Eurovision Song Contest 1996 | |
---|---|
Dates | |
Final | 18 May 1996 |
Host | |
Venue |
Oslo Spektrum Oslo, Norway |
Presenter(s) |
Ingvild Bryn Morten Harket |
Conductor | Frode Thingnæs |
Director | Pål Veiglum |
Executive supervisor | Christine Marchal-Ortiz |
Executive producer | Odd Arvid Strømstad |
Host broadcaster | Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) |
Opening act | "Heaven's Not For Saints" performed by Morten Harket |
Interval act | Nils Gaup & Runar Borge feat. Aamil Paus-Beacon Burning |
Participants | |
Number of entries | 23 |
Debuting countries | None |
Returning countries | |
Withdrawing countries | |
Vote | |
Voting system | Each country awarded 12, 10, 8-1 point(s) to their 10 favourite songs |
Nul points | None |
Winning song |
Ireland "The Voice" |
The Eurovision Song Contest 1996 was the 41st Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 18 May 1996 in Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, Norway. The presenters were Ingvild Bryn and Morten Harket. Harket, lead singer of a-ha, opened the show with a performance of his single "Heaven's Not for Saints". Twenty-three countries participated in the contest, with Eimear Quinn of Ireland crowned the winner after the final voting, with the song, "The Voice". The song was written by Brendan Graham, who also composed the 1994 winner "Rock 'n' Roll Kids". It was also a record seventh win for Ireland and the most recent win of Ireland.
A non-televised audio-only pre-qualification round was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), in order to shortlist the number of participating nations that would compete in the televised final from twenty-nine, to a more manageable twenty-three.Germany, Israel, Denmark, Hungary, Russia, Macedonia, and Romania all failed to qualify. Macedonia eventually went on to make their debut in 1998. The 1996 contest remains the only Eurovision without a German entry.