French Polynesia's connections to the Eurovision Song Contest

June 29 marks Fête de l’Autonomie (also known as Heiva o te), a public holiday in French Polynesia commemorating the 1880 annexation of the Kingdom of Tahiti and the transfer of native sovereignty by King Pōmare V to France.

In celebration of their public holiday we take a look at the connections between the Eurovision Song Contest and the semi-autonomous French territory, French Polynesia. 

Jean Gabilou - Humanahum (Eurovision 1981 - France)

Jean Gabilou got the opportunity to represent France at Eurovision after winning the French national final with the song Humanahum.  

Gabilou is from Papeete, Tahiti, the capital city of French Polynesia. He grew up there up until 13 years old when his family moved to Faa’a. 

Throughout his music career he was a part of various boy bands and in 1979 Gabilou moved to the United States. 

In 1981 he competed in the French national final, Concours de la Chanson française pour l'Eurovision 1981, which he won.

At Eurovision finished third with 125 points, seven points behind Germany's Lena Valaitis and eleven points behind the United Kingdom's Bucks Fizz, who won the contest. 

Séverine Ferrer - La Coco-Dance (Eurovision 2006 - Monaco)

The next time someone from Tahiti took part at Eurovision was in 2006 when Vanessa Roche, a well-known Tahitian dancer performed on stage as a backing dancer for the Polynesian inspired La Coco-Dance by Séverine Ferrer.  

Ferrer herself was born in Reunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean. 

Her inspiration for the Eurovision song was French Polynesia, with lyrics featuring the Tahitian language.

In the Eurovision 2006 semi-final in Athens La Coco-Dance finished in 21st place with 14 points. Unfortunately the Tahitian inspired entry missed out on the Grand Final. The entry became the last time Monaco ever competed at Eurovision. 

Vanessa Roche is known to now run a dance school in Fa’aa, directly opposite Tahiti’s international airport.

Ugo - Ce qui me blesse (Destination Eurovision 2019 - France)

In 2019 Ugo Benterfa aka Ugo participated in the French Eurovision national final Destination Eurovision 2019 with the song Ce qui me blesse (What Hurts Me).

At 14 years old, Ugo moved to Tahiti where he engaged in the local music scene, which inspired a lot of his music upon his return to France.  

At Destination Eurovision 2019 Ugo just missed out on the final by 1 point where he finished in 5th place. Bilal Hassani went on to win the national final with the song Roi. 

AMUI - Maeva (Eurovision France, c'est vous qui décidez! 2021 - France)

In 2021 Tahitian pop group AMUI (which consists of Ken Carlter, Eva Ariitai and Vaheana Fernandez) competed in the French Eurovision national selection show Eurovision France, c’est vous qui décidez!. The group made it to the finals and finished sixth overall with an impressive third place with the televoters!

AMUI’s entry Maeva translates to "Welcome" in Tahitian native language. In an interview with Aussievision back in 2021 the group shared that the song “is a positive pop song about sharing and having fun together on their islands.” 

The music video for the song was filmed in Tahiti, at Intercontinental Hotel Tahiti Resort & Spa.

You can check out our interview with the group here. 

French Polynesia’s presence in the Eurovision Song Contest and its national finals has been both meaningful and culturally rich—ranging from high-ranking performances to entries that proudly showcased Tahitian language, dance, and identity on an international stage. Through artists like Jean Gabilou and groups like AMUI, the spirit of the islands continues to resonate both at the Contest and within national selection shows.

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