Germany has officially participated in every Eurovision Song Contest since its inaugural edition in 1956, except in 1996 when its entry did not qualify past the audio-only pre-selection round, and consequently was not seen in the broadcast final and does not count as one of Germany’s 65 appearances.
No other country has been represented as many times.
Along with France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, Germany is one of the “Big Five” countries that are automatically prequalified for the final, due to being the largest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
The final is broadcast in Germany on ARD’s flagship channel, Das Erste.
Germany first won the contest in 1982, when Nicole won with “Ein bißchen Frieden”. The second German victory came 28 years later at the 2010 contest, when Lena won with “Satellite”. Germany has a total of 11 top three placements. Germany has finished last on eight occasions, receiving nul points in 1964, 1965 and 2015.
While having not reached the top-ten in 13 of the last 18 contests (2005–22), Michael Schulte achieved Germany’s second-best result of the 21st century, by finishing fourth at the 2018 contest. Although German contestants have had varied levels of success, public interest remains high and the contest is one of the most-watched events each year.
