As we all know , Austria won the 2025 edition of the Eurovision Song contest in Basel, with JJ and “Wasted Love”. Which means that next year, we will be travelling to somewhere in Austria for the 2026 edition of our beloved contest. JJ’s victory in Basel was the third victory for Austria at the contest , with previous wins being in 1966, with Udo Jurgens and “Mercie Cherie “and again in 2014 when Conchita Wurst took victory for the nation with “Rise like a Phoenix ” in Copenhagen, Denmark.

With this in mind, we at Eurovision Ireland, decided it would be interesting to create a series , looking back over the years at previous Austrian acts and how they fared in the contest , in the years that Austria have taken part . Today, in Part 2 of our series, we will look at the years 1960,1961 and 1962.

1960-Harry Winter ” Du hast mich so fasziniert “

Harry Winter was actually born in Poland , but moved to Berlin in 1921. He studied violin and clarinet at the Academy of Music and played in Jazz and Swing orchestras. After the Second World war, he moved to Vienna and founded his own dance orchestra and became a regular guest on Austrian radio shows.In 1960 , he represented Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest in London. He came 7th out of 13 , with his song “Du hast mich so fasziniert”.

Harry continued to perform in concerts and TV shows until mid -age. He passed away , aged 87 in Vienna in 2001.

1961 -Jimmy Makulis “Sehnsucht”

Jimmy Makulis was Greek by origin and was successful as a singer in his native Greece before moving to Germany in the mid 1950’s.He was chosen by Austrian broadcaster ORF to represent Austria at the 1961 Eurovision song contest in Cannes, France. Sadly he came joint last, alongside Belgium, with just one point !Makúlis died in Athens , following heart surgery, aged 72 in October 2007.

1962-Eleonore Schwarz “Nur in der Wiener Luft “.

Eleonore Schwartz was an opera singer at the Vienna .She represented Austria at the 1962 Eurovision Song contest in Luxembourg. Sadly, she came last ,along with three other countries, with the dreaded 0 points !

In part three of our series on past Austrian participants, we will focus on the years 1963, 1964 and 1965.You can see Part One, covering the years 1957,1958 and 1959 HERE . In the meantime , let us know what you think about Austria at Eurovision by either leaving us a comment in the comments box , or you can find us on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky and X .

Author: Sarah Rudman

Source: Eurovision Ireland, ORF , Wikipedia

Visual Source : YouTube.