About Denmark...

2006 Result
History (1956 to 2005)
This year's entry
What I predicted...
What you thought...
What actually happened...
What the bookies thought...

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2006 Result

Points in Semi Final: N/A
Position in Semi Final: N/A

Points in Final: 26
Position in Final: 18th
More about the 2006 result for Denmark

2007 Contest: Must compete in Semi Final

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History (1956 to 2005)

Denmark's previous appearances: 34 year(s) out of 50 [note]
Years participated: 1957-1966; 1978-1993; 1995; 1997; 1999-2002; 2004- [note]
Best result: 1st (1963, 2000)

With a 37 year gap between its wins in 1963 and 2000, Denmark holds the record for the longest period between successive Eurovision victories. Austria will manage to take the record if it ever wins again, though the prospects of that happening are fairly remote now that broadcaster ORF has withdrawn from the Contest all together.

Since televoting, Denmark has seen highs and lows. The country missed the 1998 contest due to relegation, but did better than it deserved with the painful 'This time I mean it' in 1999, which finished 8th. In 2000, Denmark strolled to a surprising victory with the Olsen Brothers' 'Fly on the wings of love'. As usual, the single was a hit everywhere apart from the UK, though ironically, XTM's dance cover was a UK smash in 2003 - purists might not have liked it, but it was a great example of a cover version managing to do something completely different to the original. Denmark almost won again in 2001, with the enjoyable 'Never ever let you go', but it was down to earth with a bump in 2002 when Malene and 'Tell me who you are' finished last. Needless to say, Malta - always good at spotting an underdog - was among the few countries who gave it any points at all. To be fair, the song wasn't too bad, but Malene gave a tuneless, uncomfortable performance, proving just how much this can matter on the night. After that there was little for Denmark to cheer about - having had to miss 2003 through relegation, the country competed in the Semi Final in 2004, where Tomas Thordarson - widely regarded as having one of the year's better songs in 'Shame on you' - could only finish 13th, missing out on a place in the Contest proper.

With Denmark having to take part in the Semi Final in 2005, few people had high expectations for Jacob Sveistrup and his song 'Talking to you', with the bookies initially rating his chances of victory as 66-1, while voters in the Soult.com Eurovision Poll 2005 placed it 35th out of 39 songs. However, Denmark pulled off one of the year's surprises, a strong vocal performance from Jacob propelling his song to 3rd place in the Semi Final, and 10th in the Final - just enough to secure direct qualification to the 2006 Final.
Get 'The Eurovision Song Contest: The Offical History' at Amazon.co.uk

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This year's entry

Position in Semi Final draw: N/A
Position in Final draw: 9

What I said prior to the Semi Final:
"Unusually, Denmark's contenders are strictly embargoed prior to the national final, with the Melodi Grand Prix on 11 February therefore providing the first and only opportunity to hear any of the songs. As a result we had little idea of what to expect, other than recognising the familiar names of Søren Poppe (part of Rollo & King in 2001) and Trine Jepsen (who represented in Denmark in 1999). However, seeing and hearing the contenders for the first time via one of this year's few reliable webstreams, it could be argued that we really hadn't missed a lot. In 2000, Denmark gave us one of Eurovision's oldest winning acts in the form of the Olsen Brothers, but watching the Danish Melodi Grand Prix, you could almost be forgiven for thinking that Denmark has no performers at all under the age of 40, coupled with a distinct lack of contemporary sounding songs.

From this pretty uninspiring field, Denmark plumped for one of the few youthful contenders in the form of sunny 17-year-old Sidsel Ben Semmane, but with a song - 'Twist of love' - that sounds like a 1980s Yugoslav entry. Indeed, not just a 1980s Yugoslav entry, but a 1980s Yugoslav entry that would have sounded twenty years out of date even in the 1980s. Honestly, I don't know what it is about the Danes, but they do have a habit of coming up with entries that leave hardened fans (such as me) distinctly unimpressed, but that do inexplicably well when presented in English at Eurovision, last year's 'Talking to you' being a case in point. Though 'Twist of love' is, unusually, in English from the start, I can't help feeling that the same may well be true in 2006 - it's ghastly, but in a way that some people may well find oddly appealing. Sadly, I'm not one of those people, and I remain resolutely unmoved by the whole performance, be it the retro Chubby Checker vibe, the silly dancers in cowboy hats, Sidsel's cheeky beckoning to the camera, or even the repeated references to her Johnny. It's just all too much!!! Help me, please!!!!!!!!

For the sake of my own wellbeing, I think I shall refrain from listening to 'Twist of love' ever again, and find some comfort in the last Danish Eurovision entry that I actually liked - the appealing 'Fra mols til skagen' from 1995. "

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What I predicted...

My prediction for Semi Final: N/A
My prediction for Final: 23rd to 24th
See all my predictions for the 2006 Semi Final
See all my predictions for the 2006 Final

What I predicted prior to the Semi Final:
"It's a rare feat when I find a Eurovision song so bad I can't bring myself to listen to it in its entirety. Before writing my prediction, I forced myself to listen to 'Twist of love' again, just in case I had been unreasonably harsh. I hadn't.

The polls and bookies alike suggest that Denmark will struggle to make much of an impression in Athens, and I suspect they may well be right. Certainly, I never want to hear anything about Connie and Johnny ever, ever again... "
Want an alternative prediction? See Simon Hylands' 'Je t'adore, Eurovision!' site

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What you thought...

View the final leader board

In the run up to the Contest, 1,721 visitors to this site awarded points to their favourite songs in the Soult.com Eurovision Jury Vote 2006, voting as a representative of their own country's 'jury'. The votes awarded by representatives of each country were totalled, with each of the 38 participating countries (plus the 'Rest of the World') then awarding points - 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - based on the overall voting preference of its representatives. The points awarded to the entry from Denmark are shown in the tables below:

Points awarded to Denmark overall:
AL	0	HR	2	GR	0	MK	0	PL	0	ES	0
AD	0	CY	0	IS	10	MT	0	PT	0	SE	0
AM	0	DK	X	IE	0	MD	0	RO	0	CH	0
BY	0	EE	6	IL	0	MC	0	RU	0	TR	0
BE	0	FI	1	LV	8	NL	0	CS	0	UA	0
BA	0	FR	0	LT	2	NO	3	SI	0	UK	0
BG	0	DE	0	WO	0	Last updated: 18 May 2006 Next scheduled update: None
Total points: 32, from 7/39 juries
Position: 21 out of 37

Points awarded to Denmark in the Semi Final:
AL	0	HR	0	GR	0	MK	0	PL	0	ES	0
AD	0	CY	0	IS	0	MT	0	PT	0	SE	0
AM	0	DK	X	IE	0	MD	0	RO	0	CH	0
BY	0	EE	0	IL	0	MC	0	RU	0	TR	0
BE	0	FI	0	LV	0	NL	0	CS	0	UA	0
BA	0	FR	0	LT	0	NO	0	SI	0	UK	0
BG	0	DE	0	WO	0	Last updated: 18 May 2006 Next scheduled update: None
Total points: N/A, from N/A/39 juries
Position: N/A out of 23

Points awarded to Denmark in the Final:
AL	0	HR	2	GR	0	MK	0	PL	3	ES	0
AD	0	CY	0	IS	10	MT	0	PT	0	SE	0
AM	0	DK	X	IE	0	MD	0	RO	0	CH	0
BY	0	EE	6	IL	0	MC	0	RU	0	TR	0
BE	0	FI	2	LV	10	NL	0	CS	0	UA	0
BA	0	FR	0