Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998

Prior to the 1998 contest, the Netherlands had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirty-nine times since their début as one of seven countries to take part in the inaugural contest in 1956.[1] Since then, the country has won the contest four times: in 1957 with the song "Net als toen" performed by Corry Brokken;[2] in 1959 with the song "'n Beetje" performed by Teddy Scholten;[3] in 1969 as one of four countries to tie for first place with "De troubadour" performed by Lenny Kuhr;[4] and finally in 1975 with "Ding-a-dong" performed by the group Teach-In.[5] The Dutch least successful result has been last place, which they have achieved on four occasions, most recently in the 1968 contest.[6] The Netherlands has also received nul points on two occasions; in 1962 and 1963.[7]

The Dutch national broadcaster, Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), broadcast the event within the Netherlands and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. The Netherlands has used various methods to select the Dutch entry in the past, such as the Nationaal Songfestival, a live televised national final to choose the performer, song or both to compete at Eurovision. However, internal selections have also been held on occasion. In 1997, NOS has internally selected the Dutch artist for the contest, while Nationaal Songfestival was organised in order to select the song. For 1998, Nationaal Songfestival was continued to select both the artist and song.

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the eight countries which had obtained the lowest average number of points over the last five contests competed in the final on 9 May 1998. On 13 November 1997, a special allocation draw was held which determined the running order and the Netherlands was set to perform in position 18, following the entry from Cyprus and before the entry from Sweden.[13][14] The Dutch conductor at the contest was Dick Bakker, and the Netherlands finished in fourth place with 150 points.[15]

Ahead of the contest, Netherlands were considered one of the favourites among bookmakers to win the contest, featuring alongside the entries from United Kingdom, Belgium, Sweden and the Malta.[16] The show was broadcast in the Netherlands on TV2 with commentary by Willem van Beusekom as well as via radio on Radio 2.[17][18][19] The Dutch spokesperson, who announced the Dutch votes during the show, was Conny Vandenbos.[20]

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to the Netherlands and awarded by the Netherlands in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Germany in the contest.

Points awarded to the Netherlands[21] Score Country 12 points  Belgium  Hungary 10 points  Croatia  Ireland  United Kingdom 8 points  Greece  Israel  Norway  Sweden 7 points  Finland  Malta  Portugal   Switzerland  Turkey 6 points  Germany  Slovakia 5 points  France  Poland 4 points  Spain 3 points  Macedonia 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by the Netherlands[21] Score Country 12 points  Germany 10 points  Belgium 8 points  Malta 7 points  United Kingdom 6 points  Israel 5 points  Sweden 4 points  Croatia 3 points  Norway 2 points  Estonia 1 point  Turkey

• Dutch National Final 1998