Eurovision Song Contest 1985

Eurovision Song Contest 1985
Dates
Final4 May 1985 (1985-05-04)
Host
VenueScandinavium
Gothenburg, Sweden
Presenter(s)Lill Lindfors
Executive producerSteen Priwin
DirectorSteen Priwin
Musical directorCurt-Eric Holmquist
EBU scrutineerFrank Naef
Host broadcasterSveriges Television (SVT)
Websiteeurovision.tv/event/gothenburg-1985
Participants
Number of entries19
Debuting countriesNone
Returning countries
Non-returning countries
Participation map
  •      Competing countries     Countries that participated in the past but not in 1985
Vote
Voting systemEach country awarded 12, 10, 8-1 point(s) to their 10 favourite songs
Winning song Norway
"La det swinge"

The Eurovision Song Contest 1985 was the 30th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 4 May 1985 in the Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT), it was presented by Lill Lindfors. The contest was held in Sweden following the country's victory at the 1984 contest with the song "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" by Herreys. Nineteen countries participated in the contest; Greece and Israel returned after a one-year absence, while the Netherlands and Yugoslavia, which had participated in the previous year's event, declined to enter due to separate memorial events in those countries coinciding with the date of the contest.

The winner was Norway with the song "La det swinge", composed and written by Rolf Løvland and performed by the group Bobbysocks. This was Norway's first contest victory, and only the third top five placing for a country which had placed last on six previous occasions, including three times receiving nul points. With a total of 123 points, "La det swinge" remains the lowest scoring winner under the voting system used between 1975 and 2015. Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Israel rounded out the top five positions.