three contests
Katja Ebstein
Katja Ebstein sang at three Eurovision Song Contests, in 1970, 1971 and 1980, for Germany. The best result was 2nd place in 1980, with “Theater”.
- who
- German singer
- born
- 9 March 1945, Gilów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship
- contests
- 1970, 1971, 1980
- best result
- 2nd, 1980
- music
- schlager
- active
- since 1969
- sang for
- Germany
Biography
Katja Ebstein is a German singer, born in Girlachsdorf, known for songs such as “Theater” and “Es war einmal ein Jäger”. Ebstein sang for Germany three times and never finished lower than third: “Wunder gibt es immer wieder” was third in Amsterdam in 1970, “Diese Welt” third in Dublin in 1971, and “Theater” second in The Hague in 1980.
Written by ESC Predictions, 8 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, “Katja Ebstein”.
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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 If one is wrong or out of date, tell us and we’ll take it down.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
Three songs, oldest first, and what became of each.
-
1970 Amsterdam
“Wunder gibt es immer wieder”
3rd of 12 Finished 3rd of 12, with 12 points.
- Sung in
- German
- Written by
- Christian Bruhn, Günter Loose
- Conductor
- Christian Bruhn
- Running order
- 11th of 12
- Age on the night
- 25
- Won that year
- Ireland: Dana, “All Kinds of Everything”
The story of Eurovision 1970: A boycott, a coin-toss host and the first postcards
-
1971 Dublin
“Diese Welt”
3rd of 18 Finished 3rd of 18, with 100 points.
- Sung in
- German
- Written by
- Fred Jay, Dieter Zimmermann
- Conductor
- Dieter Zimmermann
- Running order
- 5th of 18
- Age on the night
- 26
- Won that year
- Monaco: Séverine, “Un banc, un arbre, une rue”
The story of Eurovision 1971: Pickets outside, jurors on the stage
-
1980 The Hague
“Theater”
2nd of 19 Finished 2nd of 19, with 128 points.
- Sung in
- German
- Written by
- Bernd Meinunger, Ralph Siegel
- Conductor
- Wolfgang Rödelberger
- Running order
- 12th of 19
- Age on the night
- 35
- Won that year
- Ireland: Johnny Logan, “What's Another Year”
The story of Eurovision 1980: The winner that could not come, and Morocco's only song
Away from Eurovision
Other contests and shows
- 2017 German presidential election
Awards
- Goldene Europa 1969, 1981
- Bravo Otto 1972
- Goldene Stimmgabel 1983
- Lale Andersen Award 2000
- Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 2008
- Fred Jay Award 2009
- Order of Merit of Brandenburg 2015
As recorded on Wikidata, which is rarely the whole list.
In our contest stories
What we wrote about Katja Ebstein, year by year. Follow a link for the rest of that night.
- 1971 Everyone comes back
Germany's Katja Ebstein was back from the year before. Belgium's Jacques Raymond had last sung in 1963, and this time he was a late call-up: he and Lily Castel replaced the duo Nicole and Hugo after Nicole came down with jaundice.
- 1971 Monaco
Germany and Katja Ebstein were third for the second year running, the United Kingdom fourth and Italy fifth. Malta's debut ended in last place.
- 1980 Johnny Logan
Ireland won with "What's Another Year", written by Shay Healy and sung by Johnny Logan — born in Australia, and singing for his parents' country. He finished on 143 points, fifteen clear of Germany's Katja Ebstein, who had been third twice a decade earlier. The United Kingdom was third.
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.