The Eurovision Song Contest 1961 was the 6th edition of the annual
Eurovision Song Contest. Once again, the contest was held in the French seaside city of
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...
, having also hosted the . Organised by the
European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster
Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française
Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF; ''French Radio and Television Broadcasting'') was the French national public broadcaster television organization established on 9 February 1949 to replace the post-war "''Radiodiffusion Française''" ...
(RTF), the contest was again held at the
Palais des Festivals et des Congrès
The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès (''Palace of Festivals and Conferences'') is a convention centre in Cannes, France, the venue for the Cannes Film Festival, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and the NRJ Music Award. Th ...
on Saturday 18 March 1961, becoming the first contest to take place on a Saturday evening, a tradition that has continued ever since (with the exception of 1962). The show was again hosted by
Jacqueline Joubert
Jacqueline Joubert (29 March 1921 – 8 January 2005), born Jacqueline Annette Édith Pierre, was a French television continuity announcer, producer and director. Alongside Arlette Accart, Joubert was one of the first two in-vision continuity an ...
, who had also hosted in 1959.
Sixteen countries participated in the contest - three more than in the previous edition; , and all competed for the first time this year.
The winner was with the song "
Nous les amoureux
"Nous les amoureux" (; "We, the Lovers" or "Us Lovers") was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1961, performed in French for by French singer Jean-Claude Pascal.
The song was performed fourteenth on the night (following 's Dario ...
", performed by
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, ...
, written by Maurice Vidalin, and composed by Jacques Datin, with the finishing in second place for the third consecutive year.
Location
The event took place in
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...
, France, following the nation's victory at the
1960 edition with the song "", performed by
Jacqueline Boyer
Jacqueline Boyer (, born Eliane Ducos, 23 April 1941) is a French singer and actress. She is also the daughter of performers Jacques Pills and Lucienne Boyer.
In 1960, she won the Eurovision Song Contest for France singing "Tom Pillibi", with m ...
. The selected venue was the , built in 1949 to host the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
and located on the along the shore of the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
. Due to the growth in the film festival a new building bearing the same name was opened in 1982, with the original building renamed as the and subsequently demolished in 1988. It also hosted the edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Format
The stage used for the 1961 contest was notably larger than in previous years and was decorated with flowers. It is noticeable that during the voting, Luxembourg gave the UK eight points, and Norway also gave Denmark eight points. It was the largest number of points given to a country by a single jury since 1958, when Denmark provided France with nine points. Such a high number of points obtained by a country would not be achieved until 1970, when Ireland would receive nine points from Belgium.
Participating countries
Interest in the competition began to grow across Europe as three new countries participated for the first time:
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, and
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
.
Conductors
Each performance had a
conductor who directed the orchestra.
* Rafael Ferrer
*
Raymond Lefèvre
Raymond Lefèvre (20 November 1929 – 27 June 2008) was a French easy listening orchestra leader, arranger and composer.
Biography and career
Born on 20 November 1929 in Calais, France, Raymond Lefèvre is best known for his interpretation of ...
*
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, ...
*
George de Godzinsky
George de Godzinsky (5 July 1914, Saint Peterburg, Russia — 23 May 1994, Espoo, Finland) was a Finnish composer, pianist and conductor of Polish descent. Godzinsky is known for his Schlager music although he composed music for movies and oper ...
*
Jože Privšek
Jože Privšek (19 March 1937 – 11 June 1998), who also presented himself with the pseudonyms Jeff Conway and Simon Gale, was one of the most acclaimed Slovene jazz and pop musicians. He was a pianist, vibraphonist, composer, and conductor ...
*
Dolf van der Linden
David Gijsbert van der Linden (22 June 1915 – 30 January 1999), known as Dolf van der Linden, was a Dutch conductor of popular music with a reputation which extended beyond the borders of the Netherlands.
Biography
David Gijsbert van der Lind ...
*
* Franck Pourcel
* Franck Pourcel
*
Fernando Paggi
Fernando Paggi (3 July 1914 – 14 January 1973) was a Swiss conductor and musician known for conducting the Swiss entries for three Eurovision Song Contests. He was also the conductor of the Radio Monte Ceneri Orchestra.
Competitions
* Eurovis ...
*
Francis Bay
Francis Bay (27 December 1914 – 24 April 2005) was a Belgian conductor. Born as Frans Bayezt, he conducted many Belgian entries in the Eurovision Song Contest and had his own Big band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of mu ...
*
Øivind Bergh
Øivind Bergh (3 December 190925 January 1987) was a Norwegian violinist and orchestral leader.
Biography
Øivind Ingvard Bergh was born in Hamar, Norway. His parents were Even Johannesen Bergh (1873–1958) and Karen Hanssen (1881–1940).
He ...
* Kai Mortensen
*
Léo Chauliac
Léo Chauliac, real name Léon Chauliac (6 February 1913 – 27 October 1977), was a French jazz pianist, composer and conductor.
A jazz pianist in the 1930s, Léo Chauliac was the accompanist of Charles Trenet from 1941 to 1943, a singer for wh ...
*
Harry Robinson
* Gianfranco Intra
Returning artists
Participants and results
Detailed voting results
Each country had 10 jury members who each awarded 1 point to their favourite song.
Spokespersons
Listed below is the order in which votes were cast during the 1961 contest along with the spokesperson who was responsible for announcing the votes for their respective country.
#
Enzo Tortora
#
Michael Aspel
Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television newsreader and host of programmes such as '' Crackerjack'', ''Aspel & Company'', '' Give Us a Clue'', ''This is Your Life'', '' Strange but True?'' and ''Antiques Ro ...
# TBC
#
#
Mette Janson
# Ward Bogaert
#
# Armand Lanoux
#
Heinz Schenk
#
#
# Saša Novak
#
# Emil Kollpacher
# TBC
#
Broadcasts
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.
Known details on the broadcasts in each country, including the specific broadcasting stations and commentators are shown in the tables below.
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
*
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1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 (K ...
Music festivals in France
1961 in music
1961 in France
Events in Cannes
March 1961 events in Europe