NUL POINTS

 

 

 “Nul Points” is considered to be the most famous phenomenon of the Eurovision Song Contest. The term refers to an entry (or entries) that fails to earn a single point. It is often preceded by the words “the dreaded”, as it is the one score that every country is determined to avoid getting.

To date, there have been 41 victims of “nul points” as total score, with 4 entries failing to get a single point in the semi-finals and 37 in the grand final. 18 other entries got zero points on one half of the split vote system (12 in the grand final, 6 in the semi-finals).

Belgium was the first ever country to have received nul points. The most unfortunate victims are Norway and Austria, having each scored “Nul Points” 4 times (Switzerland too, if the semi-finals are counted).

As of 2016, it was deemed almost impossible to attain nul points total due to the new voting system. Despite this, the United Kingdom still managed to recceive nul points in 2021.

Grand Final

Year	Country	Artist	Song	Notes
1962	Belgium	Fud Leclerc	Ton nom	First victim due to being early in the running order, also the first time one of the founding seven countries receives nul points.
	Spain	Victor Balaguer	Llámame	First time a now Big Five country receives nul points.
	Austria	Eleonore Schwarz	Nur in der Wiener Luft
	The Netherlands	De Spelbrekers	Katinka
1963	The Netherlands	Annie Palmen	Een speeldoos	First time a country receives nul points in consecutive years, and the first time a country gets served twice.
	Norway	Anita Thallaug	Solhverv	First time Norway receives nul points.
	Finland	Laila Halme	Muistojeni laulu
	Sweden	Monica Zetterlund	En gång i Stockholm	First time that Sweden comes in last, one of only two times ever.
1964	Germany	Nora Nova	Man gewöhnt sich so schnell an das Schöne	One of the longest Eurovision song titles to exist.
	Portugal	António Calvário	Oração	First time a debut entry receives nul points.
	Yugoslavia	Sabahudin Kurt	Život je sklopio krug	Only last place of Yugoslavia.
	Switzerland	Anita Traversi	I miei pensieri
1965	Spain	Conchita Bautista	¡Qué bueno, qué bueno!	First time a previous performer receives nul points.
	Germany	Ulla Wiesner	Paradies, wo bist du?	The second time a country receives nul points twice.
	Belgium	Lize Marke	Als het weer lente is
	Finland	Viktor Klimenko	Aurinko laskee länteen
1966	Monaco	Téréza	Bien plus fort	Monaco’s only brush with nul points.
	Italy	Domenico Modugno	Dio, come ti amo	First time Italy comes in last and the second time a previous performer receives nul points.
1967	Switzerland	Géraldine Gaulier	Quel cœur vas-tu briser?
1970	Luxembourg	David Alexandre Winter	Je suis tombé du ciel	First and only time Luxembourg receives nul points. Last time the nul points happened on the older, pre-“Douze Points” voting system.
1978	Norway	Jahn Teigen	Mil Etter Mil	First time an entry receives nul points in the 12-point scoring system. Ironically, the song became a huge hit in Norway, dubbing Teigen the most famous “nul pointer” of all time.
1981	Norway	Finn Kalvik	Aldri i livet	3rd time Norway receives nul points, also the first time under the new voting system when a country receives nul points twice.
1982	Finland	Kojo	Nuku pommiin	Second year in a row and the third time in 4 years a Nordic country receives nul points.
1983	Spain	Remedios Amaya	¿Quién maneja mi barca?	First time in the new voting system where two countries receive nul points.
	Türkiye	Çetin Alp & The Short Waves	Opera	First time Turkey receives nul points.
1987	Türkiye	Seyyal Taner & Locomotif	Şarkım Sevgi Üstüne	Second time in 4 years that Turkey receives nul points.
1988	Austria	Wilfried Scheutz	Lisa, Mona Lisa
1989	Iceland	Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson	Það sem enginn sér	First time Iceland receives nul points.
1991	Austria	Thomas Forstner	Venedig im Regen	Austria receives nul points for the second time in 3 years and the third time overall. The artist finished in the top 5 only 2 years prior.
1994	Lithuania	Ovidijus Vyšniauskas	Lopšinė mylimai	Second time a debut country receives nul points.
1997	Norway	Tor Endresen	San Francisco	Last time a Nordic country receives nul points, with Norway receiving “Nul Points” for a record fourth time.
	Portugal	Célia Lawson	Antes do adeus	Second time since 1983 that two countries receive nul points.
1998	Switzerland	Gunvor Guggisberg	Lass’ ihn	Last known time Switzerland receives nul points in a contest final.
2003	United Kingdom	Jemini	Cry Baby	First time the UK comes in last and with nul points, as well as the first English-language song to receive nul points. It was such a huge disappointment that Jemini eventually split up afterwards.
2015	Austria	The Makemakes	I Am Yours	First time since 2003 that a country receives nul points in the final. Austria gets served for the fourth time, tying Norway’s record. Also, the host country receives nul points for the first time.
	Germany	Ann Sophie	Black Smoke	Germany is served for the first time since 1965. It is also the first time since 1997 that two countries share the nul points.
2021	United Kingdom	James Newman	Embers	First time an entry receives nul points under the split-vote scoring system. The UK is served for the second time, scoring nul points with both the juries and the televote.

Semi-Finals

Year	Country	Singer(s)	Song	Notes
2004	Switzerland	Piero and the MusicStars	Celebrate	First country to receive nul points in the semi-finals.
2009	Czechia	Gipsy.cz	Aven Romale	Second country to receive nul points in the semi-finals. The Czechs decide to take a leave of absence from the competition, returning in 2015.
2023	Romania	Theodor Andrei	D.G.T. (Off and On)	First instance of nul points in the semifinals since 2009. It is also the first time a Romanian entry fails to score.
	San Marino	Piqued Jacks	Like an Animal	San Marino’s first-ever brush with the nul points.

50:50 split

Grand Final

• Echo (You and I) (France 2012): 21 points from the jury (“Nul Points” in the televote)
• I Am Yours (Austria 2015): 40 points from the jury (“Nul Points” in the televote).
• I Stand (Czech Republic 2016): 41 points from the jury (“Nul Points” in the televote)
• Running on Air (Austria 2017): 93 points from the jury (“Nul Points” in the televote)
• Do It For Your Lover (Spain 2017): 5 points from the Portuguese televote (“Nul Points” with the jury)
• Sister (Germany 2019): 32 points from the jury (“Nul Points” in the televote)
• Home (Israel 2019): 35 points from the televote (“Nul Points” with the jury)
• I Don’t Feel Hate (Germany 2021): 3 points from the jury (“Nul Points” in the televote)
• Voy a quedarme (Spain 2021): 6 points from the jury (“Nul Points” in the televote)
• Birth of a New Age (Netherlands 2021): 11 points from the jury (“Nul Points” in the televote)
• Boys Do Cry (Switzerland 2022): 78 points from the jury (“Nul Points” in the televote)
• Rockstars (Germany 2022): 6 points from the televote (“Nul Points” with the jury)

Semi-Finals

• Breathlessly (Malta 2017): 55 points from the jury (“Nul Points” in the televote)
• Spirit of the Night (San Marino 2017): 1 point from the German televote (“Nul Points” from the jury)
• Our Choice (Iceland 2018): 15 points from the jury (“Nul Points” in the televote)
• Limits (Austria 2019): 21 points from the jury (“Nul Points” in the televote)
• Omaga (Czech Republic 2021): 23 points from the jury (“Nul Points” in the televote)
• Fade to Black (Azerbaijan 2022): 96 points from the jury (“Nul Points” in the televote)

Trivia

• Nul Points.net is a Eurovision news and archival site
• Nul Points was also the title of a 1993 documentary by the BBC about the contest.
• “Fade to Black” is the first song to get “nul points” on one side of the split vote in the semifinal and still manage to qualify for the final.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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