The Eurovision Song Contest 1979 was the 24th edition held on 31 March 1979 at the Binyanei Ha'ouma in Jerusalem, Israel due to Izhar Cohen & Alpha Beta's win in Paris the previous year. It was presented by Yardena Arazi (who became the second former contestant to act as host) and Daniel Pe'er.
This was the first contest to be staged outside of Europe. As well as transmitting to the 19 participating nations, the show was also broadcast in Romania, Iceland and Hong Kong.
Israel won for the second consecutive year with the song Hallelujah performed by Gali Atari and Milk and Honey, successfully defending their title on home ground. Down by 1 point to Spain going into the final round of voting, it was the Spanish jury that caused their own defeat by giving 10 points to the Israeli entry.
Participants[]
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Language | Translation | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  Portugal
|
Manuela Bravo | Sobe, sobe, balão sobe | Portuguese | Rise, rise, balloon rise | 9 | 64 |
| 02 |  Italy
|
Matia Bazar | Raggio di luna | Italian | Moonbeam | 15 | 27 |
| 03 |  Denmark
|
Tommy Seebach | Disco Tango | Danish | -- | 6 | 76 |
| 04 |  Ireland
|
Cathal Dunne | Happy Man | English | 5 | 80 | |
| 05 |  Finland
|
Katri Helena | Katson sineen taivaan | Finnish | I'm looking into the blue of the sky | 14 | 38 |
| 06 |  Monaco
|
Laurent Vaguener | Notre vie c'est la musique | French | Our life is music | 16 | 12 |
| 07 |  Greece
|
Elpida | Sokrati | Greek | Socrates | 8 | 69 |
| 08 |  Switzerland
|
Peter, Sue & Marc ft. Pfuri, Gnorps & Kniri |
Trödler und Co | German | Second-handers and Company | 10 | 60 |
| 09 |  Germany
|
Dschinghis Khan | Dschinghis Khan | Genghis Khan | 4 | 86 | |
| 10 |  Israel
|
Gali Atari & Milk and Honey | Hallelujah | Hebrew | -- | 1 | 125 |
| 11 |  France
|
Anne Marie David | Je Suis L'Enfant Soleil | French | I am the sun child | 3 | 106 |
| 12 |  Belgium
|
Micha Marah | Hey Nana | Dutch | -- | 18 | 5 |
| 13 |  Luxembourg
|
Jeane Manson | J'ai déjà vu ça dans tes yeux | French | I've already seen that in your eyes | 13 | 44 |
| 14 |  The Netherlands
|
Xandra | Colorado | Dutch | -- | 12 | 51 |
| 15 |  Sweden
|
Ted Gärdestad | Satellit | Swedish | Satellite | 17 | 8 |
| 16 |  Norway
|
Anita Skorgan | Oliver | Norwegian | -- | 11 | 57 |
| 17 |  United Kingdom
|
Black Lace | Mary Ann | English | 7 | 73 | |
| 18 |  Austria
|
Christina Simon | Heute in Jerusalem | German | Today in Jerusalem | 18 | 5 |
| 19 |  Spain
|
Betty Missiego | Su canción | Spanish | Your song | 2 | 116 |
Trivia[]
- Anne Marie David, Anita Skorgan, Peter, Sue & Marc, Sandra Reemer (performing as Xandra) and Tommy Seebach have all participated in another contest. The former four participated in other contests in the 1970s with David winning for Luxembourg in 1973.
- The stage in Jerusalem was one of many stages to come that will have a moving feature. 1980, 1984, and 1999 are most noticeable.
- Spain would have won by one point if the Spanish jury hadn't given any points to Israel. It was the first time in the contest that the country in the lead caused its own defeat.
- This was the last year the points were awarded in performance order during the voting results. Starting the following year, points would be allocated to countries in ascending numerical order.
- The contest took place five days after the historic Egyptian-Israeli peace signing.