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The Eurovision Song Contest 1981 was the 26th edition of the annual
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
. It took place in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, following the country's victory at the with the song "
What's Another Year "What's Another Year" was Irish singer and composer Johnny Logan's first Eurovision Song Contest winning song, achieving success in the 1980 edition of the contest, as well as 's second Eurovision victory. Composed by Shay Healy (who also wrot ...
" by Johnny Logan. Organised by the
European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...
(EBU) and host broadcaster (RTÉ), the contest was held at the
RDS Simmonscourt The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) ( ga, Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economi ...
on 4 April 1981, and was hosted by Irish television journalist Doireann Ní Bhriain. Twenty countries participated in the contest, equalling the record of the
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
edition.
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
made their début this year, while
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
both returned to the competition, after their one-year and five-year absences, respectively.
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
and
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
decided not to participate. Morocco has never since returned to participate in the Eurovision Song contest again, marking 1980 their only ever year of participation. The winner was the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
with the song "
Making Your Mind Up "Making Your Mind Up" is a song by the British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was the winner of the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, representing the , and was composed by Andy Hill and John Danter. Released in March 1981, it was Bucks Fizz's debut si ...
", performed by
Bucks Fizz Bucks Fizz were a British pop group that achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comp ...
, written by Andy Hill and John Danter.
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
finished second for the second consecutive year, while
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
finished third.
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
again finished last, with its third nul points in the contest. Bucks Fizz's win launched the group's hugely successful international career. Their performance on the Eurovision stage included a dance-routine where the two male members ripped the skirts off the two female members only to reveal mini-skirts, and today stands as one of the most defining moments in the contest's history.


Location

Having won in 1980, head of Irish broadcaster
RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...
, Brian MacLochlainn announced that they would host the contest in 1981 within hours of Johnny Logan winning. The 1981 contest took place in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, the capital of
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. It was the second time the country (and city) had hosted the contest, the last time being ten years earlier in 1971.


Format

The contest took place under heavy guard at the 1,600 seat Simmonscourt Pavilion of the RDS, which was normally used for agricultural and horse shows. The set was the largest ever seen in the contest so far, being 150 feet across, 80 feet deep and 30 feet high. Over 250 armed soldiers and police were on hand to protect against any likely political demonstrations, with the UK entrants being under constant guard during their time in Dublin due to threats from the
IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...
. This included an evacuation of the participants hotel at one point due to a bomb scare. The security measures were reported on British news reports on the day of the contest. Rehearsals at the Pavilion began on 31 March with each act allowed 30 minutes with the orchestra, continuing up until the day of the contest, which ended with a dress rehearsal at 16:30. On 1 April, the
Irish Tourist Board Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
held a reception for the contest at Jurys Hotel, Dublin. The presenter on this occasion was
Doireann Ni Bhriain Doireann is an Irish feminine given name. People named Doireann * Doireann Garrihy, Irish social media influencer * Doireann MacDermott, Irish academic * Doireann Ní Bhriain, Irish radio producer * Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Irish poet * Doireann ...
, who was well known in Ireland at the time as a TV presenter and for the current affairs radio show ''Women Today''. She was chosen for her fluency in
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
as well as having studied
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
, which she spoke with some ease. She had also worked on the 1971 contest as an interpreter in the RTE press office. The director was Ian McGarry, while
Noel Kelehan John William "Noel" Kelehan (26 December 1935 – 6 February 2012) was an Irish musician, former conductor of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and former musical director of Radio Telefís Éireann. He retired as conductor in 1998. Life and car ...
was the chief conductor of the
RTÉ Concert Orchestra The RTÉ Concert Orchestra is one of the two full-time professional radio orchestras in Ireland that are part of RTÉ, the national broadcasting station. Since its formation as the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra in 1948, the RTÉ Concert Orchestr ...
, which comprised 46 musicians. It cost RTÉ £530,000 to stage the show, although this included £110,000 from the EBU. From this, the Irish Government expected to make around £2,000,000 from tourism as a result of staging the show. It was expected that the worldwide audience would be some 500 million with 30 countries broadcasting the event, including countries such as Hong Kong, the Soviet Union, United Arab Emirates and for the first time, Egypt. Each song was introduced by a filmed 'postcard', framed by an animated identification of the nation's location. Unlike previous films used in 1970 and 1976 that had also featured the performing artist, the 1981 films prominently included the authors and composers alongside the performing artist.


Entrants

Of the performers, many previous contestants returned to the contest this year. Notably,
Jean-Claude Pascal Jean-Claude Villeminot (24 October 1927 – 5 May 1992), better known as Jean-Claude Pascal (), was a French comedian, actor, singer and writer. Early life He was born in Paris into a family of wealthy textile manufacturers. His mother, ...
for Luxembourg, who had won the contest 20 years earlier, although could only manage 11th place this time. Repeated entrants
Peter, Sue and Marc Peter, Sue and Marc were a Swiss music group from Bern. The members were Peter Reber (born 1949, vocals / piano / guitar), Sue Schell (born 1950 in New York, vocals), and Marc Dietrich (born 1948, vocals / guitar). They represented Switzerland at ...
returned for the fourth time, after
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...
,
1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
and
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
. Performing again for Switzerland, they remain the only act to sing in four different languages (French, English, German and this time, Italian). Other returnees were
Marty Brem Martin Brem (born 23 April 1959), also known by his stage name Marty Brem, is an Austrian-born former singer, record executive and entrepreneur currently active in Salzburg and Los Angeles. He is known to wider audiences for his participation in t ...
who had taken part the year before for Austria,
Tommy Seebach Tommy Seebach (14 September 1949 – 31 March 2003), born Tommy Seebach Mortensen in Copenhagen, Denmark, was a popular Danish singer, composer, organist, pianist and producer. He is best known as front man of Sir Henry and his Butlers and for nu ...
for Denmark, and
Björn Skifs Björn Nils Olof Skifs (; born 20 April 1947) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, actor, and screenwriter. Career Björn Skifs formed his first musical group, Slam Creepers, in 1962. Slam Creepers split in 1969 and Skifs went on to form a new ban ...
for Sweden. Bucks Fizz member,
Cheryl Baker Rita Maria Stroud (''née'' Crudgington; born 8 March 1954), known professionally as Cheryl Baker, is an English singer and television presenter. She was a member of 1980s pop group Bucks Fizz, who won the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest and now p ...
had performed in
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
with the band Co-Co for the UK, while
Sheeba Sheeba were an all-girl pop trio popular in Ireland in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were Maxi, Marion Fossett and Frances Campbell. They are best known for representing the host nation, Ireland, in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981 ...
member Maxi had performed as a solo artist in
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
for Ireland. The 46-piece Irish TV orchestra didn't have a saxophone as they didn't consider it an orchestral instrument, which caused great concern with the United Kingdom entry as a saxophone appeared heavily on their song. Andy Hill – the producer of the single – said that had they known, they would have dropped one of the two backing singers to be replaced by a saxophonist, there being two on the actual recording.


Interval

The interval act was traditional Irish band
Planxty Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitars ...
, who performed the lengthy piece "Timedance", which depicted Irish music through the ages. The dancers were from Dublin City Ballet with choreography by Iain Montague. This is seen as a precursor to ''
Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions Jean ...
'', which became famous after its performance in
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
. The song, which was written by
Bill Whelan Bill Whelan (born 22 May 1950 in Limerick, Ireland) is an Irish composer and musician. He is best known for composing a piece for the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. The result, ''Riverdance'', was a seven-minute display of tradi ...
, went on to be released as a Planxty single and became a No.3 hit in the Irish charts. The interval (as well as the presentation sequences) had been rehearsed on set on the 3 April, the day before the event. This mix of past and present was also the theme to the contest's opening montage, which featured shots of Celtic ruins, cliffs and castles, edited together with close-ups of art, aeroplanes, architecture and horse races. This was also apparent in the style of music played by the orchestra.


Voting segment

The voting proved to be memorable for its closeness. France gained an early lead gaining maximum points from three of the first four juries. Ireland then started to take the lead during the first half, but fell away afterwards. The UK took the lead then until they gave top points to Switzerland, putting them in pole position. From then on it was a race between the UK, Switzerland and Germany, who had started to gain a lot of high marks. In all, five countries took pole position at various stages: UK, Germany, France, Switzerland and Ireland. Just before the penultimate vote, three countries (UK, Germany and Switzerland) were all on equal top marks. After this, Switzerland (who had performed second last) were unable to collect points as it was their jury's results that were being announced, while Germany failed to receive votes either. The UK gained eight, which meant that when the final jury (Sweden) were about to cast their votes, the UK needed five points or more to win over either country. Switzerland were quickly eliminated by receiving just one vote. The UK passed the five-point mark and received eight votes, while Germany did indeed receive the maximum 12 points, but it was too late. France finished third, with Switzerland fourth and the hosts Ireland coming in fifth. Of these, Switzerland received the most top votes despite only finishing fourth, while the UK only received two. The UK did however receive points from every competing country. At a four-point victory, this was the closest win to date under the current voting structure. Meanwhile, at the other end of the board was Norway, who finished last with no points for the third time in Eurovision history, gaining no points in 1963 and 1978 as well. Other memorable moments included a glitch in the scoreboard, giving host country Ireland 310 extra points instead of the 10 designated by the Luxembourg jury, Greece's score registering on the scoreboard as incorrect, while on the final vote, Turkey's nine points suddenly disappeared. EBU scrutineer for the contest, Frank Naef had to twice halt the voting process as mistakes were being made by the jurors spokespersons, one example is when he had to talk with the Austrian jury in Vienna, telling them they had to start giving their points starting from one, as they had started by giving 5 points to Germany. Host Doireann then repeated in French what Frank had said to the spokesperson, Jenny Pippal, who started from one point after that. Also of note was when the host attempted to collect Yugoslavia's votes, after repeated attempts to contact them, Yugoslavia's spokeswoman,
Helga Vlahović Helga Vlahović (28 January 1945 – 27 February 2012) was a Croatian journalist, producer, and television personality, whose career spanned five decades in both SFR Yugoslavia and later Croatia. She was one of the most popular television pre ...
(who went on to present the 1990 contest) finally answered the phone and abruptly answered "I don't have it", causing laughter to erupt from the audience.


Aftermath

Runner-up
Lena Valaitis Lena Valaitis (born 7 September 1943) is a Lithuanian–German schlager singer who had her greatest success during the 1970s and 1980s. She finished second at the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest. Early life and education Valaitis was born on 7 Se ...
was in good spirits while talking to the press following the contest and largely unconcerned about losing. Swedish singer
Björn Skifs Björn Nils Olof Skifs (; born 20 April 1947) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, actor, and screenwriter. Career Björn Skifs formed his first musical group, Slam Creepers, in 1962. Slam Creepers split in 1969 and Skifs went on to form a new ban ...
however was more outspoken saying; "This was not a song contest, it was a show – all these dancing girls, they take away from the songs. I also think there should be a change in the rules to allow us to sing in English. Then we would really be able to compete." Harald Tusberg, head of light entertainment for Norwegian television was upbeat about Norway's 'nul points' result as he claimed that their entry would be remembered above many others; "Who remembers who came second or third – people will remember us!".
Finn Kalvik Finn Bjørn Kalvik (born 30 April 1947) is a Norwegian singer and composer. Early career He was born in Fåvang, but his family moved to the working class district of Grorud, Oslo in 1952. Early in his career Kalvik found success putting music t ...
himself conceded graciously saying that he had enjoyed the week's holiday. Following this year's contest, France did not compete the following year, with the broadcaster announcing that the songs were "a monument to drivel". Indeed, many comments had been made regarding the quality of the winning group's performance indicating that the song had most likely won by style over substance. Either way,
Bucks Fizz Bucks Fizz were a British pop group that achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comp ...
went on to have a very successful career over the next few years, and became one of the top-selling groups of the 1980s. The winning song itself reached No.1 in nine countries and became a top ten hit in nations such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, selling four million copies worldwide. Germany, who had never won the contest at this point, were becoming increasingly frustrated with their second placings in this and the previous year's contest and made a concerted effort for the following year. This was to pay off, as in 1982 they finally clinched their first victory which was achieved in an overwhelming manner. The UK's victory this year meant that the contest would take place in the UK the following year – the seventh time the country had hosted the event (a record unbeaten and later extended by an eighth UK hosting in 1998). The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
opted to take it to the
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
town of
Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...
at a later than usual date, 24 April. The 1981 contest was held on 4 April and to date the contest has never been as early again. Decades later,
Debbie Cameron Deborah (Debbie) Cameron (born September 14, 1958 in Miami, Florida) is a Danish-American singer of Bahamian descent who has had a career in music in Denmark. Her career started in 1976, when she was awarded the prize "Most promising student" ...
, who represented Denmark with
Tommy Seebach Tommy Seebach (14 September 1949 – 31 March 2003), born Tommy Seebach Mortensen in Copenhagen, Denmark, was a popular Danish singer, composer, organist, pianist and producer. He is best known as front man of Sir Henry and his Butlers and for nu ...
, revealed in a book about Seebach that she was contacted by a BBC employee, who told her that Bucks Fizz's victory was planned. According to the employee, he had witnessed how BBC technicians had sabotaged the sound checks during the rehearsal of the Danish, the Israeli and the German performances. This claim however ignores the fact that the BBC did not host the 1981 contest. On August 22, 1981, the town of Mysen in Norway held a televised, live concert to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the contest, despite the recent 26th edition. The show '' Songs of Europe'' featured all but eight of the former winners of the contest, although one of the missing winning artists,
Teddy Scholten Dorothea Margaretha "Teddy" Scholten (née van Zwieteren; 11 May 1926 – 8 April 2010) was a Dutch singer and television presenter. She is known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 with the song "Een beetje", representing the Netherlands ...
, attended the event but did not perform.


Participating countries

By October 1980, it looked as though 21 countries were planning to take part, the largest number so far, but
Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
declared that they were no longer interested. This year marked the début of
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
in the contest, who finished sixth. Returning to the contest was
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, who did not compete the previous year, despite winning the two years prior to that. They finished seventh.
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
also returned to the competition after a five-year absence.
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
decided not to enter due to lack of interest, while
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
declined to take part after their debut entry the year before. The draw for the running order took place on 14 November 1980, with it being confirmed that there were a total of 20 entrants.


Conductors

Each performance had a conductor who directed the orchestra. * *
Onno Tunç Ohannes Tunçboyacı, better known as Onno Tunç (December 20, 1948 – January 14, 1996), was a leading Armenian-Turkish musician, working mainly as a composer, arranger and a music producer. Tunç also played bass guitar and occasionally double ...
* * Joël Rocher * *
Allan Botschinsky Allan Botschinsky (29 March 1940 – 26 November 2020) was a Danish jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist, composer, arranger, conductor, producer, and record label owner. Biography Botschinsky was born in Copenhagen, and had a background in classical ...
*
Ranko Rihtman Ranko Rihtman (Sarajevo, ) is Bosnian pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor. Education Ranko Rihtman attended Sarajevo Music Academy, where he graduated at the Department of Ethnomusicology and Conducting, followed by attendance at the ...
*
Henrik Otto Donner Henrik Otto Donner (16 November 1939 – 26 June 2013) was a Finnish composer, musician and all-round music personality. His musical styles varied from pop and rock music to jazz, electronic music and contemporary classical music. Donner's person ...
* David Sprinfield * Joan Barcons *
Rogier van Otterloo Willem Rogier van Otterloo (11 December 1941 – 29 January 1988) was a Dutch composer and conductor. Biography Van Otterloo was the eldest son of the conductor Willem van Otterloo, in Bilthoven, Netherlands. He composed several soundtracks for ...
*
Noel Kelehan John William "Noel" Kelehan (26 December 1935 – 6 February 2012) was an Irish musician, former conductor of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and former musical director of Radio Telefís Éireann. He retired as conductor in 1998. Life and car ...
*
Sigurd Jansen Sigurd Jansen (born 4 March 1932) is a Norwegian composer, pianist and conductor. Biography Sigurd Alf Jansen was born in Horten, in Vestfold county, Norway. He studied classical music at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. He was a teacher o ...
* John Coleman * * Giuseppe Marchese * Yiorgos Niarchos * *
Rolf Zuckowski Rolf Zuckowski (born 12 May 1947) is a German singer-songwriter. He has written and composed music especially for children, but his songs are very popular among adults, too. His compositions involve children in music throughout their childhood an ...
*
Anders Berglund Anders Olof Berglund (born 21 July 1948) is a Swedish arranger, composer, conductor, pianist and musician. Career Born in Stockholm, Berglund is best known as conductor of Melodifestivalen, the Swedish final of the Eurovision Song Contest. He ...


Returning artists

Bold indicates a previous winner.


Participants and results


Detailed voting results

Each country had a jury who awarded 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 point(s) for their top ten songs.


12 points

Below is a summary of all 12 points in the final:


Spokespersons

Listed below is the order in which votes were cast during the 1981 contest along with the spokesperson who was responsible for announcing the votes for their respective country. # # Başak Doğru # TBC # Jacques Harvey # # #
Helga Vlahović Helga Vlahović (28 January 1945 – 27 February 2012) was a Croatian journalist, producer, and television personality, whose career spanned five decades in both SFR Yugoslavia and later Croatia. She was one of the most popular television pre ...
# Annemi Genetz #
Denise Fabre Denise Fabre (born 5 September 1942) is a French former television personality, best known for her role as an in-vision continuity announcer. She is now municipal advisor to the presiding mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi. Biography Fabre, born i ...
# # Flip van der Schalie"Artiesten op Songfestival, Leidse Courant, 4 April 1981 #
John Skehan John Skehan (18 July 1922 – 18 November 1992) was a prolific broadcaster on RTÉ, radio and television, for four decades. Prior to joining RTÉ, Skehan served in the Irish Army, reaching the rank of captain during The Emergency. Skehan be ...
# #
Colin Berry Colin Derrick Berry (born 29 January 1946) is a British radio disc jockey, presenter and newsreader, best known for his many years at BBC Radio 2. Career Early years Berry began his radio career reading news on Radio Caroline in 1965. Before ...
# # Walter De Meyere # Tatiana Darra # Anna Partelidou # Michel Stocker # Bengteric Nordell


Broadcasts

Each national broadcaster also sent a commentator to the contest, in order to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language. In addition to the participating countries, the contest was also reportedly broadcast in Iceland, in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the Soviet Union via Intervision, and in Egypt, Hong Kong, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.


Notes


References


External links

* {{Portal bar, Music
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
Music festivals in Ireland 1980s in Irish television 1981 in Ireland 1981 in music 1980s in Dublin (city) April 1981 events in Europe Events in Dublin (city)