Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979

Spain in the
Eurovision Song Contest 1979
Eurovision Song Contest 1979
Participating broadcasterTelevisión Española (TVE)
Country Spain
Selection processInternal selection
Announcement dateArtist: 29 January 1979
Competing entry
Song"Su canción"
ArtistBetty Missiego
SongwriterFernando Moreno
Placement
Final result2nd, 116 points
Participation chronology
◄1978 1979 1980►

Spain was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 with the song "Su canción", written by Fernando Moreno, and performed by Betty Missiego. The Spanish participating broadcaster, Televisión Española (TVE), internally selected its entry for the contest. The song, performed in position 19, placed second out of nineteen competing entries with 116 points.

Before Eurovision

Televisión Española (TVE) assembled a jury of 29 members –27 specialized critics from radio and newspaper media and two representatives of the network–, which locked up on 29 January 1979 in Prado del Rey, internally selected among 27 candidate songs "Su canción" performed by Betty Missiego as its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1979. The song was written by Fernando Moreno. The title of the song, the songwriter, and the performer were announced that same day. Among the entries in the selection were: "Bang Bang Bang" performed by Victoria Abril, "Ella-A-A" by Jorge y Manolo, "Guitarra" by Pecos, "Poeta" by Emilio José, "Olé María" by María Ostiz, "Agradable secreto, peligroso juego" by Laureano Solo, "Los borrachos somos gente inquebrantables", and other songs by Gloria and Santa Bárbara.[1] In the last of the four rounds of voting, "Su canción" won with 26 votes, beating "Ella-A-A" which got 2 votes and "Bang Bang Bang" which got 1 vote.[2]

The preview music video of "Su canción" that was distributed to the other participating broadcasters was filmed on location in Palma de Mallorca.[3]

At Eurovision

On 31 March 1979, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem hosted by the Israeli Broadcasting Authority (IBA), and broadcast live throughout the continent. Missiego performed "Su canción" as the last song of the evening, the 19th in the running order, following Austria. She was accompanied on stage by four children as backup singers: Javier Glaria, Alexis Carmona, Beatriz Carmona, and Rosalía Rodríguez.[4] José Luis Navarro conducted the event's live orchestra in the performance of the Spanish entry. At the close of voting "Su canción" had received 116 points, placing 2nd.[5]

TVE broadcast the contest in Spain on TVE 1 with commentary by Miguel de los Santos.[6] Before the event, TVE aired a talk show hosted by Manuel Almendros introducing the Spanish jury, which continued after the contest commenting on the results.[7]

Voting

TVE assembled a jury panel with ten members. The following members comprised the Spanish jury:[7]

  • María del Carmen Díaz – civil servant
  • Fuencis García – psychologist
  • Felisa Olasagarre – stewardess
  • Fernando Sancho – actor
  • Adolfo Arlés – model
  • Antonio Romero – sailing instructor
  • Rosa María Samblas – student
  • Constanza Valverde – student
  • Antonio Páez – runner
  • Lina Traspaderne – decorator
  • Alicia Puerto – nurse

The jury was chaired by Arturo Pérez, who was the head of the TVE press office. The jury awarded its maximum of 12 points to Germany.

References

  1. ^ "Betty Missiego, al Festival de Eurovisión". Diario de Burgos (in Spanish). Burgos, Spain. 30 January 1979. p. 31 – via Virtual Library of Historical Newspapers.
  2. ^ "Todo sobre la canción de Eurovisión". Pueblo (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. 31 January 1979. p. 30 – via Virtual Library of Historical Newspapers.
  3. ^ "Su canción" - Preview video on YouTube
  4. ^ Info on children from Diggiloo Thrush
  5. ^ "Final of Jerusalem 1979". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  6. ^ "TVE : Canarias – programas para hoy" [TVE : Canaries – programmes for today]. El Eco de Canarias (in Spanish). Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain. 31 March 1979. p. 10. Retrieved 27 October 2024 – via University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
  7. ^ a b Carreño, Fernando M. (18 May 2019). "Eurovisión 2019: 40 años de la Noche Triste de Betty Missiego y la España eurovisiva". Marca (in Spanish).
  8. ^ a b "Results of the Final of Jerusalem 1979". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.