Eurovision Song Contest 1978

The Eurovision Song Contest 1978 was the 23rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Paris, France, following the country's victory at the Template:Escyr with the song "L'Oiseau et l'Enfant" by Marie Myriam. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (TF1), the contest was held at the Grand Amphitheatre inside the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} on 22 April 1978 and was directed by Template:Ill.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite press release</ref> The contest was presented by French television presenters Denise Fabre and Léon Zitrone. This was the first time that more than one presenter had hosted the contest as well as the first to have a male presenter since Template:Escyr.

Twenty countries participated, the highest number of competing countries in the history of the competition at the time. Template:Esccnty and Template:Esccnty both returned to the contest. Denmark had not participated since Template:Escyr, 12 years before.

The winner of the contest was Template:Esccnty with the song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta. The winning entry was a love song sung in the Hebrew equivalent of Ubbi dubbi (the title is an expansion of the Hebrew word {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, meaning "I"). This was Template:Esccnty's first Eurovision win, and it was also the first winning song to be performed in one of the Semitic languages. Furthermore, it was also the only winning song to be conducted by a woman, Nurit Hirsh. Template:Esccnty finished last for the fifth time, gaining the first nul points after the new voting system was implemented in Template:Escyr.

Location

File:Lafayette Complex at night.jpg

lang}}, Paris – host venue of the 1978 contest.

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (TF1) staged the contest at the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, a multi propose venue in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. Designed by French architect Guillaume Gillet, the venue was inaugurated in 1974.

Participants

Template:Further Template:Interlanguage link info Template:ESC 1978 participants Denmark returned to the competition after having been absent for twelve years, while Turkey did so after missing out two years.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This meant that, for the first time, the contest had twenty entries competing.

Several of the performing artists had previously competed as lead artists representing the same country in past editions: Jean Vallée had represented Template:Esccnty; and Norbert Niedermeyer as part of Springtime had represented Template:Esccnty as part of Milestones. In addition, Ireen Sheer representing Germany, had represented Template:Esccnty.

citation

CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Roxburgh" />
Country	Broadcaster	Artist	Song	Language	Songwriter(s)	Conductor
Template:Esc	ORF	Springtime	"Mrs. Caroline Robinson"	German	Template:Hlist	Richard Oesterreicher
Template:Esc	RTBF	Jean Vallée	lang}}"	French	Jean Vallée	Template:Ill
Template:Esc	DR	Mabel	"Boom Boom"	Danish	Template:Hlist	Template:Ill
Template:Esc	YLE	Seija Simola	lang}}"	Finnish	Template:Hlist	Ossi Runne
Template:Esc	TF1	Joël Prévost	lang}}"	French	Template:Hlist	Alain Goraguer
Template:Esc	SWFTemplate:Efn	Ireen Sheer	lang}}"	German	Template:Hlist	Jean Frankfurter
Template:Esc	ERT	Tania Tsanaklidou	"Charlie Chaplin" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}})	Greek	Template:Hlist	Haris Andreadis
Template:Esc	RTÉ	Colm C. T. Wilkinson	"Born to Sing"	English	Colm C. T. Wilkinson	Noel Kelehan
Template:Esc	IBA	Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta	"A-Ba-Ni-Bi" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}})	Hebrew	Template:Hlist	Nurit Hirsh
Template:Esc	RAI	lang}}	lang}}"	Italian	Template:Hlist	Nicola Samale
Template:Esc	CLT	Baccara	lang}}"	French	Template:Hlist	Rolf Soja
Template:Esc	TMC	Template:Ill and Olivier Toussaint	lang}}"	French	Template:Hlist	Yvon Rioland
Template:Esc	NOS	Harmony	lang}}"	Dutch	Template:Hlist	Harry van Hoof
Template:Esc	NRK	Jahn Teigen	lang}}"	Norwegian	Template:Ill	Carsten Klouman
Template:Esc	RTP	Gemini	"Dai li dou"	Portuguese	Template:Hlist	Template:Ill
Template:Esc	TVE	José Vélez	lang}}"	Spanish	Template:Hlist	Ramón Arcusa
Template:Esc	SR	Björn Skifs	lang}}"	Swedish	Template:Ill	Template:Ill
Template:Esc	SRG SSR	Template:Ill	lang}}"	French	Template:Hlist	Template:Ill
Template:Esc	TRT	Nilüfer and Nazar	lang}}"	Turkish	Template:Hlist	Onno Tunç
Template:Esc	BBC	Co-Co	"The Bad Old Days"	English	Template:Hlist	Alyn Ainsworth

Format

The postcards were filmed live, featuring the artists making their way to the stage. They took a corridor, then an elevator. Leaving the lift, they were greeted by the previous participants and then made their entrances to the stage. The camera also made several shots of the audience, notably Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg.

Each song was accompanied by a 45-piece orchestra.<ref name=":0" />

The Swedish participant Björn Skifs was unhappy with the rule that every country would have to perform in their native language. He planned to sing in English anyway, but changed his mind at the last moment, causing him to completely forget the lyrics. He therefore sang the first few lines in gibberish before finding the words again.

The Israeli win caused problems for several North African and Middle-Eastern nations that were televising the contest, even though they were not participating. According to author and political commentator John Kennedy O'Connor in his book The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History, when Israel became the clear winners during the voting, most of the Arabic stations ended their transmission of the contest. Jordan Television finished the show with a photo of a bunch of daffodils on screen, later announcing that the Belgian entry (which finished second) was the winner.<ref>O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest – The Official History. Carlton Books, UK. 2007 Template:ISBN</ref>

Contest overview

The contest was held on 22 April 1978, beginning at 21:30 (CEST).<ref name="Didi1978">Template:Cite news</ref>

Fears of terrorist attacks like at the Summer Olympics 1972 in Munich and of stage invasions like in Template:Escyr meant that security measures in and around the Palais des Congrès were particularly tight: 200 police officers, some of them as undercover agents, tried to prevent any potential incidents. Spectators had to go through metal detectors upon arrival at the Palais des Congrès.<ref name="Didi1978" />

In addition to his duties as a host together with Denise Fabre, Léon Zitrone also served as commentator for France, in an own commentary box backstage.<ref name="Didi1978" />

citation

CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Abbr	Country	Artist	Song	Points	Place
1	Template:Esc	Template:Sortname	"Born to Sing"	86	5
2	Template:Esc	Template:Sortname	lang}}"	0	20
3	Template:Esc	lang}}	lang}}"	53	12
4	Template:Esc	Template:Sortname	lang}}"	2	18
5	Template:Esc	Gemini	"Dai li dou"	5	17
6	Template:Esc	Template:Sortname	lang}}"	119	3
7	Template:Esc	Template:Sortname	lang}}"	65	9
8	Template:Esc	Co-Co	"The Bad Old Days"	61	11
9	Template:Esc	Template:Sortname	lang}}"	65	9
10	Template:Esc	Template:Sortname	lang}}"	125	2
11	Template:Esc	Harmony	lang}}"	37	13
12	Template:Esc	Nilüfer and Nazar	lang}}"	2	18
13	Template:Esc	Template:Sortname	lang}}"	84	6
14	Template:Esc	Caline and Olivier Toussaint	lang}}"	107	4
15	Template:Esc	Template:Sortname	"Charlie Chaplin"	66	8
16	Template:Esc	Mabel	"Boom Boom"	13	16
17	Template:Esc	Baccara	lang}}"	73	7
18	Template:Esc	Template:Sortname and the Alphabeta	"A-Ba-Ni-Bi"	157	1
19	Template:Esc	Springtime	"Mrs. Caroline Robinson"	14	15
20	Template:Esc	Template:Sortname	lang}}"	26	14

Spokespersons

Each participating broadcaster appointed a spokesperson who was responsible for announcing the votes for its respective country via telephone. Known spokespersons at the 1978 contest are listed below.

• Template:FlaguTemplate:SndKaarina Pönniö<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Template:FlaguTemplate:SndTemplate:Ill<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Template:FlaguTemplate:SndMatías Prats Luque<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Template:FlaguTemplate:SndSven Lindahl<ref name="Melfest">Template:Cite book</ref>
• Template:FlaguTemplate:SndMeral Savcı<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Template:FlaguTemplate:SndColin Berry<ref name=Roxburgh>Template:Cite book</ref>

Detailed voting results

citation

CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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rowspan="20" Template:Vert header	Ireland	86		12		3		5			7	10		10	5		10		10		6	8
Norway	0
Italy	53	10	6			1	4	8	6	1	1		1	2	8	2		3
Finland	2		2
Portugal	5			4				1
France	119	6	3	10	2	2		5	8	6	8	6	4	10	5	8	8	1	5	12	10
Spain	65				7					8	2	4	7		4	6	12	2	6	7
United Kingdom	61	3				6	2	3		2	4	2	6	8	7	3		5	2	5	3
Switzerland	65		5	1	1		7	4	2		7	8		6	2		3	8	1	10
Belgium	125	12	7	6	6	4	12	2	12	10		5		3	12	12		7	7	4	4
Netherlands	37			5					3					4	1		5	6	12		1
Turkey	2		1						1
Germany	84	1		3	12	7		10		3	5	7	8		10	7	1		3		7
Monaco	107	4	4	7	8	5	1		10	5	6	10	5	7		4	10		8	1	12
Greece	66	7		2	5	8	10	7		4							4	4	10	3	2
Denmark	13						6					1							4	2
Luxembourg	73	2		12		12		12	7		3	3	2		6	1	7				6
Israel	157	8	8	8	10	10	8	6	5	12	12	12	12	12	3	5	6	12		8
Austria	14					3							3	1			2				5
Sweden	26	5	10		4		3		4

12 points

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

N.	Contestant	Nation(s) giving 12 points
6	Template:Esc	Template:Esc, Template:Esc, Template:Esc, Template:Esc, Template:Esc, Template:Esc
5	Template:Esc	Template:Esc, Template:Esc, Template:Esc, Template:Esc, Template:Esc
3	Template:Esc	Template:Esc, Template:Esc, Template:Esc
1	Template:Esc	Template:Esc
	Template:Esc	Template:Esc
	Template:Esc	Template:Esc
	Template:Esc	Template:Esc
	Template:Esc	Template:Esc
	Template:Esc	Template:Esc

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> TF1 provided 29 commentary boxes in the auditorium for foreign broadcasters.<ref name="Didi1978" />

In addition to the participating countries, the contest was also reportedly broadcast in 17 other countries, including Algeria, Iceland, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, and Yugoslavia; in Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and the Soviet Union via Intervision; and in Hong Kong, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Roxburgh" /><ref name="Didi1978" /> No official accounts of the viewing figures are known to exist; an estimate given in French press outlets ahead of the contest put the expected audience at around 350 million viewers worldwide, while media reports put viewing figures between 500 to 600 million.<ref name="Didi1978" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Known details on the broadcasts in each country, including the specific broadcasting stations and commentators are shown in the tables below.

Broadcasters and commentators in participating countries

Country	Broadcaster	Channel(s)	Commentator(s)	Template:Abbr
Template:Flagu	ORF	FS2	Ernst Grissemann	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	RTBF	RTBF1	Template:N/A	<ref name="Voorpost">Template:Cite news</ref>
	BRT	TV1	Luc Appermont	<ref name="Voorpost" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	DR	DR TV	Jørgen de Mylius	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	YLE	TV1	Template:N/A	<ref name="HS">Template:Cite news</ref>
		Template:Ill	Template:N/A
Template:Flagu	TF1		Léon Zitrone	<ref name="Didi1978" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	ARD	lang}}	Werner Veigel	<ref name="Fernsehen" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	ERT	ERT, A Programma	Template:N/A	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	RTÉ	RTÉ	Larry Gogan	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
		RTÉ Radio	Liam Devally	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Template:Flagu	IBA	Israeli Television, Template:Ill	Template:N/A	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	RAI	lang}},Template:Efn Rai Radio 2	Tullio Grazzini	<ref name="Radiocorriere">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Template:Flagu	CLT	lang}}	Jacques Navadic and Template:Ill	<ref name="Revue">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Template:Flagu	Télé Monte-Carlo		Template:N/A	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	NOS	lang}}	Willem Duys	<ref name="Limburgs">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	NRK	lang}}	Bjørn Scheele	<ref name="Norsk">Template:Cite news</ref>
		NRKTemplate:Efn	Template:Ill
Template:Flagu	RTP	lang}}	Eládio Clímaco	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	RDP	lang}}	Template:N/A	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	TVE	TVE 1	Template:Ill	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
	RNE	lang}}	Template:N/A	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Flagu	SR	TV1	Ulf Elfving	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
		SR P3	Kent Finell	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	SRG SSR	TV DRSTemplate:Efn	Template:Ill	<ref name="Fernsehen">Template:Cite news</ref>
		TSR	Template:Ill	<ref name="Je vois tout">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
		TSI	Template:N/A	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
		RSR 1	Robert Burnier	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Template:Flagu	TRT	lang}}	Template:N/A	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	BBC	BBC1	Terry Wogan	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
		BBC Radio 2Template:Efn	Ray Moore	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Broadcasters and commentators in non-participating countries

Country	Broadcaster	Channel(s)	Commentator(s)	Template:Abbr
Template:Flagu	BT	BT 1Template:Efn	Template:N/A	<ref name="Bulgaria">Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	CyBC	RIK	Template:N/A	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	TVB	TVB PearlTemplate:Efn	Template:N/A	<ref name="HongKong">Template:Cite news</ref>
	RTV	RTV-2Template:Efn	Template:N/A
Template:Flagu	MTV	MTV2Template:Efn	Template:N/A	<ref name="Hungary">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Template:Flagu	RÚV	lang}}Template:Efn	Ragna Ragnars	<ref name="Iceland">Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	JTV	JTV2Template:Efn	Template:N/A	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	TeleCuraçaoTemplate:Efn		Template:N/A	<ref name="Curaçao">Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	TP	TP1Template:Efn	Template:N/A	<ref name="Poland">Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu	JRT	TV Beograd 1	Template:N/A	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
		TV Koper-Capodistria	Template:N/A	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
		TV Ljubljana 1Template:Efn	Template:N/A	<ref name="Ljubljana">Template:Cite news</ref>
		TV Zagreb 1	Template:N/A	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

• OTI Festival 1978

External links

• Template:Official website