My friend Robert will set his exhibition again in the Eurovision town after last year's success in Oslo. Be sure to have a visit and enjoy some colorful Eurovision history in Douze points lounge when in town!
The Douze Points Lounge at the NRW-Forum Düsseldorf
In the 1950s, when television was still a novelty and European awareness was still in its infancy, a truly great European idea was born: the Eurovision Song Contest, known to many in Europe by its French name, le Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson. What initially looked like a European version of the already successful Sanremo Music Festival, quickly evolved into a large-scale TV event. It was a kind of showcase for the seven major countries that took part in the first contest; a technical and aesthetic spectacle. When the lights went up on the very first Eurovision Song Contest in Lugano on 24 May 1956, Germany was in the middle of its post-war economic miracle. No-one at the time could have foreseen that the number of competing countries would one day swell to over 40 or that the countries of Eastern Europe would eventually join the contest. Today the song contest is one of the biggest events in the television calendar: well over 100 million viewers wait in the hope that it will rain 'twelve points! douze points!' for their country.
'Douze points' ... that's all that matters; the only thing that counts for contestants. So much so that the term has now become a well-known phrase across Europe. 'Douze points' is the name of the lounge that the NRW-Forum will be setting up in its café during the Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf. The Dutch Eurovision Song Contest-fan and manic collector Robert Overeem made it possible that all the record covers of the winning Eurovision songs will be on display together with videos from the 55-year history of the Eurovision Song Contest. It will be like taking a stroll through the history of post-war Europe. The black-and-white footage from the early years of the contest are surprising: if you look closely, you can see a well-behaved, well-raised, well-groomed boy in shorts waiting to present the singer with a bouquet of flowers. Back then, singers were forbidden to dance and gesticulate, and a conductor and orchestra were on hand to accompany every one of the contestants.
Numerous stars, great and small, launched their careers with performances at the Eurovision: France Gall with 'Poupée de cire, poupée de son' (1965), ABBA with 'Waterloo“ (1974), Nicole with 'A Little Peace' (1982), or Lena Meyer-Landrut with 'Satellite' (2010). For all these successes, however, there are countless others who sank into obscurity after their performance at the Eurovision.
Much of this is reflected in the covers and the films on display in the lounge. Some participants have long since been forgotten; some are well-known; others have become cult icons.
The Douze Points Lounge will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday, and from 11 a.m. to midnight on Friday. There will also be music from 8 p.m. to midnight on Friday.
Douze Points Lounge is a cooperation with EUROVISION.
Admission/catalogue:
Entry to the Douze Points Lounge is free of charge. The small catalogue that accompanies the Douze Points Lounge includes 8 wonderful historic record covers of winning songs as postcards, a text leaflet. It costs €8 and is only available in the museum.
Douze Points, 29 April to 15 May 2011, NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, Ehrenhof 2, 40479 Düsseldorf, Germany, www.nrw-forum.de, facebook.com/nrwforumduesseldorf
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