzgerald. Denmark's other good results during this time were sixth place for Lise Haavik in 1986, fifth for Anne-Cathrine Herdorf and Bandjo in 1987, third for Birthe Kjær in 1989 and eighth for Lonnie Devantier in 1990.

### 1990s

After 1990, Denmark fell from its high positions of the 1980s and was relegated from the contest on three occasions in the 1990s. In 1993, Tommy Seebach, who had previously represented Denmark in 1979 and 1981, finished 22nd, resulting Denmark being relegated from the contest in 1994. Aud Wilken sang "Fra Mols til Skagen" for the nation at the 1995 contest and came 5th, but this high placing could not be repeated in 1996, as Denmark's entry, "Kun med dig" sung by Dorthe Andersen and Martin Loft, did not qualify from the pre-qualifying round of the contest. In 1998, Denmark was once again relegated from the contest following a poor result in 1997. In 1999, the abolition of the language rule, which had required all countries to sing in their official languages, brought a return to success for Denmark, when Michael Teschl and Trine Jepsen finished 8th with "This Time I Mean It".

### 2000s and 2010s

In 2000, Denmark won the contest with brothers Jørgen and Niels Olsen defying the odds (they were considerably older than their competitors and only one male duo had won before), to win with "Fly on the Wings of Love". The song went on to enjoy huge success around Europe.
At the 2001 contest, held in Copenhagen, Rollo and King came second with the song "Never Ever Let You Go". However, in 2002, Malene Mortensen came 24th (last) with "Tell Me Who You Are", giving Denmark its worst result ever. Therefore, Denmark was relegated from the 2003 contest.
In 2005, Copenhagen hosted Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest, an event to commemorate the 50th anniversary.
Since the introduction of semifinals in 2004, Denmark has qualified for the final on ten out of 18 occasions. Another string of successful participations started in 2010, when Denmark reached the top five for the first time in nine years, finishing fourth with "In a Moment like This" performed by Chanée and N'evergreen. A year later, Denmark finished fifth with "New Tomorrow" performed by the band A Friend in London, and in 2013, Denmark won the contest for the third time, when Emmelie de Forest represented the country with the song "Only Teardrops", winning with Denmark's highest-ever score of 281 points.
In 2014, Denmark reached the top ten for the fourth time in five years, when Basim finished ninth. However, the success did not continue into 2015 and 2016, as Denmark failed to qualify for the final in those years. In 2017, the country returned to the final, finishing 20th with Anja Nissen. Denmark achieved its fifth top ten result of the decade in 2018, with Rasmussen and the song "Higher Ground" finishing ninth. In 2019, Leonora took Denmark to their 12th final with the song "Love Is Forever" and finished 12th in the final with 120 points.

### 2020s

In 2021, the duo Fyr og Flamme with "Øve os på hinanden", Denmark's first entry fully in Danish since 1997, failed to qualify for the final, finishing 11th in the second semi-final with 89 points. Further non-qualifications followed with Reddi in 2022, Reiley in 2023 and Saba in 2024.
Denmark has the current record of being the country with most consecutive non-placements in the final, with 4. Before 2024, the record was hold together by Georgia and Latvia, with 6 editions each, followed by Ireland, with 4; all three countries qualified to the final. After hosting the contest in 2014, Denmark has only managed to qualify 3 times in 10 years (2017, 2018, 2019), after failing to qualify twice (in 2004 and 2007) since the introduction of the semi finals in 2004 up until 2014.

## Participation overview

Table key :
| 1 | First place |
| 2 | Second place |
| 3 | Third place |
| ◁ | Last place |
| X | Entry selected but did not compete |
| † | Upcoming event |
| Year | Entrant | Song | Language | Final | Points | Semi | Points |
| 1957 | Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler | "Skibet skal sejle i nat" | Danish | 3 | 10 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1958 | Raquel Rastenni | "Jeg rev et blad ud af min dagbog" | Danish | 8 | 3 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1959 | Birthe Wilke | "Uh, jeg ville ønske jeg var dig" | Danish | 5 | 12 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1960 | Katy Bødtger | "Det var en yndig tid" | Danish | 10 | 4 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1961 | Dario Campeotto | "Angelique" | Danish | 5 | 12 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1962 | Ellen Winther | "Vuggevise" | Danish | 10 | 2 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1963 | Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann | "Dansevise" | Danish | 1 | 42 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1964 | Bjørn Tidmand | "Sangen om dig" | Danish | 9 | 4 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1965 | Birgit Brüel | "For din skyld" | Danish | 7 | 10 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1966 | Ulla Pia | "Stop – mens legen er go'" | Danish | 14 | 4 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1978 | Mabel | "Boom Boom" | Danish | 16 | 13 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1979 | Tommy Seebach | "Disco Tango" | Danish | 6 | 76 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1980 | Bamses Venner | "Tænker altid på dig" | Danish | 14 | 25 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1981 | Tommy Seebach and Debbie Cameron | "Krøller eller ej" | Danish | 11 | 41 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1982 | Brixx | "Video-Video" | Danish | 17 | 5 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1983 | Gry Johansen | "Kloden drejer" | Danish | 17 | 16 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1984 | Hot Eyes | "Det' lige det" | Danish | 4 | 101 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1985 | Hot Eyes | "Sku' du spørg' fra no'en" | Danish | 11 | 41 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1986 | Lise Haavik | "Du er fuld af løgn" | Danish | 6 | 77 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1987 | Bandjo with Anne-Cathrine Herdorf | "En lille melodi" | Danish | 5 | 83 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1988 | Hot Eyes | "Ka' du se hva' jeg sa'" | Danish | 3 | 92 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1989 | Birthe Kjær | "Vi maler byen rød" | Danish | 3 | 111 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1990 | Lonnie Devantier | "Hallo Hallo" | Danish | 8 | 64 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1991 | Anders Frandsen | "Lige der hvor hjertet slår" | Danish | 19 | 8 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1992 | Lotte Nilsson and Kenny Lübcke | "Alt det som ingen ser" | Danish | 12 | 47 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1993 | Seebach Band | "Under stjernerne på himlen" | Danish | 22 | 9 | Kvalifikacija za Millstreet | Kvalifikacija za Millstreet |
| 1995 | Aud Wilken | "Fra Mols til Skagen" | Danish | 5 | 92 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1996 | Dorthe Andersen and Martin Loft | "Kun med dig" | Danish | Failed to qualify X | Failed to qualify X | 25 | 22 |
| 1997 | Kølig Kaj | "Stemmen i mit liv" | Danish | 16 | 25 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1999 | Trine Jepsen and Michael Teschl | "This Time I Mean It" | English | 8 | 71 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 2000 | Olsen Brothers | "Fly on the Wings of Love" | English | 1 | 195 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 2001 | Rollo and King | "Never Ever Let You Go" | English | 2 | 177 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 2002 | Malene | "Tell Me Who You Are" | English | 24 ◁ | 7 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 2004 | Tomas Thordarson | "Shame on You" | English | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 13 | 56 |
| 2005 | Jakob Sveistrup | "Talking to You" | English | 9 | 125 | 3 | 185 |
| 2006 | Sidsel Ben Semmane | "Twist of Love" | English | 18 | 26 | Top 11 in 2005 final | Top 11 in 2005 final |
| 2007 | DQ | "Drama Queen" | English | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 19 | 45 |
| 2008 | Simon Mathew | "All Night Long" | English | 15 | 60 | 3 | 112 |
| 2009 | Brinck | "Believe Again" | English | 13 | 74 | 8 | 69 |
| 2010 | Chanée and N'evergreen | "In a Moment like This" | English | 4 | 149 | 5 | 101 |
| 2011 | A Friend in London | "New Tomorrow" | English | 5 | 134 | 2 | 135 |
| 2012 | Soluna Samay | "Should've Known Better" | English | 23 | 21 | 9 | 63 |
| 2013 | Emmelie de Forest | "Only Teardrops" | English | 1 | 281 | 1 | 167 |
| 2014 | Basim | "Cliche Love Song" | English | 9 | 74 | Host country | Host country |
| 2015 | Anti Social Media | "The Way You Are" | English | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 13 | 33 |
| 2016 | Lighthouse X | "Soldiers of Love" | English | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 17 | 34 |
| 2017 | Anja | "Where I Am" | English | 20 | 77 | 10 | 101 |
| 2018 | Rasmussen | "Higher Ground" | English | 9 | 226 | 5 | 204 |
| 2019 | Leonora | "Love Is Forever" | English, French, Danish | 12 | 120 | 10 | 94 |
| 2020 | Ben and Tan | "Yes" | English | Contest cancelled X | Contest cancelled X | Contest cancelled X | Contest cancelled X |
| 2021 | Fyr og Flamme | "Øve os på hinanden" | Danish | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 11 | 89 |
| 2022 | Reddi | "The Show" | English | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 13 | 55 |
| 2023 | Reiley | "Breaking My Heart" | English | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 14 | 6 |
| 2024 | Saba | "Sand" | English | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 12 | 36 |
| 2025 | Sissal | "Hallucination" | English | Upcoming † | Upcoming † | Upcoming † | Upcoming † |

### Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest

| Artist | Song | Language | At Congratulations | At Congratulations | At Congratulations | At Congratulations | At Eurovision | At Eurovision | At Eurovision |
| Artist | Song | Language | Final | Points | Semi | Points | Year | Place | Points |
| Olsen Brothers | "Fly on the Wings of Love" | English | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 6 | 111 | 2000 | 1 | 195 |

## Hostings

| Year | Location | Venue | Presenters |
| 1964 | Copenhagen | Tivolis Koncertsal | Lotte Wæver |
| 2001 | Copenhagen | Parken Stadium | Natasja Crone Back and Søren Pilmark |
| 2014 | Copenhagen | B&W Hallerne | Lise Rønne, Nikolaj Koppel and Pilou Asbæk |

### Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest

| Year | Location | Venue | Presenters |
| 2005 | Copenhagen | Forum Copenhagen | Katrina Leskanich and Renārs Kaupers |

## Awards
### Winner by OGAE members

| Year | Song | Performer | Place | Points | Host city | Ref. |
| 2010 | "In a Moment like This" | Chanée and N'evergreen | 4 | 149 | Oslo | |
| 2013 | "Only Teardrops" | Emmelie de Forest | 1 | 281 | Malmö | |

## Related involvement
### Conductors

| Year | Conductor | Musical Director | Notes |
| 1957 | Kai Mortensen | N/A | |
| 1958 | Kai Mortensen | N/A | |
| 1959 | Kai Mortensen | N/A | |
| 1960 | Kai Mortensen | N/A | |
| 1961 | Kai Mortensen | N/A | |
| 1962 | Kai Mortensen | N/A | |
| 1963 | Kai Mortensen | N/A | |
| 1964 | Kai Mortensen | Kai Mortensen | |
| 1965 | Arne Lamberth | N/A | |
| 1966 | Arne Lamberth | N/A | |
| 1978 | Helmer Olesen | N/A | |
| 1979 | Allan Botschinsky | N/A | |
| 1980 | Allan Botschinsky | N/A | |
| 1981 | Allan Botschinsky | N/A | |
| 1982 | Allan Botschinsky | N/A | |
| 1983 | Allan Botschinsky | N/A | |
| 1984 | Henrik Krogsgård | N/A | |
| 1985 | Wolfgang Käfer | N/A | |
| 1986 | Egil Monn-Iversen | N/A | Host conductor |
| 1987 | Henrik Krogsgård | N/A | |
| 1988 | Henrik Krogsgård | N/A | |
| 1989 | Henrik Krogsgård and Benoît Kaufman | N/A | |
| 1990 | Henrik Krogsgård | N/A | |
| 1991 | Henrik Krogsgård | N/A | |
| 1992 | Henrik Krogsgård | N/A | |
| 1993 | George Keller | N/A | |
| 1995 | Frede Ewert | N/A | |
| 1996 | Failed to qualify | N/A | |
| 1997 | Jan Glæsel | N/A | |
| 1999 | No orchestra | N/A | |
Additionally, a live band has performed at the Danish national final since 2020, led by Peter Düring.

### Heads of delegation

| Year | Head of delegation | Ref. |
| 2018 | Molly Plank | |

### Commentators and spokespersons
## Photo gallery

* Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler in Frankfurt (1957)
* Raquel Rastenni in Hilversum (1958)
* Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann (1963)
* DQ in Helsinki (2007)
* Simon Mathew in Belgrade (2008)
* Chanée and N'evergreen in Oslo (2010)
* A Friend in London in Düsseldorf (2011)
* Emmelie de Forest in Malmö (2013)
* Basim in Copenhagen (2014)
* Anti Social Media in Vienna (2015)
* Lighthouse X in Stockholm (2016)
* Anja Nissen in Kyiv (2017)
* Rasmussen in Lisbon (2018)
* Leonora in Tel Aviv (2019)
* Reddi in Turin (2022)
* Reiley in Liverpool (2023)
* Saba in Malmö (2024)