Eighteen countries participated in the contest, equalling the record of the 1965 and 1966 editions. Austria returned after their two-year absence, while Finland, Norway, Portugal and Sweden all returned after having boycotted the competition the previous year. On the other hand, Malta competed for the first time.
The winner was Monaco with the song "Un banc, un arbre, une rue", performed by Séverine, written by Yves Dessca, and composed by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre. This was Monaco's first and only victory in the contest. This was also the only time in the contest's history, where the second and third-placed entrants were also awarded.
Location
Gaiety Theatre, Dublin – host venue of the 1971 contest.
The contest was held at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, the capital and most populous city of Ireland.[1][2] This was the first time that the contest was held in Ireland. The Gaiety Theatre was selected as the venue for the 1971 contest as it was celebrating 100 years since its establishment in 1871.
Malta made their début in this year's contest, while Austria, Finland, Norway, Portugal and Sweden all returned after a brief absence. This brought the total number of countries to eighteen.
For the first time, each participating broadcaster was required to televise all the songs in "previews" prior to the live final. Belgium's preview video featured Nicole and Hugo performing the song "Goeie morgen, morgen", but Nicole was struck with a sudden illness days before the contest final, with Jacques Raymond and Lily Castel stepping in at short notice to perform the entry in their place. Reports suggested that Castel had not even had enough time to buy a suitable dress for the show.
The BBC were worried about the possible audience reaction to the UK song due to the hostilities raging in Northern Ireland. They specifically selected a singer from Northern Ireland, Clodagh Rodgers, who was popular in both the UK and the Republic of Ireland, to ease any ill-feeling from the Dublin audience. However, Rodgers still received death threats from the IRA for representing the UK.[6]
Groups of up to six people were allowed to perform for the first time, with the rule in previous contests of performing either solo or as a duet abolished.[7]
This was RTÉ's only second outside broadcast in colour. The contest was broadcast in Iceland, the United States and Hong Kong several days later.[8]
In between each song, a film depicting the tourist highlights of each nation was shown, using stock footage provided by the participant tourism bureaus, accompanied by a piece of organ music chosen to complement the country.
This is the only time in the contest's history where the second and third placing entrants were also awarded.
A new voting system was introduced in this year's contest: each country sent two jury members, one aged over 25 and the other under 25 (with at least ten years' difference between their ages), with both awarding each country (except their own) a score of between one and five points.
While this meant that no country could score fewer than 34 points (and in the event all eighteen scored at least 52), it had one major problem: some jury members tended to award only one or two points. Whether this was done to increase their respective countries' chances of winning is not known for sure, but this shortcoming was nonetheless plain.[7] However, the system remained in place for the 1972 and 1973 contests.
Each participating broadcaster was required to relay the contest via its networks. Non-participating EBU member broadcasters were also able to relay the contest as "passive participants". Broadcasters were able to send commentators to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language and to relay information about the artists and songs to their television viewers.[12] In addition to the participating countries, the contest was also reportedly broadcast in Greece, Iceland, Morocco and Tunisia, in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania via Intervision, and in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Ethiopia, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Kenya, Mauritania, Mauritius, Sierra Leone, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda and the United States.[13][14] Germany, Ireland, Portugal and Turkey have been reported to broadcast on radio.[15] At least 500 million viewers were reported to see the contest.[16]
Known details on the broadcasts in each country, including the specific broadcasting stations and commentators are shown in the tables below.
Broadcasters and commentators in participating countries
^ abRoxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 51–64. ISBN978-1-84583-093-9.
^"Radio | sabato 3 aprile" [Radio | Saturday 3 April]. Radiocorriere TV (in Italian). Vol. 48, no. 13. Turin, Italy. 28 March – 3 April 1971. pp. 82–83. Retrieved 4 June 2024 – via Rai Teche.
^Barry, Fred (7 April 1971). "Eurovision Song Contest Analysis – It was all in the game". Times of Malta. Birkirkara, Malta. p. 11.
^ ab"TV – szerda IV.21" [TV - Wednesday April 21]. Rádió- és Televízió-újság (in Hungarian). 19 April 1971. p. 7. Archived from the original on 21 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via MTVA Archívum.
^ ab"TV – Duminica" [TV – Sunday]. Drumul socialismului (in Romanian). Deva, Romania. 4 April 1971. p. 3. Retrieved 31 August 2024 – via Biblioteca Județeană "Ovid Densusianu" Hunedoara-Deva.
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