It was back in September when Douwe Bob was selected internally by the Dutch broadcaster AVRO/TROS to wave their flag at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden. However, we will have to wait for 3 more months before we can hear his song because the Dutch entry will not be presented before March 2.
The 22 year old folk and country singer has been selected by AVRO/TROS to defend the Dutch colours in Stockholm. After this year’s failure with Trijntje not managing to quallify for the grand final, it seems that they are now being more careful in the Netherlands. Douwe Bob is working on his song at the moment along with people from AVRO/TROS trying for the best possible result. Douwe said about his Eurovision entry:
I want the song to be perfect, so we still keep on working on it. I am going to be alone on stage, I do not dance anyways. I put a nice suit on, and I think I can win things by charming and looking at the camera. I think that is where all my strength lies in.
The song presentation will take place on morning show ”100%” together with Jan Smit on March 2.
The Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest
The Netherlands has participated in Eurovision 56 times since making its debut as one of the seven countries competing in the very first contest in 1956. It has missed only four contests so far (1985, 1991, 1995 and 2002). The Netherlands has won the contest four times (1957, 1959, 1969, 1975).
With four victories, the Netherlands ranks in the top 10 of most successful Eurovision countries, however they have finished last in the contest final on four occasions, in 1958, 1962, 1963 and 1968. They also finished last in the semi final in 2011.
Since the semi finals were introduced in 2004, the Netherlands has reached the final on only three occasions, failing to reach the final for eight years in a row, from 2005–2012. Opting for an internal selection has fared well for the Netherlands since 2013 when Anouk became the first Dutch entry in nine years to qualify for the final, in which she finished ninth. In 2014, another internal selection proved to be a success when country duo The Common Linnets became the Netherlands’ most successful entry since 1975, ranking second below Conchita Wurst of Austria.
The Netherlands has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest four times: in 1958, 1970, 1976 and 1980. The first three times were after winning the previous year, while the 1980 contest was staged in the Netherlands after Israel (who had won in 1979) turned down organizing the event for a second consecutive year. Similarly, the Netherlands had declined the right to organize the 1960 contest as they had hosted the event just two years previously.
Last year, Trijntje sang Walk Along representing her country but, unfortunately, did not manage to qualify for the grand final as she finished 14th out of 16 participants in the 1st Semi Final in Vienna. Below you can watch Trijntje performing her entry on the Eurovision stage of Austria’s Wiener Stadthalle.
