🔴 1971 Eurovision Song Contest Full Show From Dublin (No Language Commentary)

Date: 3 April 1971 - Host Venue: Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, Ireland
Presenter: Bernadette Ní Ghallchóir - Musical director: Colman Pearce
Directed by Tom McGrath - Executive supervisor: Clifford Brown
Host broadcaster: Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ)
Interval act: Bunratty Castle Entertainers

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.

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.

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.

Results:

Draw Country Artist Song Language Place Points
01 Austria Marianne Mendt "Musik" Viennese 16 66
02 Malta Joe Grech "Marija l-Maltija" Maltese 18 52
03 Monaco Séverine "Un banc, un arbre, une rue" French 1 128
04 Switzerland Peter, Sue and Marc "Les illusions de nos vingt ans" French 12 78
05 Germany Katja Ebstein "Diese Welt" German 3 100
06 Spain Karina "En un mundo nuevo" Spanish 2 116
07 France Serge Lama "Un jardin sur la terre" French 10 82
08 Luxembourg Monique Melsen "Pomme, pomme, pomme" French 13 70
09 United Kingdom Clodagh Rodgers "Jack in the Box" English 4 98
10 Belgium Lily Castel & Jacques Raymond "Goeiemorgen, morgen" Dutch 14 68
11 Italy Massimo Ranieri "L'amore è un attimo" Italian 5 91
12 Sweden Family Four "Vita vidder" Swedish 6 85
13 Ireland Angela Farrell "One Day Love" English 11 79
14 Netherlands Saskia & Serge "Tijd" Dutch 6 85
15 Portugal Tonicha "Menina do alto da serra" Portuguese 9 83
16 Yugoslavia Krunoslav Slabinac "Tvoj dječak je tužan" (Твој дјечак је тужан) Serbo-Croatian 14 68
17 Finland Markku Aro & Koivistolaiset "Tie uuteen päivään" Finnish 8 84
18 Norway Hanne Krogh "Lykken er" Norwegian 17 65