The Eurovision Song Contest 1982 was the 27th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 24 April 1982 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom. The presenter was Jan Leeming. The opening of the contest showed a map of Europe, with the translation "Where is Harrogate?" popping up on-screen from the languages of the various countries. Then the map zoomed into Harrogate's location in Yorkshire, followed by an introduction video spotlighting the town.
The German entrant, Nicole, was the winner of this contest with the song, "Ein bißchen Frieden". Germany got 1.61 times as many points as runner-up Israel, which was a record under the current scoring system until 2009, when Norway got 1.78 times as many points as Iceland. The song also cemented Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger, the song's composers, into German Eurovision tradition, writing 18 Eurovision songs between them before and after "Ein bißchen Frieden", 13 of which were for Germany.
Greece was due to participate in the contest with the song "Sarantapente Kopelies" performed by Themis Adamantidis. Although drawn to perform in second place, ERT withdrew the entry a few weeks before the contest.
In November 1981, France's national broadcaster, TF1, declined to enter the Eurovision Song Contest for 1982, with the head of entertainment, Pierre Bouteiller, saying, "The absence of talent and the mediocrity of the songs were where annoyance set in. a monument to insanity ." Antenne 2 became the new broadcaster for Eurovision after public outcry, returning the country to the Contest in 1983.
This was the first time that Germany won the contest. It has competed every year (with one exception) since the contest's inception. Germany won again in 2010, twenty-eight years after their first win.
Read more about Eurovision Song Contest 1982: Individual Entries, Results, Voting Structure, Score Sheet, Conductors, Returning Artists, Spokespersons, National Jury Members
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“The quarrel of the sparrows in the eaves,
The full round moon and the star-laden sky,
And the loud song of the ever-singing leaves,
Had hid away earth’s old and weary cry.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
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