| Year: | 1980 |
| Country: | Germany |
| Preselection: | Ein Lied für Den Haag |
| Preselection Date: | 20 March 1980 |
| Entrant: | Katja Ebstein |
| Song: | Theater |
| Final Result: | 2nd, 128 points |
Germany was represented by Katja Ebstein, with the song "Theater", at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 19 April in The Hague. "Theater" was the winner of the German national final, held on 20 March. This was Ebstein's third Eurovision appearance; she had previously represented Germany in 1970 and 1971, finishing third on both occasions.
The final was held at the Bayerischer Rundfunk TV studios in Munich, hosted by Carolin Reiber and Thomas Gottschalk. 12 songs took part and the winner was chosen by a panel of approximately 1,000 people who had been selected as providing a representative cross-section of the German public.[1]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriters | Votes | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mel Jersey | "Du bist nicht mehr frei" | Walter Gerke, Mick Hannes | 3310 | 6 | |
| 2 | Costa Cordalis | "Pan" | Ralph Siegel, Kurt Hertha | 4634 | 2 | |
| 3 | Marianne Rosenberg | "Ich werd' da sein, wenn es Sturm gibt" | Joachim Heider, Horst-Herbert Krause | 2169 | 12 | |
| 4 | Roland Kaiser | "Hier kriegt jeder sein Fett" | Jürgen Triebel, Horst-Herbert Krause | 2823 | 8 | |
| 5 | Stefan Waggershausen & Co. | "Verzeih'n Sie, Madame" | Stefan Waggershausen | 3625 | 4 | |
| 6 | Katja Ebstein | "Theater" | Ralph Siegel, Bernd Meinunger | 4828 | 1 | |
| 7 | Adam & Eve | "Hallo Adam, Hallo Eva" | Alexander Gordan, Norbert Hammerschmidt | 2847 | 7 | |
| 8 | Montezuma | "Montezuma Castle" | Rudi Bauer, Gerd Thumser | 3586 | 5 | |
| 9 | Tony & David | "Minnesänger - Mädchenfänger" | Alexander Gordan, Norbert Hammerschmidt | 2784 | 9 | |
| 10 | Stefan Hallberg | "Gib uns Zeit" | Jean Frankfurter, Robert Puschmann | 2266 | 11 | |
| 11 | Susanne Klee | "Wenn du nicht weißt, wohin" | Jean Frankfurter, John Möhring | 3968 | 3 | |
| 12 | Viel-Harmoniker | "In der Oper" | Gert Wilden, Wolfgang Hofer | 2462 | 10 |
On the night of the final Ebstein performed 12th in the running order, following Norway and preceding the United Kingdom. The performance was memorable, featuring four mime artists, and at the close of voting "Theater" had received 128 points, placing Germany second of the 19 entries.[2] Only Greece and Norway failed to award the song any points at all.
The 1980 result gave Ebstein the distinction of being the only Eurovision performer to date to have finished in the top 3 on three occasions.
The German jury was composed of ten members and a jury president with no voting rights.[3] Each jury member gave each song between one and five points. The total of these points was then converted to the known Eurovision voting format (12 points, 10 points…). In case of a draw the placement was decided by a show of hands. The German jury awarded its 12 points to contest winners Ireland.[4]
The show was watched by 17.35 million viewers in Germany, the highest TV rating ever measured in Germany for a Eurovision Song Contest final.[5]