Dutch Courage: Re-live the Netherlands' 5 Eurovision victories 🇳🇱

Corry Brokken – Net Als Toen, 1957

The first Dutch victory came in 1957 when Corry Brokken took the trophy in Frankfurt-am-Main with the song Net Als Toen (Just Like Then). Corry had already participated in the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest the year before.

The chanson-style Net Als Toen was performed live by Corry and violin player Sem Nijveen, who had a solo in the bridge of the song, making the performance last four and a half minutes, way beyond the now established three minute limit.

As well as competing in the Eurovision Song Contest, Corry also hosted the 1976 show in The Hague, as well as being the Dutch spokesperson in 1997.

In between Contest appearances, Corry studied law, becoming first an attorney and then a judge. In 1996 she started performing again and published some successful books.

Corry Brokken passed away in 2016 at the age of 83.

Teddy Scholten – Een Beetje, 1959

The Netherlands didn’t have to wait long for a second victory; at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France, The Netherlands won with an uptempo song, Een Beetje ('A Little’) performed by Teddy Scholten.

Teddy was one of the first Dutch popular music artists to perform in the US and she released dozens of records, both solo and with her husband Henk. She was a familiar face on Dutch television at the time.

In the 1960s Teddy hosted the Nationaal Songfestival, the Dutch national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. She then left her career in showbiz to work as a public relations officer for the Dutch Red Cross.

In 2010, Teddy Scholten pass away at the age of 83.

Lenny Kuhr – De Troubadour, 1969

After such a triumphant start in the 1950s, the next decade would prove less successful for Les Pays-Bas until Madrid 1969.

Four countries tied for first place in Spain, and one of them was The Netherlands.

That year they’d sent Lenny Kuhr and her guitar to perform a self-penned folk composition about the impact the music had on audiences in the Middle Ages, De Troubadour.

Lenny was the youngest of the four winners and enjoyed international success after the Contest. She continues to perform and release records.

Teach-In – Ding-A-Dong, 1975

Six years later in Stockholm, the Netherlands won the competition one more time, with the schlager retro-banger Ding-A-Dong from Teach-In.

The band were first on stage to perform and had been told that “nobody wins from the first position” but the entry worked its magic and gave the Dutch their fourth victory.

At the time of the contest in Sweden, the band was made up of Getty Kaspers, Chris de Wolde, Ard Weenink, Koos Versteeg, John Gasbeek and Ruud Nijhuis.

Duncan Laurence – Arcade, 2019

In 2019 Duncan Laurence brought the trophy back to the Netherlands after a 44 year wait, receiving 492 points for his winning song Arcade.

• Read: Interview with Duncan (Grand Final 2021)
• Read: The Success of Arcade (2021)

Don’t miss out on the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 where you’ll get to enjoy Lenny Kuhr, Teach-In and Duncan Laurence!