- Dates – Grand Final: Wednesday, 12 March 1958 – 20:00 CET
- Host – Venue & Location: AVRO Studios (AVRO-studio), Hilversum, 🇳🇱 The Netherlands
- Presenter (s): Hannie Lips
- Musical Director: Dolf Van Der Linden
- Director: Piet te Nuyl
- Executive Producer: —
- Executive Supervisor: —
- Multicamera Director: —
- Host broadcaster: Nederlandse Televisie Stichting (NTS)
- Interval Act: Metropole Orkest
- Participants – Number of entries: 10 [🇧🇪 Belgium (3ª), 🇫🇷 France (3ª), 🇩🇪 Germany (3ª), 🇮🇹 Italy (3ª), 🇱🇺 Luxembourg (3ª), 🇳🇱 The Netherlands (3ª), 🇨🇭 Switzerland (3ª), 🇦🇹 Austria (2ª), 🇩🇰 Denmark (2ª), 🇸🇪 Sweden (1ª)]
- Debuting countries: 🇸🇪 Sweden (1ª)
- Return: —
- Non-returning countries: 🇬🇧 United Kindom (1ª)
- Vote – Voting system: Ten-member juries in each country; each member gave one vote to their favourite song. Each participating country had 10 jury members, and each jury member could award one point to one song. A total of 100 points.
- Nil Points: —
- Winning song:
”Dors, mon amour” – André Claveau – 🇫🇷 France (1ª)
About. The Netherlands had the honour of hosting the third Eurovision Song Contest. The 1958 contest took place at the television studios in Hilversum, the ‘media capital’ of the Netherlands. For the occasion, the venue was decorated with thousands of tulips.
Familiar faces. The Dutch entry “Net Als Toen” by Corry Brokken had brought the first victory to the Netherlands in Frankfurt am Main the previous year and Dutch TV was the proud host in 1958. It was the first time that the winning country from the previous year had hosted the contest.
Despite ending third, the Italian entry “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu”, better known under the title “Volare”, performed by Domenico Modugno, became a worldwide hit and to date. It is one of the most successful songs in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest. Domenico even managed to reach the No.1 spot in the US-American Billboard Charts with his song and was also awarded three Grammies.
About the winner. Sweden entered the contest for the first time with one of their biggest stars, Alice Babs, but it was not enough to stop France from winning the trophy with the song “Dors, Mon Amour”, performed by André Claveau.
Facts & figures. The Swiss winner of 1956, Lys Assia, represented her native country again and narrowly missed out a second victory by just 3 points; After winning the Eurovision Song Contest the year before, Corry Brokken came last on home ground and it was her last attempt to enter the contest as a singer. However, Corry would return to the Eurovision Song Contest stage as a presenter in 1976 and in 1997 she presented the Dutch votes.
| r/o | country | Participant(s) | song – Translate – LAnguage | Points | rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 🇮🇹 Italy RAI | Domenico Modugno | Nel blu dipinto di blu (Volare) [In the blue painted blue (flying)] Italian | 013 | 03 |
| 02 | 🇳🇱 The Netherlands NTS | Corry Brokken | Heel de wereld (The whole world) Dutch | 001 | 09 |
| 03 | 🇫🇷 France RTF | André Claveau | Dors, mon amour (Sleep, my love) French | 027 | 01 |
| 04 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg CLT | Solange Berry | Un grand amour (A great love) French | 001 | 09 |
| 05 | 🇸🇪 Sweden SR | Alice Babs | Lilla stjärna (Little star) Swedish |
010 | 04 |
| 06 | 🇩🇰 Denmark DSR | Raquel Rastenni | Jeg rev et blad ud af min dagbog (I tore a page out of my diary) Danish | 003 | 08 |
| 07 | 🇧🇪 Belgium INR | Fud Leclerc | Ma petite chatte (My little sweetie) French | 008 | 05 |
| 08 | 🇩🇪 Germany ARD | Margot Hielscher | Für zwei groschen musik (Music for two pennies) German | 005 | 07 |
| 09 | 🇦🇹 Austria ÖRF | Liane Augustin | Die ganze welt braucht liebe (The whole world needs love) German | 008 | 05 |
| 10 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland SSR SRG | Lys Assia | Giorgio German, Italian | 024 | 02 |
Participation map
Participating countries 
Countries that participated in the past but not in 1958
ESC 1958 Scoreboard Ι Detailed voting results:
The Eurovision Song Contest 1958 was the third edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Nederlandse Televisie Stichting (NTS), the contest, originally known as the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne 1958 (English: Grand Prix of the Eurovision Song Contest 1958) was held on 12 March 1958 at the AVRO Studios in Hilversum, the Netherlands and hosted by Dutch television presenter Hannie Lips. As the Netherlands’ had won the 1957 contest, this marked the first occasion in which the winning country of one edition hosted the following year’s event; the Dutch broadcaster however only received the rights to host the contest after no other country agreed to stage the event.
Ten countries participated, equalling the number which took part the previous year; Sweden made its first appearance in the contest, while the United Kingdom decided not to participate. The winner of the contest was France, represented by the song “Dors, mon amour” performed by André Claveau, marking the first of five eventual wins for the country. Another entry however made a greater impact following the contest; the Italian entry, “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” performed by Domenico Modugno which had placed third, became a worldwide hit for Modugno, winning two Grammy Awards in 1959 and becoming a chart success in several countries.
AVRO Studios, Hilversum – host venue of the 1958 contest
1.Location. The 1958 contest took place in Hilversum, the Netherlands. The selected venue was the AVRO Studios, which served at the time as the main radio and television broadcasting facilities of the Dutch broadcaster AVRO. Often called “media city”, Hilversum is the principal centre for radio and television broadcasting in the Netherlands, and several of the organisations that make up Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO) public broadcasting organisation are located there.
Although they had won in 1957, the Netherlands’ did not receive automatic rights to host the contest, as the convention in place at the time specified that a different broadcaster would stage the event each year. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had been the first choice to stage the event in the United Kingdom, but gave up the rights after failing to reach agreement with artistic unions. Subsequently the Dutch broadcaster, Nederlandse Televisie Stichting (NTS), only received the rights to host the event after other broadcasters declined the opportunity. This would however set a precedent for the winning country to have the first option in staging the event the following year, a tradition which has continued to the present day.
The stage and orchestra at the Eurovision Song Contest 1958
2.Format. The contest was hosted by Dutch broadcaster Hannie Lips. Held in one of the studios of the AVRO broadcasting complex, the hall contained a small stage for the singers, with the orchestra situated stage right. The rear of the performance area had interchangeable backgrounds for each song to add context to each song’s lyrics, which could also be removed to show the scoreboard during the voting sequence, and the venue was decorated with thousands of tulips, of which the Netherlands are associated.
No significant changes to the rules of the 1957 contest were implemented; each country, participating through one EBU member broadcaster, was represented by one song performed by up to two people on stage. In response to the repeated duration violations of several entries in the previous event, the maximum song limit of 3 minutes and 30 seconds was more stringently enforced for this year’s entries. The same voting system used the previous year was again utilised in 1958; the results were determined through jury voting, with each country’s jury containing ten individuals who each gave one vote to their favourite song, with no abstentions allowed.
During the live transmission of the contest several countries were unable to see or hear the Italian entry, which was the first act to perform, due to a technical fault, and it was subsequently allowed to perform again after the last song. Each entry was accompanied by the Metropole Orkest, led by the contest’s musical director Dolf van der Linden; the Metropole Orkest also performed as the interval act between the final competing performance and the commencement of the voting results, which included a performance of Cielito Lindo.
3.Participating countries. In total ten countries participated in the 1958 contest, the same number as featured in the previous year’s event. Sweden entered the contest for the first time, however, despite having originally intended to participate and being listed as one of the participating countries in the original rules dated November 1957, the United Kingdom decided against participating.
3.1.Conductors. Each country was allowed to nominate their own musical director to lead the orchestra during the performance of their country’s entry, with the host musical director, Dolf van der Linden, also conducting for those countries which did not nominate their own conductor. The conductors listed below led the orchestra during the performance for the indicated countries.
- 🇮🇹 Italy – Alberto Semprini
- 🇳🇱 The Netherlands – Dolf van der Linden
- 🇫🇷 France – Franck Pourcel
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg – Dolf van der Linden
- 🇸🇪 Sweden – Dolf van der Linden
- 🇩🇰 Denmark – Kai Mortensen
- 🇧🇪 Belgium – Dolf van der Linden
- 🇩🇪 Germany – Dolf van der Linden
- 🇦🇹 Austria – Willy Fantl
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland – Paul Burkhard
3.2.Returning artists.
| Artist | Country | Previous year(s) |
| Lys Assia | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 1956, 1957 |
| Corry Brokken | 🇳🇱 The Netherlands | 1956, 1957 |
| Fud Leclerc | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 1956 |
| Margot Hielscher | 🇩🇪 Germany | 1956 |
3.3.Participants and results. Several of this year’s participants had previously competed in the contest. Switzerland’s Lys Assia and the Netherlands’ Corry Brokken had both represented their countries in 1956 and 1957, and were both former winners; Assia was the first winner of the contest in 1956 with the song “Refrain”, and had also performed Switzerland’s other entry in that contest “Das alte Karussell”, while Brokken had performed “Voorgoed voorbij” in the 1956 contest, one of the Netherlands’ two entries, and was then the winner the following year with the song “Net als toen”.[19] Belgium’s Fud Leclerc had also competed in the 1956 contest, performing “Messieurs les noyés de la Seine”, one of his country’s two entries, and Margot Hielscher returned to perform for Germany for a second year in a row, having competed in 1957 with “Telefon, Telefon”.
André Claveau (right) celebrating with conductor Franck Pourcel and host Hannie Lips after winning the contest
The Italian entry, “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” performed by Domenico Modugno, went on to become a worldwide success, and was one of the first Eurovision songs to achieve notability outside of the contest. Popularly known as “Volare”, the song went to number one in the US Billboard Hot 100, as well as reaching the top 5 in singles charts in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands and Norway, and the top 10 in the United Kingdom, and was named Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the first edition of the Grammy Awards held in May 1959. The song has additionally been covered by several artists, including Dean Martin, Dalida and Gipsy Kings, and many new version with lyrics in different languages have been produced. “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” was also nominated in 2005 to compete in Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest, a special broadcast to determine the contest’s most popular entry of its first 50 years as part of the contest’s anniversary celebrations. One of 14 entries chosen to compete, “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” ultimately finished in second place behind “Waterloo”, ABBA’s winning song from the 1974 contest.
Italy’s Domenico Modugno during a performance rehearsal in the contest venue
3.4.All the national selections for Eurovision Song Contest 1958:
• National Selections in 1958:
| COUNTRY | EVENT | WINNER |
|---|---|---|
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | Melodi Grand Prix 1958 | Raquel Rastenni – “Jeg rev et blad ud af min dagbog“ |
| 🇫🇷 France | (French Selection 1958) (song selection) | André Claveau – “Dors, mon amour“ |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | Schlager 1958 | Margot Hielscher – “Für zwei Groschen Musik“ |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | Sanremo 1958 | Domenico Modugno – “Nel blu, dipinto di blu“ |
| 🇳🇱 The Netherlands | Nationaal Songfestival 1958 | Corry Brokken – “Heel de wereld“ |
• Internal Selections in 1958:
| 🇦🇹 Austria | Liane Augustin – “Die ganze Welt braucht Liebe“ |
| 🇧🇪 Belgium | Fud Leclerc – “Ma petite chatte“ |
| 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | Solange Berry – “Un grand amour“ |
| 🇸🇪 Sweden | Alice Babs – “Lilla stjärna“ |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | Lys Assia – “Giorgio” |
3.5.Connections:
|
Connections Participants of the Eurovision Song Contest 1958 |
|||||
| # | Artist | Backing | Composers | Lyricists | Conductor |
| 01 | Domenico Modugno:
|
– | Domenico Modugno:
|
.Domenico Modugno:
.Franco Migliacci:
|
Alberto Semprini |
| 02 | Corry Brokken:
|
– | Benny Vreden | Benny Vreden | Dolf van der Linden:
|
| 03 | André Claveau | – | Pierre Delanoë:
|
Hubert Giraud:
|
Franck Pourcel:
|
| 04 | Solange Berry | – | Michel Eric | . Monique Laniece
. Raymond Roche |
Dolf van der Linden:
|
| 05 | Alice Babs | – | Åke Gerhard:
|
Gunnar Wersén | Dolf van der Linden:
|
| 06 | Raquel Rastenni | – | . Sven Ulrik
. Harry Jensen |
. Sven Ulrik
. Harry Jensen |
Kai Mortensen:
|
| 07 | Fud Leclerc:
|
– | André Dohet | André Dohet | Dolf van der Linden:
|
| 08 | Margot Hielscher:
|
– | Friedrich Meyer:
|
. Fred Rauch
. Walter Brandin:
|
Dolf van der Linden:
|
| 09 | Liane Augustin | – | . Günther Leopold:
. Kurt Werner |
. Günther Leopold:
. Kurt Werner |
Willy Fantl |
| 10 | Lys Assia:
|
– | Paul Burkhard | Fridolin Tschudi | Paul Burkhard |
The scoreboard of the Eurovision Song Contest 1958
4.Voting. Each participating country had 10 jury members, and each jury member could award one point to one song. A total of 100 points. The announcement of the results from each country was conducted in reverse order to the order in which each country performed.
|
Total score
|
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🇮🇹 Italy | 13 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 🇳🇱 The Netherlands | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 🇫🇷 France | 27 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |||
| 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 🇸🇪 Sweden | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||||||
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| 🇧🇪 Belgium | 8 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 24 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 | |||||
4.1.Spokespersons. Each country nominated a spokesperson who was responsible for announcing the votes for their respective country via telephone. Known spokespersons at the 1958 contest are listed below.
- 🇸🇪 Sweden – Tage Danielsson
5.Broadcasts. Each participating broadcaster was required to relay the contest via its networks. Non-participating EBU member broadcasters were also able to relay the contest as “passive participants”. 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. Known details on the broadcasts in each country, including the specific broadcasting stations and commentators are shown in the tables below.
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) | – |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇹 Austria | ORF | Unknown | – |
| 🇧🇪 Belgium | INR | Unknown | – |
| NIR | Unknown | – | |
| Radio Belgique | Unknown | – | |
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | Statsradiofonien TV | Svend Pedersen | – |
| Program 1 | – | ||
| 🇫🇷 France | RTF | Pierre Tchernia | – |
| France I | Unknown | – | |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | Deutsches Fernsehen | Unknown | – |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | Programma Nazionale | Bianca Maria Piccinino | – |
| Secondo Programma | – | ||
| 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | Télé-Luxembourg | Unknown | – |
| 🇳🇱 The Netherlands | NTS | Siebe van der Zee | – |
| Hilversum 1 | – | ||
| 🇸🇪 Sweden | Sveriges TV | Jan Gabrielsson | – |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | TV DRS | Unknown | – |
| TSR | Georges Hardy | ||
| Radio Bern | Unknown | – | |
| Radio Genève | Georges Hardy | ||
| Radio Monte Ceneri | Unknown |
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) | – |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇬🇧 United Kindom | BBC Television Service | Peter Haigh | [a] |
6.Notes.
- The United Kingdom provided a delayed broadcast of the contest on 16 March.
- André Claveau was internally selected to represent France at Eurovision 1958. The song “Dors, mon amour” that André performed at Eurovision was selected through a national final with four songs.
7.Trivial / Fun facts:
- The most covered Eurovision Song Contest song is Domenico Mudugno’s “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu” from 1958, also known as Volare. The song has been covered by famous stars such as Dean Martin, Cliff Richard, David Bowie and many more.
- The Swiss winner of 1956, Lys Assia, represented her native country again and missed out a second victory by 3 points.
- After winning the Eurovision Song Contest the year before, Corry Brokken came last on home soil.
- Corry Brokken would return to the Eurovision Song Contest stage as a presenter in 1976.
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← Eurovision Song Contest 1957 • Eurovision Song Contest 1958 • Eurovision Song Contest 1959 → |
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Countries (in order of appearance) |
|
| Final | Italy ⦁ The Netherlands ⦁ France (winner) ⦁ Luxembourg ⦁ Sweden ⦁ Denmark ⦁ Belgium ⦁ Germany ⦁ Austria ⦁ Switzerland |
|
Artists (in order of appearance) |
|
| Final | Domenico Modugno ⦁ Corry Brokken ⦁ André Claveau (winner) ⦁ Solange Berry ⦁ Alice Babs ⦁ Raquel Rastenni ⦁ Fud Leclerc ⦁ Margot Hielscher ⦁ Liane Augustin ⦁ Lys Assia |
|
Songs (in order of appearance) |
|
| Final | “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” ⦁ “Heel de wereld” ⦁ “Dors, mon amour” (winner) ⦁ “Un grand amour” ⦁ “Lilla stjärna” ⦁ “Jeg rev et blad ud af min dagbog” ⦁ “Ma petite chatte” ⦁ “Für zwei Groschen Musik” ⦁ “Die ganze Welt braucht Liebe” ⦁ “Giorgio” |
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