Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980


Luxembourg was represented by French twins Sophie & Magaly, with the song '"Papa Pingouin", at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 19 April in The Hague. The song was chosen internally by broadcaster RTL, and was written by Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger, who also composed the 1980 German entry "Theater".
Despite the fact that the song is often considered a byword for Eurovision silliness, "Papa Pingouin" sold over a million copies in France and associated markets, and a cover version by Pigloo spent three weeks at the top of the French singles chart in 2006.

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Sophie & Magaly performed fourth in the running order, following Greece and preceding Morocco. The stage presentation featuring a large man dressed as, and waddling about the stage in the manner of, a penguin was widely ridiculed for its childishness, but remains very well-remembered and frequently features in montages of Eurovision's more absurd moments. At the close of voting "Papa Pingouin" had received 56 points, placing Luxembourg 9th of the 19 entries. The Luxembourgian jury awarded its 12 points to the Netherlands.