Eurovision Song Contest 1981

Infobox Eurovision
name = Eurovision Song Contest 1981


final = 4 April 1981
presenters = Doireann Ní Bhriain
conductor = Noel Kelehan
director =
host = flagicon|Ireland RTÉ
venue = RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion, Dublin, Ireland
winner = flag|United Kingdom
"Making Your Mind Up"
vote = Each country awarded 12, 10, 8-1 points to their 10 favourite songs
entries = 20
debut = flag|Cyprus
return = flag|Israel
flag|Yugoslavia
withdraw = flag|Italy
flag|Morocco
null = flag|Norway
interval = Planxty with "Timedance"
opening =
con = Eurovision Song Contest
pre = ◄1980
nex = 1982►

The Eurovision Song Contest 1981 was the 26th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on April 4, 1981 at the Simmonscourt Pavilion of the Royal Dublin Society in Dublin. The presenter was Doireann Ní Bhriain. Bucks Fizz were the winners of this Eurovision with the song Making Your Mind Up.

This year is remembered for their performance, which included a dance-routine where the two male members ripped the skirts off the two female members and today stands as one of the defining moments of the contest's history.

The voting proved to be memorable for its closeness. The UK won by four points, but leading up to this, 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.

Other memorable moments included a glitch in the scorekeeping, giving host country Ireland 310 extra points instead of the 10 designated by the Luxembourg jury. Also of note, when host Doireann Ní Bhriain attempted to collect Yugoslavia's votes, the woman who answered the phone (who was evidently not a juror) simply answered "I don't have it," causing laughter to erupt from the audience.

This was the début year of Cyprus in the contest, who finished sixth.

Returning to the contest were 1961 winner, Jean-Claude Pascal for Luxembourg and Bucks Fizz member, Cheryl Baker who had performed in 1978 with the band Co-Co for the UK.

The interval act was traditional Irish band Planxty, who performed the lengthy piece "Timedance"," which depicted Irish music through the ages. This is seen as a precursor to "Riverdance", which became famous after its performance in 1994.

Results

Voting structure

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

		Results
	Austria		6	0	0	0	1	0	0	5	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
	Turkey	0		0	1	0	0	3	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Germany	5	12		3	8	8	2	7	8	12	3	6	4	7	12	10	5	8	0	12
	Luxembourg	10	0	5		3	0	0	4	3	1	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	6	5
	Israel	8	0	0	4		0	0	6	0	0	7	7	8	4	5	0	0	0	4	3
	Denmark	0	1	1	7	0		0	0	4	3	2	0	0	5	2	12	0	0	0	4
	Yugoslavia	0	4	0	0	0	0		8	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	5	2	3	10	0
	Finland	0	0	0	0	2	0	0		1	2	5	5	0	0	1	0	0	0	5	6
	France	12	0	12	12	7	2	4	10		0	6	4	5	1	10	3	8	7	12	10
	Spain	0	10	0	0	6	0	0	0	0		4	3	10	0	3	0	0	0	2	0
	Netherlands	3	5	3	0	4	7	0	0	2	7		0	0	6	7	2	3	2	0	0
	Ireland	7	3	6	10	10	12	5	0	6	5	10		0	0	0	1	10	12	1	7
	Norway	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	United Kingdom	4	8	4	5	12	10	10	3	7	8	12	10	3		6	8	6	4	8	8
	Portugal	0	0	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	1	0	0	0
	Belgium	1	7	0	0	1	6	8	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	0		7	5	0	0
	Greece	6	0	2	6	0	0	1	0	0	10	0	1	2	8	0	6		6	7	0
	Cyprus	0	0	0	0	5	3	6	0	0	0	8	8	7	10	0	7	12		3	0
	Switzerland	2	2	7	8	0	4	12	12	10	4	1	12	12	12	8	0	4	10		1
	Sweden	0	0	10	2	0	5	7	1	12	0	0	0	6	2	0	4	0	1	0
THE TABLE IS ORDERED BY APPEARANCE

Map