The Eurovision Song Contest 1996 was the 41st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 18 May 1996 at the Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, Norway. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) and presented by Ingvild Bryn and Morten Harket, the contest was held in Norway following the country's victory at the 1995 contest with the song "Nocturne" by Secret Garden.
Thirty countries submitted entries to the contest, with a non-public, audio-only qualifying round held two months before the final to reduce the number of participants from 30 to 23. The entries from Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Macedonia, Romania, and Russia were subsequently eliminated, which resulted in Germany being absent from the contest for the first – and as of 2024 only – time.
The winner was Ireland with the song "The Voice", written by Brendan Graham and performed by Eimear Quinn. This gave the nation a record-extending seventh contest win, their fourth win in five years, with Graham also recording his second win as a songwriter in three years after having written the winning song at the 1994 contest. Norway, Sweden, Croatia, and Estonia took the remaining places in the top five, with Croatia, Estonia, and Portugal, which placed sixth, achieving their best results to date. This was the final contest where the results were determined solely by jury voting, with a trial use of televoting in the following year's event leading to widespread adoption from 1998 onwards.
Results[]
Qualifying round[]
| Rank | Country | EBU member station | Artist | Song | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden | SVT | One More Time | "Den vilda" | 227 |
| 2 | Ireland | RTÉ | Eimear Quinn | "The Voice" | 198 |
| 3 | United Kingdom | BBC | Gina G | "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" | 153 |
| 4 | Malta | PBS | Miriam Christine | "In a Woman's Heart" | 138 |
| 5 | Estonia | ETV | Maarja-Liis Ilus and Ivo Linna | "Kaelakee hääl" | 106 |
| 6 | Austria | ORF | George Nussbaumer | "Weil's dr guat got" | 80 |
| 7 | Turkey | TRT | Şebnem Paker | "Beşinci Mevsim" | 69 |
| 8 | Switzerland | SRG SSR | Kathy Leander | "Mon cœur l'aime" | 67 |
| 9 | Netherlands | NOS | Maxine and Franklin Brown | "De eerste keer" | 63 |
| 10 | Iceland | RÚV | Anna Mjöll | "Sjúbídú" | 59 |
| 11 | France | France Télévision | Dan Ar Braz and l'Héritage des Celtes | "Diwanit bugale" | 55 |
| 12 | Belgium | BRTN | Lisa del Bo | "Liefde is een kaartspel" | 45 |
| Greece | ERT | Marianna Efstratiou | "Emis forame to himona anixiatika" (Εμείς φοράμε το χειμώνα ανοιξιάτικα) | 45 | |
| 14 | Spain | TVE | Antonio Carbonell | "Ay, qué deseo" | 43 |
| 15 | Cyprus | CyBC | Constantinos | "Mono gia mas" (Μόνο για μας) | 42 |
| Poland | TVP | Kasia Kowalska | "Chcę znać swój grzech" | 42 | |
| 17 | Slovakia | STV | Marcel Polander | "Kým nás máš" | 38 |
| 18 | Portugal | RTP | Lúcia Moniz | "O meu coração não tem cor" | 32 |
| 19 | Croatia | HRT | Maja Blagdan | "Sveta ljubav" | 30 |
| Slovenia | RTVSLO | Regina | "Dan najlepših sanj" | 30 | |
| 21 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | RTVBiH | Amila Glamočak | "Za našu ljubav" | 29 |
| 22 | Finland | YLE | Jasmine | "Niin kaunis on taivas" | 26 |
| 23 | Hungary | MTV | Gjon Delhusa | "Fortuna" | 26 |
| 24 | Germany | ARD/NDR | Leon | "Planet of Blue" | 24 |
| 25 | Denmark | DR | Dorte Andersen and Martin Loft | "Kun med dig" | 22 |
| 26 | Macedonia | MRT | Kaliopi | "Samo ti" (Само ти) | 14 |
| Russia | ORT | Andrey Kosinskiy | "Ya eto ya" (Я это я) | 14 | |
| 28 | Israel | IBA | Galit Bell | "Shalom Olam" (שלום עולם) | 12 |
| 29 | Romania | TVR | Monica Anghel and Sincron | "Rugă pentru pacea lumii" | 11 |
Finals[]
Country in gold is the winning entry and the country in silver is the host country.
| Rank | Country | EBU member station | Artist | Song | Conductor | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ireland | RTÉ | Eimear Quinn | "The Voice" | Noel Kelehan | 162 |
| 02 | Norway | NRK | Elisabeth Andreassen | "I evighet" | Frode Thingnæs | 114 |
| 03 | Sweden | SVT | One More Time | "Den vilda" | Anders Berglund | 100 |
| 04 | Croatia | HRT | Maja Blagdan | "Sveta ljubav" | Alan Bjelinski | 98 |
| 05 | Estonia | ETV | Maarja-Liis Ilus and Ivo Linna | "Kaelakee hääl" | Tarmo Leinatamm | 94 |
| 06 | Portugal | RTP | Lúcia Moniz | "O meu coração não tem cor" | Pedro Osório | 92 |
| 07 | Netherlands | NOS | Maxine and Franklin Brown | "De eerste keer" | Dick Bakker | 78 |
| 08 | United Kingdom | BBC | Gina G | "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" | Ernie Dunstall | 77 |
| 09 | Cyprus | CyBC | Constantinos | "Mono gia mas" (Μόνο για μας) | Stavros Lantsias | 72 |
| 10 | Malta | PBS | Miriam Christine | "In a Woman's Heart" | Paul Abela | 68 |
| Austria | ORF | George Nussbaumer | "Weil's dr guat got" | Mischa Krausz | 68 | |
| 12 | Turkey | TRT | Şebnem Paker | "Beşinci Mevsim" | Selma Çuhaci and Levent Çoker | 57 |
| 13 | Iceland | RÚV | Anna Mjöll | "Sjúbídú" | Ólafur Gaukur Þórhallsson | 51 |
| 14 | Greece | ERT | Marianna Efstratiou | "Emis forame to himona anixiatika" (Εμείς φοράμε το χειμώνα ανοιξιάτικα) | Mihalis Rozakis | 36 |
| 15 | Poland | TVP | Kasia Kowalska | "Chcę znać swój grzech" | Wiesław Pieregorólka | 31 |
| 16 | Switzerland | SRG SSR | Kathy Leander | "Mon cœur l'aime" | Rui dos Reis | 22 |
| Belgium | BRTN | Lisa del Bo | "Liefde is een kaartspel" | Bob Porter | 22 | |
| 18 | Slovakia | STV | Marcel Palonder | "Kým nás máš" | Juraj Burian | 19 |
| 19 | France | France Télévision | Dan Ar Braz and l'Héritage des Celtes | "Diwanit bugale" | Fiachra Trench | 18 |
| 20 | Spain | TVE | Antonio Carbonell | "Ay, qué deseo" | Eduardo Leiva | 17 |
| 21 | Slovenia | RTVSLO | Regina | "Dan najlepših sanj" | Jože Privšek | 16 |
| 22 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | RTVBiH | Amila Glamočak | "Za našu ljubav" | Sinan Alimanović | 13 |
| 23 | Finland | YLE | Jasmine | "Niin kaunis on taivas" | Olli Ahvenlahti | 9 |
Broadcast[]
Participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) | Spokesperson | Postcard good luck speaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | ORF 1 | Ernst Grissemann | Martina Rupp | Elisabeth Gehrer Federal Minister for Education and Cultural Affairs of Austria |
| FM4 | Stermann & Grissemann | |||
| Belgium (Dutch) | TV1 | Michel Follet, Johan Verstreken | An Ploegaerts | Luc Van de Brande Minister-President of Flanders |
| Radio 2 | Guy De Pré, Bart Pieters | |||
| Belgium (French) | RTBF1 | Jean-Pierre Hautier, Sandra Kim | ||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | RTVBiH | Unknown | Segmedina Srna | Alija Izetbegović President of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Croatia | HRT 1 | Aleksandar Kostadinov | Daniela Trbović | Zlatko Mateša Prime Minister of Croatia |
| Cyprus | RIK 1 | Evi Papamichael | Marios Skordis | Glafcos Clerides President of Cyprus |
| Estonia | ETV | Jüri Pihel | Annika Talvik | Tiit Vähi Prime Minister of Estonia |
| Finland | TV1 | Erkki Pohjanheimo, Sanna Kojo, Minna Pentti | Solveig Herlin | Riitta Uosukainen Speaker of the Parliament of Finland |
| Radio Suomi | Iris Mattila, Pasi Hiihtola | |||
| France | France 2 | Olivier Minne | Laurent Broomhead | Philippe Douste-Blaze Minister of Culture of France |
| Greece | ET1 | Dafni Bokota | Niki Venega | Caterína Dimaki Chargé d'affaires of Greece in Norway |
| Iceland | Sjónvarpið, Rás 2 | Jakob Frímann Magnússon | Svanhildur Konráðsdóttir | Davíð Oddsson Prime Minister of Iceland |
| Ireland | RTÉ One | Pat Kenny | Eileen Dunne | John Bruton Taoiseach of Ireland |
| RTÉ Radio 1 | Larry Gogan | |||
| Malta | TVM | Charles Saliba | Ruth Amaira | Edoardo Fenech Adami Prime Minister of Malta |
| Netherlands | TV2 | Willem van Beusekom | Marcha | Aad Nuis State Secretary of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands |
| Radio 2 | Unknown | |||
| Norway | NRK Fjernsynet | Jostein Pedersen | Ragnhild Sælthun Fjørtoft | Gro Harlem Brundtland Prime Minister of Norway |
| NRK P1 | Stein Dag Jensen, Anita Skorgan | |||
| Poland | TVP1 | Jan Wilkans | Jan Chojnacki | Aleksander Kwaśniewski President of Poland |
| Portugal | RTP1, RTP Internacional | Maria Margarida Gaspar | Cristina Rocha | António Guterres Prime Minister of Portugal |
| Slovakia | STV2 | Unknown | Alena Heribanová | Vladimír Mečiar Prime Minister of Slovakia |
| Slovenia | SLO 1 | Miša Molk | Mario Galunić | Milan Kučan President of Slovenia |
| Val 202 | Unknown | |||
| Spain | La Primera, TVE Internacional | José Luis Uribarri | Belén Fernández de Henestrosa | Alberto Escudero Claramunt Ambassador of Spain to Norway |
| Sweden | SVT2 | Björn Kjellman | Ulla Rundqvist | Göran Persson Prime Minister of Sweden |
| SR P3 | Claes-Johan Larsson, Lisa Syrén | |||
| Switzerland (German) | Schweiz 4 | Sandra Studer | Yves Ménestrier | Michel Coquoz Chargé d'affaires of Switzerland in Norway |
| Switzerland (French) | TSR | Pierre Grandjean | ||
| Switzerland (Italian) | TSI | Joanne Holder | ||
| Turkey | TRT 1 | Unknown | Ömer Önder | Süleyman Demirel President of Turkey |
| United Kingdom | BBC One, BBC Prime | Terry Wogan | Colin Berry | Virginia Bottomley Secretary of State for National Heritage of the United Kingdom |
| BBC Radio 2 | Ken Bruce |
Non-participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | SBS TV | Unknown |
| Denmark | DR TV | Jørgen de Mylius |
| DR P3 | Katrine Nyland Sørensen, Martin Loft, Marianne Dinesen | |
| Faroe Islands | SVF | Jørgen de Mylius |
| Germany | MDR Fernsehen, N3, WDR Fernsehen, Das Erste | Ulf Ansorge |
| Greenland | KNR | Jørgen de Mylius |
| Hungary | MTV 2 | István Vágó |
| Israel | Channel 1 | No commentator |
| Jordan | JTV2 | Unknown |
| Lithuania | LTV | Unknown |
| Romania | TVR 1 | Doina Caramzulescu, Costin Grigore |
| Yugoslavia | RTS 2 | Unknown |
Broadcast notes[]
- Australia - SBS TV aired the show deferred on 19 May 1996 at 20:30 AEST.
- Germany - The show was broadcast live on the Third Program of the ARD (MDR Fernsehen, N3 and WDR Fernsehen), while it was broadcast deferred on Das Erste at 00:35 CEST.