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Stefan Raab ends Eurovision career

19 May 2011 at 19:23 CEST

"The Final of the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest was an absolute highlight of my Eurovision Song Contest career," Raab said. " I have decided I will not be involved as a host, chairman of the jury, composer and musical producer in the Eurovision Song Contest in Germany any more."

This means Raab will personally not be involved in the German national selection for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. His company, Brainpool, will most likely still be in the game for the future editions of the popular selection show Our Star For...

The Director of the German broadcaster NDR, Lutz Marmor told: "I thank Stefan Raab very much for the excellent cooperation which was always professional, helpful and great fun. Stefan Raab was essential in the success of Lena."

Thomas Schreiber, ARD entertainment coordinator added: "Stefan Raab is a clever man. The format for Our Star For... can be developed with a new chairman of the jury. In particular, I'm delighted that Stefan Raab will continue working with his colleagues from the German music scene on the German contribution to the Eurovision Song Contest in the future."

Stefan Raab wrote the music for the German entry in the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest, Guildo Horn's Guildo Hat Euch Lieb, and in the 2000 Contest he performed himself with the song Wadde Hadde Dudde Da?.

Raab cast the German entry for the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest on his show in a competition he called SSDSGPS (Stefan Sucht Den Super-Grand-Prix-Star, or Stefan Seeks The Super Grand-Prix Star in English). The winner of this casting, Maximilian Mutzke, came eighth in Istanbul, Turkey. 

In 2010, he was the leading power behind the first edition of Our Star For Oslo, which lead to Lena winning the Eurovision Song Contest with Satellite.