Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996


Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 with the song "Weil's dr guat got," performed by George Nussbaumer and co-written by Nussbaumer and Mischa Krausz. It made it past the audio-only preselection and competed in the live final, which was held in Oslo, Norway on 18 May 1996.

Before Eurovision

Austria held an internal selection to choose their candidate for the 1996 contest. Mischa Krausz was approached to write the Austrian entry for the second year in a row, after having written "Die Welt dreht sich verkehrt" for Stella Jones the year before. Krausz had become friends with blind blues musician George Nussbaumer a few years prior, having collaborated with him on an album in 1994. He knew he would be a good choice for the song, as the head of the Austrian broadcaster suggested they submit a gospel number as their entry and Nussbaumer's voice suited the genre perfectly. His song, "Weil's dr guat got," was written in the Vorarlbergisch dialect of German, spoken in the higher regions of Austria. It was the second Austrian entry to be written in dialect, with two more to follow.

At Eurovision

Austria, like all interested countries save for host country Norway, had to compete in an audio-only preselection round to determine whether or not they would perform in Oslo. They ultimately finished in 8th place, clearing them to participate in the live final along with the other 21 qualifiers. They were drawn to perform sixth in the 1996 final, following Croatia and preceding Switzerland. For the live performance, Nussbaumer was joined at the piano by five backing singers, including the previous year's representative Stella Jones and the following year's representative Bettina Sorrat. Songwriter Mischa Krausz conducted the minimal orchestral arrangement, which mostly featured the rhythm section and the clapping of the rest of orchestra. At the end of the night, Austria finished joint-tenth with Malta, scoring 68 points from the international juries. Austria awarded their twelve points to the Netherlands. This was their best finish since 1992 and would remain their best until 1999.
12 points10 points8 points7 points6 points

  • 5 points4 points3 points2 points1 point
  • 12 points10 points8 points7 points6 points

  • 5 points4 points3 points2 points1 point

  • Points awarded by Austria (Pre-qualifying round)

    Points awarded by Austria (Final)