Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "Wadde hadde dudde da?" written and performed by Stefan Raab. The German entry for the 2000 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through the national final Countdown Grand Prix Eurovision 2000, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final took place on 18 February 2000 and featured eleven competing acts with the winner being selected through public televoting. "Wadde hadde dudde da?" performed by Stefan Raab was selected as the German entry for Stockholm after gaining 882,569 of the votes.
As a member of the "Big Four", Germany automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 15, Germany placed fifth out of the 24 participating countries with 96 points.
Prior to the 2000 Contest, Germany had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-three times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in 1956.[1] Germany has won the contest on one occasion: in 1982 with the song "Ein bißchen Frieden" performed by Nicole. Germany, to this point, has been noted for having competed in the contest more than any other country; they have competed in every contest since the first edition in 1956 except for the 1996 contest when the nation was eliminated in a pre-contest elimination round. In 1999, the German entry "Reise nach Jerusalem – Kudüs'e Seyahat" performed by Sürpriz placed third out of twenty-three competing songs scoring 140 points.
The German national broadcaster, ARD, broadcasts the event within Germany and delegates the selection of the nation's entry to the regional broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). Since 1996, NDR had set up national finals with several artists to choose both the song and performer to compete at Eurovision for Germany. The broadcaster organised a multi-artist national final in cooperation to select the German entry for the 2000 Eurovision Song Contest.[2]
Before Eurovision
Countdown Grand Prix Eurovision 2000
The Stadthalle in Bremen was the host venue of Countdown Grand Prix Eurovision 2000
Countdown Grand Prix Eurovision 2000 was the competition that selected Germany's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2000. The competition took place on 18 February 2000 at the Stadthalle in Bremen, hosted by Axel Bulthaupt and broadcast on Das Erste. Eleven acts competed during the show with the winner being selected through a public televote.[3] The national final was watched by 7.87 million viewers in Germany with a market share of 24.2%.[4]
Competing entries
11 acts were selected by a panel consisting of representatives of the German Phono Academy from proposals received from record companies and announced on 6 January 2000.[5][6] Among the competing artists was Corinna May who was due to represent Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999 before being disqualified when it was discovered that her song had already been released by another singer.[7]
The televised final took place on 18 February 2000. The winner, "Wadde hadde dudde da?" performed by Stefan Raab, was selected solely through public televoting. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the interval acts featured cover versions of songs by ABBA: the Australian group Björn Again performed "Waterloo" and "Dancing Queen", Mexican singer Filippa Giordano performed "The Winner Takes it All" and all the competing artists together performed "Thank You for the Music".[8] 1.536 million votes were cast in the final.[9]
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the bottom six countries in the 1999 contest competed in the final on 13 May 2000. As a member of the "Big Four", Germany automatically qualified to compete in the contest. During the allocation draw on 21 November 1999, Germany was drawn to perform in position 15, following the entry from Denmark and before the entry from Switzerland.[10] Germany finished in fifth place with 96 points.[11]
In Germany, the show was broadcast on Das Erste which featured commentary by Peter Urban. The show was watched by 10.03 million viewers in Germany.[12] The German spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the German televote, was Axel Bulthaupt.
Voting
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Germany and awarded by Germany in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Denmark in the contest.[13]
Germany
