Qualla: Eurovision Song Contest 1997

Eurovision Song Contest 1997: Introduction

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit SeowD, CC BY 3.0. By May 1997, RTE staff joked grimly that they could host Eurovision in their sleep. It was the broadcaster's fourth contest in five years -- 1993 in Millstreet, 1994 and 1995 in Dublin, then 1997 in Dublin again, after Eimear Quinn's ethereal The Voice won in Oslo the year before. The Point Theatre was now hosting its third Eurovision, becoming the only venue in the contest's history to do so. The presenters were Carrie Crowley and a 20-year-old Boyzone singer named Ronan Keating, in his first major presenting role. The orchestra under Frank McNamara was rehearsed to perfection. Twenty-five countries competed. The British entry Love Shine a Light, performed by Katrina and the Waves and written by their guitarist Kimberley Rew, beat Ireland by 70 points to win the contest for the UK for the fifth and so far last time. It was the perfect Eurovision night, marred only by one fact: it was the last time the contest would ever be held in Ireland.

Image: SeowD | CC BY 3.0

Eurovision Song Contest 1997: The Last Dublin

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Daniel Kruczynski, CC BY-SA 2.0. Ireland's Eurovision exhaustion was real. Hosting cost RTE the better part of an entire year's entertainment budget; four times in five years had drained the broadcaster's reserves and patience. There was open speculation in early 1997 that RTE might co-produce with BBC Northern ...

Image: Daniel Kruczynski | CC BY-SA 2.0

Eurovision Song Contest 1997: The Public Gets a Vote

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Dublinprojekt, CC BY-SA 4.0. Until 1997, every Eurovision country's points were decided by a 16-person jury -- balanced for gender, age, and the mix of music professionals to ordinary citizens. In 1997, for the first time, five countries (Austria, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK) trialled televoting:...

Image: Dublinprojekt | CC BY-SA 4.0

Eurovision Song Contest 1997: Paul Oscar

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Dublinprojekt, CC BY-SA 4.0. Iceland's entry that year was a slow, sensual, electronic-tinged song called Minn hinsti dans (My Final Dance), performed by the 27-year-old Paul Oscar. He came on stage flanked by four female dancers in PVC outfits, draped himself across a chaise longue, and turned a Eurovision ...

Image: Dublinprojekt | CC BY-SA 4.0

Eurovision Song Contest 1997: The End of the Orchestra

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Dublinprojekt, CC BY-SA 4.0. The 1997 contest was the last in which the orchestra was central. Until then, entries had been required to perform with the host orchestra or with their own live instruments; backing tracks were limited to sounds that were also being mimed by visible performers. The 1997 rules pe...

Image: Dublinprojekt | CC BY-SA 4.0

Eurovision Song Contest 1997: Love Shine a Light

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Dublinprojekt, CC BY-SA 4.0. And the song that won? Katrina and the Waves were not unknowns -- they had reached the global top ten in 1985 with Walking on Sunshine, a song so relentlessly cheerful it has soundtracked half the romantic comedies made since. By 1997 the band were past their commercial peak, loo...

Image: Dublinprojekt | CC BY-SA 4.0