Denmark's first Eurovision win in 1963 marked the first Nordic country victory in the contest's history, with the closest finish recorded to that point.
Key Facts
- Edition
- 8th Eurovision Song Contest
- Date
- 23 March 1963
- Winning song
- Dansevise by Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann (Denmark)
- Margin of victory
- 2 points over Switzerland
- Countries with nul points
- 4 (Finland, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands)
- Participating countries
- 16
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
France's Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française, having won the 1962 contest, declined to host the 1963 edition due to financial constraints. The BBC stepped in as host broadcaster, having previously staged the competition in 1959 and 1961, making London the venue for the eighth edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1963 was held on 23 March 1963 at the BBC Television Centre in London, hosted by Katie Boyle. Sixteen countries competed, and Denmark won with 'Dansevise', performed by Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann, finishing just two points ahead of Switzerland in the closest result the contest had seen to that point.
Denmark's victory was the first for any Nordic country in Eurovision history. Meanwhile, four nations — Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands — received no points at all. The Netherlands became the first country to go scoreless in two consecutive years, and the narrow margin between Denmark and Switzerland set a new benchmark for competitive finishes.
Work
Eurovision Song Contest 1963
Denmark's victory was the first for a Nordic nation in Eurovision history, and the razor-thin two-point margin over Switzerland represented the contest's closest finish to that date, highlighting the competitive nature of the growing pan-European broadcast event.