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Germany - the country that can't live without music

16 December 2016 at 18:00 CET
Lena won in 2010 Indrek Galetin (EBU)
In the fifth instalment of our series looking back at the most successful entries from recent host countries, our attention turns to Germany, the country that has officially participated in every single Eurovision Song Contest since 1956.

Germany's early decades at the Eurovision Song Contest were a mixed bag; a couple of top five placings but finishing last with zero points in two contests running in 1964 and 1965. It would take Germany until 1970 to reach the top three for the first time when Katja Epstein represented the country in Amsterdam. The singer participated again in Dublin the following year, replicating her success the previous year. Mary Roos represented Germany in 1973 and true to form, she too finished third. 

Germany's most successful decade at the Eurovision Song Contest was the 1980s where the country notched up six top five placings including four second places and its first victory in 1982 when Nicole won the contest in Harrogate with Ein bißchen Frieden. 

The 1990s saw Germany finish last in 1995 and failed to qualify from the audio-only pre‐selection round the following year. The country did place third on two occasions though, in 1994 and 1999 but it would be more than a decade before Lena took the country to victory once more. 

Which entries from Germany are the most successful overall though? Will Lena's Satellite go out of orbit? Will Katja Ebstein's Theater be closed down? Check out our montage below to find out!