Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977
Open-knowledge reference entry
The Netherlands was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 with the song "De mallemolen", composed by Frank Affolter, with lyrics by Wim Hogenkamp, and performed by Heddy Lester. The Dutch participating broadcaster, Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), selected its entry through a national final.
Before Eurovision
Nationaal Songfestival 1977
The final was held at the Congresgebouw in The Hague, hosted by Ati Dijckmeester. Ten songs took part and voting was by eleven "celebrity" juries of nine people based in each Dutch province. Each juror awarded one point to his/her favourite song, with 99 points available in total. "De mallemolen" emerged the winner by a 5-point margin.
At Eurovision
On the night of the final Lester performed 3rd in the running order, following Monaco and preceding Austria. "De mallemolen" had been one of the front-runners in pre-contest betting, but at the close of voting had managed to muster only 35 points, placing the Netherlands 12th of the 18 entries. The Dutch jury awarded its 12 points to Belgium.
The Dutch conductor at the contest was Harry van Hoof.
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