Eurovision Song Contest 1968

Infobox Eurovision
name = Eurovision Song Contest 1968


final = 6 April 1968
presenters = Katie Boyle
conductor = Norrie Paramor
director =
host = flagicon|UK BBC
venue = Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom
winner = flag|Spain|1939
"La La La"
vote = Each country had 10 jury members who each awarded 1 points to their favourite song.
entries = 17
debut = None
return = None
withdraw = None
null = None
interval = Impressions from London
opening =
opening =
con = Eurovision Song Contest
pre = ◄1967
nex = 1969►The Eurovision Song Contest 1968 was the 13th Eurovision Song Contest. The contest was won by the Spanish song "La La La", performed by Massiel.

Originally Spain entered Joan Manuel Serrat to sing "La La La", however his demand to sing in Catalan was an affront to Francoist Spain. Serrat was withdrawn by Spain and replaced by Massiel who sang the same song in Spanish.

1968 was the first time that the Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast in colour. The countries that broadcast it in colour were France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom as an encore presentation on BBC2 the next day.

Spain's victory was their first. According to author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor in his book "The Eurovision Song Contest – The Official History", the margin of victory – 1 vote – was the closest contest to date and the relative margin – 3.45% – the 6th closest contest ever.

Allegations of vote rigging

In May 2008, a documentary by the Spanish film-maker Montse Fernandez Vila alleged that the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest was rigged by the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, who sent state television officials across Europe offering cash and promising to buy television series and contract unknown artists in return for votes for the Spanish entry. The documentary claimed that the contest should in fact have been won by the United Kingdom's entry – "Congratulations" performed by Cliff Richard – which finished second by 1 vote. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7384130.stm BBC NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Congratulations... 40 years late ] ] [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/1926993/Franco-'rigged-Eurovisison-to-stop-Cliff-Richard-winning'.html How General Franco cheated Cliff Richard out of Eurovision title - Telegraph ] ]

Massiel, the performer of the winning entry, was outraged by the allegations, insisting to have won because her song was better, and that Franco would have not been able to buy any votes for her in the first place. She also blamed the allegations on competition among Spanish TV channels. [ [http://www.elconfidencial.com/cache/2008/05/06/33_prensa_britanica_escandaliza_tongo_massiel.html La prensa británica se escandaliza con el tongo de Massiel - elConfidencial.com ] ]

Individual Entries

Results

core sheet

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 85%"!colspan="2" rowspan="2"
!colspan="43"|Results
- Portugal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 Netherlands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Belgium 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 Austria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 Luxembourg 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Switzerland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Monaco 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 Sweden 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 6 4 0 0 0 Finland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 France 0 3 6 2 3 3 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Italy 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 United Kingdom 1 2 2 0 1 4 5 3 2 4 1 0 1 0 2 0 Norway 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Ireland 1 1 1 4 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 Spain 4 0 0 2 1 0 4 0 3 4 3 0 1 1 6 0 Germany 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 5 0 0 2 0 Yugoslavia 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 THE TABLE IS ORDERED BY APPEARANCE

Map

References