As we all know , Austria won the 2025 edition of the Eurovision Song contest in Basel, with JJ and “Wasted Love”. and we will be travelling to Austria’s capital city, Vienna , 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 13 of our series, we will look at the years 1999,2000,2002.

1999-Bobbie Singer “Reflection”

Austria sat out the 1998 Contest in Birmingham ,UK due to the rules of that time being that those countries which hadn’t scored sufficiently high placings in the previous five contests had to sit out the next years contest. They returned in 1999, when the contest was held in Jerusalem.Bobbie Singer was internally selected by the Austrian broadcaster ORF to represent the nation .She sang the song “Reflection ” and came 10th with 65 points.

2000 The Rounder Girls “All to You “

Austria took part in the 2000 contest in Stockholm , Sweden . The Rounder Girls , consisting of three singers, Tini Kainrath, Lynne Keiran and Kim Cooper were internally selected by the Austrian broadcaster ORF to represent the nation. They closed the show with their song “All to You “. They came 14th with 34 points.

2002 -Manuel Ortega “Say a Word”

Austria missed the 2001 contest in Copenhagen due to the same placings over five years rule that existed for the 1998 contest . They returned in 2002 at the contest in Tallin , Estonia , with Manuel Ortega, son of a Spanish father and Austrian mother . He performed in the notorious second spot with the song “Say a Word”. He came 18th with 26 points .

And that concludes our look back at 1999,2000,2002

In part 14 of our series on past Austrian participants, we will focus on the years 2003,2004,2005

You can see Part 1, covering the years 1957,1958 and 1959 HERE , Part 2 covering the years 1960.1961 and 1962 HERE ,Part 3 covering the years 1963, 1964,1965HERE .Part 4 , covering the years 1966, 1967 and 1968 HERE .Part 5 covering 1971,1972 and 1976,HERE . Part 6 covering the years 1977,1978 and 1979 HERE .Part 7 covering 1980, 1981 and 1982 HERE Part 8 covering 1983, 1984 and 1985 HERE Part 9 covering 1986 , 1987 and 1988 HERE Part 10 1989.1990.1991 HERE Part 11 1992.1993,1994 HERE Part 12 1995.1996, 1997 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 & Visual Sources : ORF, You Tube