Eurovision Song Contest 1971

The Eurovision Song Contest 1971 was the 16th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Dublin, Ireland, following Dana's win at the 1970 contest in Amsterdam, Netherlands with the song "All Kinds of Everything". It was the first time Ireland hosted the event. The contest was held at the Gaiety Theatre on Saturday 3 April 1971, and was hosted by Bernadette Ní Ghallchóir.
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 their one-year absence. Malta made their début in this edition.
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. The song was performed by a French singer, living in France, sung in French, conducted by a French native and written by a French team. Séverine later claimed she never visited Monaco before or after her victory – a claim easily disproved by the preview video submitted by Télé-Monte-Carlo featuring the singer on location in the Principality.
Location.
The contest was held at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, the capital and most populous city of Ireland. 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.
Format.
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 & Hugo performing the song "Goeiemorgen, morgen", but Nicole was struck with a sudden illness days before the contest final, with Jacques Raymond & 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.
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.
This was only RTÉ's second outside broadcast in colour. The contest was broadcast in Iceland, the United States and Hong Kong several days later.
Voting system.
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. However, the system remained in place for the 1972 and 1973 contests.
Participating countries.
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.
Conductors.
Each performance had a conductor who directed the orchestra.
Scoreboard.
10 points.
Below is a summary of all perfect 10 scores that were given during the voting.
Broadcasters, commentators and jury members.
Jury members.
Listed below is the order in which votes were cast during the 1971 contest along with the names of the two jury members who voted for their respective country. Each country announced their results in groups of three.
Broadcasters and commentators.
Each national broadcaster also sent a commentator to the contest, in order to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language.