Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996

Eurovision Song Contest 1996
Country	Netherlands
National selection
Selection process	Nationaal Songfestival 1996
Selection date(s)	26, 27, 28, 29 February 1996 1, 3 March 1996
Selected entrant	Maxine & Franklin Brown
Selected song	"De eerste keer"
Finals performance
Final result	7th, 78 points

The Netherlands was represented by duo Maxine and Franklin Brown, with the song '"De eerste keer", at the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Oslo on 18 May. Five acts participated in the Dutch preselection, which consisted of five qualifying rounds, followed by the final on 3 March.

Qualifying heats

Five qualifying heats took place on consecutive evenings between 26 February and 1 March. Each involved one of the selected acts performing three songs, with the televoting winner from each act going forward to the final.^[1]

Heat 1 - Roland Verstappen

26 February 1996

Draw	Song	Score	Place
1	"Dan dansen wij"	13%	3
2	"Een woord van jou"	14%	2
3	"Ik wil alleen walsen met jou"	73%	1

Heat 2 - Gina de Wit

27 February 1996

Draw	Song	Score	Place
1	"De kracht van je hart"	17%	3
2	"De wereld is van jou"	57%	1
3	"Jij hoort bij mij"	26%	2

Heat 3 - Maxine & Franklin Brown

28 February 1996

Draw	Song	Score	Place
1	"Wie weet wat morgen brengt"	21%	3
2	"De eerste keer"	54%	1
3	"Dat woordje wij"	25%	2

Heat 4 - Lucretia van der Vloot

29 February 1996

Draw	Song	Score	Place
1	"Neem me mee"	16%	3
2	"Hoe hoger je klimt"	39%	2
3	"Neem de tijd voor mij"	45%	1

Heat 5 - Clau-dya's

1 March 1996

Draw	Song	Score	Place
1	"Met of zonder jou"	27%	3
2	"Als je hart klopt"	40%	1
3	"Mozart"	33%	2

Final

The national final was held on 3 March at the Cinevideo Studio in Almere, hosted by Ivo Niehe. The winning song was chosen by voting from 13 regional juries, and "De eerste keer" emerged the winner by an 11-point margin.^[2]

Final - 3 March 1996

Draw	Artist	Song	Points	Place
1	Gina de Wit	"De wereld is van jou"	40	2
2	Maxine & Franklin Brown	"De eerste keer"	51	1
3	Roland Verstappen	"Ik wil alleen walsen met jou"	9	5
4	Clau-dya's	"Als je hart klopt"	12	4
5	Lucretia van der Vloot	"Neem de tijd voor mij"	31	3

At Eurovision

In 1996, for the only time in Eurovision history, an audio-only pre-qualifying round of the 29 songs entered (excluding hosts Norway who were exempt) was held in March in order for the seven lowest-scoring songs to be eliminated before the final. "De eerste keer" placed 9th, thus qualifying for the final.

On the night of the final the pair performed 15th in the running order, following Slovenia and preceding Belgium. At the close of the voting "De eerste keer" had received 78 points from 15 countries (including a maximum 12 from Austria), placing the Netherlands 7th of the 23 entries. The Dutch jury awarded its 12 points to contest winners Ireland.^[3]

See also

• Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest
• Eurovision Song Contest 1996

External links

• Netherlands selection 1996

References

1. ^ ESC National Finals database - Netherlands 1996 semi-finals
2. ^ ESC National Finals database - Netherlands 1996 final
3. ^ ESC History - Netherlands 1996