Eurovision Song Contest 1997
The winner was the United Kingdom with the song "Love Shine a Light", written by Kimberley Rew and performed by Katrina and the Waves.[10] Additionally, Tor Endresen and Bettina Soriat, who represented Norway and Austria, respectively, in this year's event, had performed in previous contests as backing vocalist.[15] The audio-only qualifying round used in 1996 had been poorly received among the competing countries, and so a new relegation system was introduced by the European Broadcasting Union for 1997 and future contests.[16] In cases where the average was identical between two or more countries the total number of points scored in the most recent contest determined the final order.Table key The Eurovision Song Contest 1997 was produced by the Irish public broadcaster Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ).[4] A tight security presence was felt during the rehearsal week; emergency drills were held by Gardaí, including evacuations of the Point Theatre, as a precaution against potential disruption from loyalist paramilitaries as part of the wider sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland.[5][32] The trophy awarded to the winners was designed by Maura Whelan and Luc Racine, and was presented by the previous year's winning artist Eimear Quinn.[37][38] The points awarded by the majority of countries were determined by an assembled jury of sixteen individuals, which was required to be split evenly between members of the public and music professionals, comprised additionally of an equal number of men and women, and below and above 30 years of age.[8][39] Irish boy band Boyzone, with co-presenter Keating as a member, featured as part of the show's interval act, performing the song "Let the Message Run Free".[5] The winner was the United Kingdom represented by the song "Love Shine a Light", composed by Kimberley Rew and performed by Katrina and the Waves.[39] Jury voting was used to determine the points awarded by most countries, with televoting used in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.[41] Broadcasters were able to send commentators to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language and to relay information about the artists and songs to their television viewers.[109][110] The winner in 1997 was Malta's representative, Debbie Scerri (as determined by the founders of the House of Eurovision site, Edwin van Thillo and Rob Paardekam).[114][115] Paul Oscar's participation, as well as changing attitudes to homosexuality in Europe in the following years, marked the beginning of wider visibility of LGBT artists and themes; the following year's event provided the first trans participant in Israel's Dana International, 2002 saw Slovenia's Sestre become the first competing artists to perform in drag,[q] and the 2000 contest contained the first display of same-sex affection on stage through a kiss between the two male members of the Israeli band PingPong.[10][122] The abolishment of the orchestra proved controversial among some circles, with three-time, former Eurovision winner Johnny Logan referring to the modified event as "karaoke" in 2000.[123] The introduction of televoting to the contest followed several years of successive Irish wins, with the national juries typically voting for more traditional, middle-of-the-road songs than those that represented the wider tastes of the general public, as was the case in 1996 when Eimear Quinn's "The Voice" was victorious over more modern entries such as Gina G's "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit", which represented the United Kingdom at that year's event and would go on to receive a nomination for Best Dance Recording at the 1998 Grammy Awards.
Point TheatreCarrie CrowleyRonan KeatingNoel CurranFrank McNamaraRadio Telefís ÉireannDenmarkGermanyHungaryRussiaBelgiumFinlandSlovakiaUnited KingdomLove Shine a LightEurovision Song ContestDublinEuropean Broadcasting Union1996 contestThe VoiceEimear Quinnrelegation systemKimberley RewKatrina and the WavesIrelandTurkeyCyprustelevotingfollowing year's eventbacking trackopenly LGBTPaul Oscar1996 editionMillstreetBBC Northern IrelandDublin Docklandsnearby port3ArenaList of countries in the Eurovision Song ContestAustriaBosnia and HerzegovinaCroatiaEstoniaFranceGreeceIcelandNetherlandsNorwayPolandPortugalSloveniaSwedenSwitzerlandUnited KingdomMaarja-Liis IlusŞebnem PakerIvo LinnaAlma ČardžićTor EndresenBettina SoriatKaroline Krüger1988 contestGermanBosnia and HerzegovinaRTVBiHBosnianSinan AlimanovićE.N.I.CroatianDavor ToljaKølig KajDanishThomas LægaardMaarjaEstonianTarmo LeinatammFrance TélévisionFrenchBianca ShomburgBernd MeinungerRalph SiegelMarianna ZorbaMiért kell, hogy elmenj?HungarianIcelandicPáll Óskar HjálmtýssonMarc RobertsJohn FarryJalisseFiumi di paroleItalianLucio FabbriDebbie ScerriMrs. EinsteinDick BakkerNorwegianGeir LangsletAnna Maria JopekPolishKrzesimir DębskiPortugueseRosa Lobato de FariaAlla PugachevaRussianRutger GunnarssonRTVSLOTanja RibičSloveneSaša LošićZoran PredinMojmir SepeMarcos LlunasSpanishToni XuclàSwedishStephan BergCurt-Eric HolmquistSRG SSRTurkishLevent ÇokerDon AireyLithuaniaLuxembourgRomaniaIsraelHolocaust Remembrance Day