We are nearing the end of another eventful year in the world of Eurovision and it’s at this time that we at Eurovision Ireland traditionally take a moment to look back and pay tribute to all the past performers at Eurovision , who passed away during the year. Here’s who we lost in 2023.

Odd Børre ( Norway) – 28 January 2023

Odd Børre, represented Norway at the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest in London,UK with the song “Stress”. He had previously entered the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix in 1964 WITH “La meg være ung” and after his appearance at ESC, tried again in 1969 ,with “Lena”,1971 with “Ironside” and 1977 with “Make love ,Not war”.Unfortunately, he was not successful in winning the golden ticket to ESC on those occasions .His 1968 song “Stress” was originally the second choice of the two songs he had submitted , to be sent to ESC. It should have been “Jeg har aldri vært så glad i noen som deg” but this song was disqualified due to accusations that it was a copy of Cliff Richard’s “Summer Holiday”. Odd came 13th at Eurovision. He passed away on 28th January 2023 aged 83 years old.

Heddy Lester ( The Netherlands )– 29th January 2023

Heddy Lester was a Dutch singer and actress , who participated in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest in London,UK with the song “De Mallemolen ” ( The Merry -Go -Round).Although Heddy was considered a pre -contest favourite , unfortunately she finished in 12th place .Following her Eurovision appearance , Heddy Lester worked in a variety of musical and drama roles. She made a return to the Eurovision world in 2009, when along with other past performers from The Netherlands, she appeared as a special guest at the Dutch Eurovision selection television programme.

Heddy passed away from bladder cancer on 29th January 2023 , aged 72 years old.

Anita Thallaug ( Norway)– 20 March 2023

Anita Thallaug was a Norwegian actress and singer who represented Norway at the 1963 Eurovision Song contest with the song “Solhverv”,She finished 13th and last place and was the first of four Norwegian participants to score 0 points at Eurovision. Anita passed away on 20th March 2023 at the age of 85 years.

Dario Campeotto ( Denmark ) – 1st April 2023.

Although born to Italian parents, Dario was born in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen , Denmark in 1939.He won the Danish Melodi Grand Prix in 1961 with the song “Angelique”. He represented Denmark at the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest and finished in 5th place.Dario passed away on 1st April 2023 at the age of 84 years.

Line Van Meelen ( Monaco) 30th April 2023

Line was one part of the duo Line and Willy ( real name Claude Boillod), who represented Monaco at the 1968 Eurovision Song contest in London , with the song “à chacun sa chanson”. They finished 7th . Willy died in 2018 and sadly Line passed away this year on 30th April,aged 85 years.

Roy Taylor ( Ireland )-1st June 2023

Roy represented Ireland at the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin,as part of the group Jump the Gun, with the song “Take him home ” finishing in 8th place with 79 points. He passed away on 1st June 2023 at just 66 years of age, having been battling what his family described as a rare form of Motor Neurones disease.

Racheli Chaim ( Israel ) 18th June 2023

Racheli took part in the 1993 contest in Millstreet, Ireland as part of the group Shiru ,who represented Israel with the song also called “Shiru”.Sadly they achieved one of Israel’s worst results to date, finishing in 24th place with just 4 points. Racheli passed away on 18th June 2023, aged just 66 years old.

Özkan Uğur ( Turkey) -8th July 2023

Özkan Uğur represented his country twice in the Eurovision Song Contest , in 1985 and 1988 as part of the band MFO They finished 14th in 1985 with “Didai, Didai dai” and in 1988 , 15th place with “Sufi”. He passed away on 8th July, aged 69 years , in Istanbul, Turkey.

Patricia Bredin ( UK ) – 13 August 2023

Patricia was an English actress, best known in the Eurovision world for being the first ever representative of the UK at the 1957 Eurovision Song contest in Frankfurt . She finished in 7th place out of 10 entries that year with the song “All”. “All” originally held the record for being the shortest performance at Eurovision at a timing of 1 minute 52 seconds. It took until 2015 for this to be beaten by Finland’s Pertti Kurikan Nimpaivat when they performed “Aina mum Pitaa” in Vienna , Austria at a timing of 1 min 27 seconds. Patricia passed away on 13th August 2023 at the age of 88.

Toto Cutugno ( Italy)– 22 August 2023

Perhaps one of the best loved and remembered participants of more recent times, Toto Cutugno was an Italian pop singer -songwriter and musician. He became best known for his world -wide hit, “L’Italiano”, released in 1983. He represented Italy at the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest in Zagreb, Yugoslavia ( now Croatia ) with the song “Insieme1992” for which he wrote both the lyrics and music . He won the contest and the following year , in Rome , along with another former Italian participant, Gigliola Cinquetti , he presented the 1991 contest . Toto Cutugno passed away in Italy on 22nd August 2023.

Luc Smets ( Belgium) -20th August 2023

Luc Smets was part of the group Dream Express , who represented Belgium at the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest in London, with the song “A million in 1, 23”. They reached 7th place. Luc sadly passed away on 20th August aged 76 years old.

Peter Horton( Austria) – 20 September 2023

Peter Horton ( born Peter Muller) was an Austrian guitarist, singer ,composer and writer , who represented Austria at the 1967 contest in Vienna, Austria with the song “Warum es hunderttausend sterne gibt?”. He was born in Czechia in 1941 and first became involved in music with the Vienna Boys choir.At Eurovision he finished 14th and he also tried to represent Germany by competing in the German National selection in 1972 and 1975. Peter passed away on 20th September 2023.

Lars Berghagen ( Sweden)– 19 October 2023

Performing at Eurovision for your country is an honour but when you’re representing the host country , just the year after one of the most famous wins in Swedish Eurovision history, the pressure must be greater to go out and get a good result ! This task went to Lars Berghagen at the 1975 Eurovision Sing Contest in Stockholm, Sweden. With his song “Jennie, Jennie,”he finished in 8th place. Following Eurovision, Lars did TV and theatre work , most notably presenting the SVT show ” Allsång på Skansen” between 1994 and 2003. Lars passed away on 19th October 2023 , aged 78.

Sara Tavares (Portugal)-19^th November 2023

Perhaps one of the most unexpected losses of 2023 , was that of Sara Tavares, who represented Portugal in Dublin in 1994, with the song “Chamar a Musica “. She came a respectable 8th place. In 1996, she released her debut album, “Sara Tavares & Shout !”She released six studio albums over the following two decades, and she was also known for singing the European-Portugese version of “God help the Outcasts” for Disney’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” . Sara was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2009 and passed away in Lisbon on 19th November 2023.

We at Eurovision Ireland would like to send our condolences to the families and friends of those we lost in 2023 and to thank those who have left us for the entertainment that they have provided us at Eurovision over the years. RIP to them all.

Author: Sarah Rudman

Source & Visual Sources : Eurovision Ireland, You Tube ,Wikipedia