Germany was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 with the song "Theater", composed by Ralph Siegel, with lyrics by Bernd Meinunger, and performed by Katja Ebstein. The German participating broadcaster on behalf of ARD, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), selected their entry through a national final. This was Ebstein's third Eurovision appearance; she had previously represented Germany in 1970 and 1971, finishing third on both occasions.
Before Eurovision
Ein Lied für Den Haag
Katja Ebstein (1980)
Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) held the national final at its television studios in Munich, hosted by Carolin Reiber and Thomas Gottschalk. 12 songs took part and the winner was chosen by a panel of approximately 1,000 people who had been selected as providing a representative cross-section of the German public.[1]
On the night of the final Ebstein performed 12th in the running order, following Norway and preceding the United Kingdom. The performance was memorable, featuring four mime artists, and at the close of voting "Theater" had received 128 points, placing Germany second of the 19 entries.[2] Only Greece and Norway failed to award the song any points at all.
The 1980 result gave Ebstein the distinction of being the only Eurovision performer to date to have finished in the top 3 on three occasions.
The German jury was composed of ten members and a jury president with no voting rights.[3] Each jury member gave each song between one and five points.[3] The total of these points was then converted to the known Eurovision voting format (12 points, 10 points…).[3] In case of a draw the placement was decided by a show of hands.[3] The German jury awarded its 12 points to contest winners Ireland.[4]
The show was watched by 17.35 million viewers in Germany, the highest TV rating ever measured in Germany for a Eurovision Song Contest final.[5]
