Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974
| Eurovision Song Contest 1974 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Netherlands |
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| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Nationaal Songfestival 1974 | |||
| Selection date(s) | 27 February 1974 | |||
| Selected entrant | Mouth & MacNeal | |||
| Selected song | "I See a Star" | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 3rd, 15 points | |||
| Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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The Netherlands was represented by duo Mouth & MacNeal (Willem Duyn and Maggie MacNeal), with the song '"I See a Star", at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Brighton, England on 6 April. Mouth & MacNeal were internally selected by broadcaster NOS to be the Dutch representatives .
Final
The national final was held on 27 February at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, hosted by Willem Duys. Only three songs were performed and voted on by a jury. "Ik zie een ster" emerged the runaway winner.[1]
| Draw | Song | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Liefste" | 19 | 2 |
| 2 | "Zoals de oudjes zongen" | 12 | 3 |
| 3 | "Ik zie een ster" | 79 | 1 |
At Eurovision
The free-language rule applied in 1974, so prior to the contest the song was translated into English as "I See a Star" and performed in English at the final. On the night of the final Mouth & MacNeal performed 12th in the running order, following Belgium and preceding Ireland. In 1974 the voting system reverted to the ten jury members in each country with one vote each model, and at the close of voting "I See a Star" had received 15 points from ten countries, placing the Netherlands 3rd of the 17 entries. The Dutch jury awarded its highest score (4) to Greece.[2] Mouth & MacNeal's upbeat and engaging performance at Eurovision proved memorable, and following the contest "I See a Star" went on to become a major hit across Europe. It reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart, making it one of only four non-UK / non-winning Eurovision entries to have reached the British top 10 performed by its original artists (the others being "Volare" by Domenico Modugno, third in 1958, and Gigliola Cinquetti's runner-up "Sì", also from 1974 and 2014's Calm After the Storm, by The Common Linnets, also Dutch).
