🔴 1958 Eurovision Song Contest Full Show From Hilversum (Dutch Commentary by Siebe van der Zee)

Date: 12 March 1958 - Host Venue: AVRO Studios, Hilversum, Netherlands
Presenter: Hannie Lips - Musical director: Dolf van der Linden
Directed by Piet te Nuyl Host broadcaster: Nederlandse Televisie Stichting (NTS)
Interval act: Metropole OrkestShow more

The Eurovision Song Contest 1958 was the third edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Hilversum, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the 1957 contest with the song "Net als toen" by Corry Brokken. This formed the convention that the winning country of the previous year's event would host the following year. The contest was held at the AVRO Studios on Wednesday 12 March 1958, and was hosted by Hannie Lips. It was the first Eurovision Song Contest held in a Benelux country.

Ten countries participated in the contest, equalling the number in the previous edition. Sweden made its debut, while the United Kingdom withdrew.

The winner was France with the song "Dors, mon amour", performed by André Claveau, written by Pierre Delanoë and composed by Hubert Giraud. This was France's first victory in the contest. At 46 years and 76 days of age, Claveau became the oldest winner of the contest, and would remain so until 1990.

Along with 1956, it was the second contest (and last contest to date) that has not featured a single song in the English language. The 1958 contest continued with the policy implemented the year before where each country was limited to one song entry. This policy has been retained to date.

The contest was held in one of the AVRO studio halls. The hall contained a very small stage to function as a slightly higher stand for the singers, with the program being shot from the stage floor up. Outside of frame were the microphones' and other technical devices' wires which went through the studio's lower floor at the foot of the stage. The decorative emphasis was on the stage background, the stage front and the left side from the stage from the spectator's view where the orchestra and where the performers and host's stairway entrance were located. The rear of the stage had interchangeable backgrounds for each song to add context to each song's lyrics. The centre-front of the stage, the left area from the stage with the orchestra and stairway entrance were decorated with tulips, of which the Netherlands are known for.

The juries were not in the studio as in 1956. For the 1958 event, they remained in their own countries, listening to the event. Once the songs had all been sung, juries announced their results via telephone in reverse order of presentation, as in the previous year. The Italian entry was not picked up properly in some of the other countries, which meant that after all the other songs had been presented, Domenico Modugno had to perform his song again. It was the only year that the host country finished in last place until 60 years later in 2018, and the first time more than one country was placed last. The interval act was music by the Metropole Orkest, under the direction of maestro Dolf van der Linden. There were two interval acts, one in the middle of the competing songs' performances and one after all the rest of the competing performances were shown.

Sweden, a country that would later be one of the most successful in the contest, debuted this year. The United Kingdom decided to withdraw from the contest after initially planning to submit an entry.

After the contest, the Italian entry "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu" (subsequently known as "Volare") by Domenico Modugno went on to become a worldwide hit. During the 1st Annual Grammy Awards, held on 4 May 1959 at Hollywood's Beverly Hilton Hotel, "Nel blu dipinto di blu" received two awards, for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The song is the only foreign-language recording to achieve this honour, and it is the only song to have competed in the Eurovision Song Contest and received a Grammy Award. The song also reached the No.1 spot in the US-American Billboard Charts, making it one of the most successful Eurovision songs in the history of the contest. The song was also voted the second best Eurovision entry of all time at the 50th anniversary show "Congratulations" in 2005.

Results:

Draw Country Artist Song Language Place Points
01 Italy Domenico Modugno "Nel blu, dipinto di blu" Italian 3 13
02 Netherlands Corry Brokken "Heel de wereld" Dutch 9 1
03 France André Claveau "Dors, mon amour" French 1 27
04 Luxembourg Solange Berry "Un grand amour" French 9 1
05 Sweden Alice Babs "Lilla stjärna" Swedish 4 10
06 Denmark Raquel Rastenni "Jeg rev et blad ud af min dagbog" Danish 8 3
07 Belgium Fud Leclerc "Ma petite chatte" French 5 8
08 Germany Margot Hielscher "Für zwei Groschen Musik" German 7 5
09 Austria Liane Augustin "Die ganze Welt braucht Liebe" German 5 8
10 Switzerland Lys Assia "Giorgio" German, Italian 2 24