The Eurovision Song Contest 1972 was the 17th 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

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

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 ...

and was 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

British Broadcasting Corporation #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 exam. ...

(BBC), who agreed to stage the event after , who won in , were unable to meet the demands of hosting the event and could not find a suitable venue. The contest was held at the

Usher Hall The Usher Hall is a concert hall in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has hosted concerts and events since its construction in 1914 and can hold approximately 2,200 people in its recently restored auditorium, which is well loved by performers due to its ...

on 25 March 1972 and was hosted by Scottish ballet dancer

Moira Shearer Moira Shearer King, Lady Kennedy (17 January 1926 – 31 January 2006), was an internationally renowned Scottish ballet, ballet dancer and actress. She was famous for her performances in Powell and Pressburger's ''The Red Shoes (1948 film), Th ...

. Eighteen countries took part in the contest, the same countries as the previous year. The winner was with the song " Après toi", performed by

Vicky Leandros Vasiliki Papathanasiou ( el, Βασιλική Παπαθανασίου; born 23 August 1949), generally known as Vicky Leandros ( el, Βίκυ Λέανδρος, links=no), is a Greek singer living in Germany. She is the daughter of singer, music ...

, with lyrics by Yves Dessca, and music composed by Mario Panas (which was the writing pseudonym of Vicky's father Leo Leandros). "Après toi" became the winner with the lowest percentage of the total vote, winning with just 8.30% of the points available. Yves Dessca also wrote "Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue" that had won the previous edition, and became the second person to win the contest twice, the first person to win for two different countries and the first person to win two years in a row. finished in third place for the third consecutive year, equalling their highest placement from the previous two editions.

Location

Following Séverine's win for at the 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 ...

with the song "

Un banc, un arbre, une rue "Un banc, un arbre, une rue" (; "A Bench, a Tree, a Street") was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1971 performed in French language, French by French people, French singer Séverine (singer), Séverine, representing . The song is a ...

", the principality were unable to meet the demands of hosting the event.

Rainier III of Monaco Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Monarchy of Monaco, Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Monaco, Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him ...

received a letter from the European Broadcasting Union about hosting the 1972 contest in the principality, but he was unable to provide a venue, the props and the remainder of the requirements. Therefore the BBC from the United Kingdom stepped in, and chose to stage the contest in

, making it the first of four times that the BBC had chosen a venue outside

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

with the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

contests held in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

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 ...

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

respectively. It is also the only time that the contest has been held in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It is the only UK hosted Eurovision Song Contest to have been held outside England as of 2022 The

, the venue for the 1972 contest, is a

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...

, situated on Lothian Road, in the west end of the city. It has hosted concerts and events since its construction in 1914 and can hold approximately 2,900 people in its recently restored auditorium, which is well loved by performers due to its acoustics. The Hall is flanked by The

Royal Lyceum Theatre The Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658-seat theatre in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. It was built in 1883 by a ...

on the right and The

Traverse Theatre The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes and Richard Demarco. The Traverse Theatre company commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary pla ...

on the left.

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. ...

has registered the Hall with Category A listed building status.

Format

The stage design included a screen to introduce and accompany the on stage competing performances, and to show an interval act and voting sequence that were done at Edinburgh Castle. Before each country's performance, a picture of each song's performers along with their names and the song's title were projected on the screen, and during each performance, animated

spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:Vicky Leandros Vasiliki Papathanasiou ( el, Βασιλική Παπαθανασίου; born 23 August 1949), generally known as Vicky Leandros ( el, Βίκυ Λέανδρος, links=no), is a Greek singer living in Germany. She is the daughter of singer, music ...

. However, she looked thoroughly uninterested in the Monegasque entry when seen by viewers checking her watch before the song was performed.O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest – The Official History. Carlton Books, UK. 2007 1972 was the first year that had no ties in the voting. Every year prior to 1972, at least two countries had received the same score.

Participating countries

All countries that participated in the 1971 contest were present this year.

Conductors

Each performance had a musical director who

conducted Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duti ...

the orchestra. *

Paul Kuhn Paul Kuhn may refer to: * Paul Kuhn (tenor) (1874–1966), German operatic tenor * Paul Kuhn (band leader) Paul Kuhn (12 March 1928 – 23 September 2013) was a German jazz musician, band leader, singer and pianist. He was the band leader of t ...

Franck Pourcel Franck Pourcel (14 August 1913 – 12 November 2000) was a French composer, arranger, and conductor of popular and classical music. Biography Early life Born in Marseille, France, Pourcel started learning the violin at the age of six. Later, ...

Colman Pearce Colman Pearce (born 22 September 1938) is an Irish pianist and conductor. Born in Dublin, Pearce was educated at University College Dublin and studied conducting in Hilversum and Vienna. He became a conductor for the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in ...

* Augusto Algueró * David Mackay * Carsten Klouman * Richard Hill * Jean-Pierre Festi *

Charles Camilleri Charles Camilleri (7 September 1931 – 3 January 2009) was a Maltese composer. Early life Camilleri was born in Ħamrun and, as a teenager, composed many works based on folk music and legends of his native Malta. Career Camilleri moved fro ...

Ossi Runne Ossi Runne (23 April 1927 – 5 November 2020) was a Finnish trumpeter, bandleader, orchestra leader, composer, and record producer.

* Erich Kleinschuster *

Gian Franco Reverberi Gian Franco Reverberi (born 12 December 1934) is an Italian composer and musician. He worked mainly on the soundtracks for Spaghetti Westerns. Reverberi was one of the first Italian rock music artists. He also worked with his brother Gian Pier ...

* * Mats Olsson * Raymond Bernard * Henri Segers * Klaus Munro *

Harry van Hoof Harry van Hoof (born 16 March 1943) is a Dutch conductor, composer and music arranger. Van Hoof has written many successful productions to his name already, he has his own production company and he had his first success as an arranger with "Sof ...

Returning artists

Participants and results

Detailed voting results

10 points

Below is a summary of all perfect 10 scores that were given during the voting.

Jury members

Listed below is the order in which votes were cast during the 1972 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. # ''Unknown'' # ''Unknown'' # ''Unknown'' # Emma Cohen and Luis María Ansón # Doreen Samuels and Robert Walker # Rachel Nord and Signe Abusdal # Pedro Sousa Macedo and Maria João Aguiar # ''Unknown'' # Mary Rose Mallia and Joe Zerafa"Views and comments on the Eurovision Song Contest", Times of Malta, 29 March 1972 # Merita Merikoski and Åke Granholm # ''Unknown'' # ''Unknown'' # Vera Zloković and Veljko Bakasun #

Titti Sjöblom Titti Sigrid Renée Eliasson Sjöblom (born 29 August 1949) is a Swedish pop singer. She is the daughter of singer Alice Babs and director Nils Ivar Sjöblom. She participated at Melodifestivalen 1974 with the song "Fröken Ur-sång", ending up ...

and Arne Domnérus # ''Unknown'' # ''Unknown'' # ''Unknown'' # Jennifer Baljet and Cornelis Wagter

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 Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Music

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

Music festivals in the United Kingdom 1970s in Edinburgh 1972 in music 1972 in the United Kingdom March 1972 events in Europe Events in Edinburgh