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Birthe Wilke
Birthe Wilke sang at two Eurovision Song Contests, in 1957 and 1959, for Denmark. The best result was 3rd place in 1957, with “Skibet skal sejle i nat”.
- who
- Danish singer
- born
- 19 March 1936, Copenhagen, Denmark
- contests
- 1957, 1959
- best result
- 3rd, 1957
- active
- 1952 to 1966
- sang for
- Denmark
Biography
Birthe Wilke is a Danish singer who grew up in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen. With Gustav Winckler, Wilke sang the first song Denmark sent to the contest, “Skibet skal sejle i nat”, third in Frankfurt in 1957; alone, “Uh, jeg ville ønske, jeg var dig” finished fifth in Cannes in 1959.
Written by ESC Predictions, 8 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, “Birthe Wilke”.
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Look up
The act’s own accounts, as listed on Wikidata. If one is wrong or out of date, tell us and we’ll take it down.
At Eurovision
Two songs, oldest first, and what became of each.
-
1957 Frankfurt
“Skibet skal sejle i nat”
3rd of 10 Finished 3rd of 10, with 10 points.
- Billed as
- Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler
- With
- Gustav Winckler
- Sung in
- Danish
- Written by
- Erik Fiehn, Poul Sørensen
- Conductor
- Kai Mortensen
- Running order
- 9th of 10
- Age on the night
- 20
- Won that year
- Netherlands: Corry Brokken, “Net als toen”
The story of Eurovision 1957: The scoreboard arrives — and so does a five-minute song
-
1959 Cannes
“Uh, jeg ville ønske, jeg var dig”
5th of 11 Finished 5th of 11, with 12 points.
- Sung in
- Danish
- Written by
- Carl Andersen, Otto Lington
- Conductor
- Kai Mortensen
- Running order
- 2nd of 11
- Age on the night
- 22
- Won that year
- Netherlands: Teddy Scholten, “Een beetje”
The story of Eurovision 1959: Cannes, a revolving stage and the first country to win twice
In our contest stories
What we wrote about Birthe Wilke, year by year. Follow a link for the rest of that night.
- 1957 Firsts
Denmark sent Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler, the first duo to compete, who finished their song with a passionate kiss on camera. They came third.
- 1959 Who came, and who didn't
Two of the singers had been here before. Denmark's Birthe Wilke, third in 1957 as half of a duo, returned alone. And Domenico Modugno was back for Italy, a year after "Volare".
Results as published by the European Broadcasting Union. Biographical details from Wikidata. The photo is from Wikimedia Commons and is credited beside it. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it.