The Netherlands was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 with the song "", composed by Kees de Bruyn, with lyrics by Gerrit den Braber, and performed by Milly Scott. The Dutch participating Broadcaster, (NTS), selected its entry through a national final. Scott became the first black performer to appear on stage in Eurovision.
Five acts participated in the Dutch preselection, which consisted of five qualifying rounds, followed by the final on 5 February. All the shows were held at the Tivoli in Utrecht, hosted by the 1959 Eurovision winner Teddy Scholten.
Before Eurovision
Heats
Five qualifying heats took place on consecutive evenings between 31 January and 4 February. Each involved one of the selected acts performing three songs, with the jury winner from each act going forward to the final. A different jury of 15 was used each evening. The format was the same used in the , and would be used again 30 years later in the .
+ Heat 1Helen Shepherd31 January 1966 Song Place 1 "Over de horizon" 2 2 "Wereld" 1 3 "Ver hier vandaan" 3
+ Heat 2Piet Sybrandi1 February 1966 Song Place 1 "Ergens in de west" 3 2 "In een battledress" 2 3 "Ik heb je lief" 1
+ Heat 3The Luckberries2 February 1966 Song Place 1 "Dromen zijn bedrog" 1 2 "Mijn hart klopt alleen maar voor jou" 2 3 "Land der liefde" 3
+ Heat 4Bob Bouber3 February 1966 Song Place 1 "Nog wel bedankt" 1 2 "Jouw eerste concert" 2 3 "Jij bent een raadsel" 3
+ Heat 5Milly Scott4 February 1966 Song Place 1 "Fernando en Filippo" 1 2 "De onvoltooide symphonie" 2 3 "Graag of niet" 3
Final
The final was held on 5 February at 22:00 CET. It was broadcast on and on radio station . The winning song was chosen by the same five juries who had each individually chosen one of the songs for the final. Each jury member gave 1 point to their favourite song, and "" was the choice of 52 of the 75 members.
+ Final5 February 1966 Artist Song Points Place 1 Helen Shepherd "Wereld" 3 3 2 Piet Sybrandi "Ik heb je lief" 2 5 3 The Luckberries "Dromen zijn bedrog" 15 2 4 Bob Bouber "Nog wel bedankt" 3 3 5 Milly Scott "Fernando en Filippo" 52 1
At Eurovision On the night of the final Scott performed 16th in the running order, following and preceding . Voting was by each national jury awarding 5-3-1 to its top three songs, and at the close of the voting "" had received 2 points, placing the Netherlands 15th of the 18 entries. During most of the voting procedure "" had appeared to be heading for nul-points, until the last two countries to vote (Ireland and the ) each awarded 1 point to the song. The Dutch jury awarded its 5 points to .
The Dutch conductor at the contest was Dolf van der Linden.
Scott earned a place in Eurovision history as the first black performer to appear on stage, and would later state that she believed her poor result at Eurovision was attributable, at least in part, to racism.
Voting
+ Points awarded to the Netherlands Score Country 5 points 3 points 1 point
+ Points awarded by the Netherlands Score Country 5 points 3 points 1 point
References