Eurovision Song Contest 1981
| Eurovision Song Contest 1981 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dates | |
| Final | 4 April 1981 |
| Host | |
| Venue | RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion, Dublin, Ireland |
| Presenter(s) | Doireann Ní Bhriain |
| Musical director | Noel Kelehan |
| Host broadcaster |  RTÉ |
| Website | eurovision |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 20 |
| Debuting countries |  Cyprus |
| Returning countries |  Israel Yugoslavia |
| Non-returning countries |  Italy Morocco |
| Vote | |
| Voting system | Each country awarded 12, 10, 8-1 points to their 10 favourite songs |
| Winning song |  United Kingdom"Making Your Mind Up" |
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, Bucks Fizz member, Cheryl Baker who had performed in 1978 with the band Co-Co for the UK, Marty Brem who had taken part in the year before for Austria, Tommy Seebach for Denmark, and Björn Skifs for Sweden, while Switzerland's Peter, Sue and Marc returned for the fourth time, after 1971, 1976 and 1979.
The interval act was traditional Irish band Planxty, who performed the lengthy piece "Timedance", which depicted Irish music through the ages. The dancers were from Dublin City Ballet with choreography by Iain Montague This is seen as a precursor to "Riverdance", which became famous after its performance in 1994.
Individual Entriues
Template:1981 Eurovision Song Contest entries
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.
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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 | ||
12 points
Below is a summary of all 12 points in the final:
| N. | Recipient nation | Voting nation |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Switzerland | Finland, Ireland, Norway, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia |
| 4 | France | Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland |
| Germany | Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Turkey | |
| 2 | Ireland | Cyprus, Denmark |
| United Kingdom | Netherlands, Israel | |
| 1 | Cyprus | Greece |
| Denmark | Belgium | |
| Sweden | France |
Commentators
- Austria - Ernst Grissemann
- Turkey - TBD
- Germany - Ado Schlier
- Luxembourg - Marylène Bergmann & Jacques Navadic
- Israel - No commentator
- Denmark - Jørgen de Mylius
- Yugoslavia - TBD
- Finland - Ossi Runne
- France - Patrick Sabatier
- Spain - Miguel de los Santos
- The Netherlands - Pim Jacobs
- Ireland - Larry Gogan
- Norway - TBD
- United Kingdom - Terry Wogan
- Portugal - Fialho Gouveia
- Belgium - Luc Appermont (BRT), Jacques Mercier (RTBF)
- Greece - Mako Georgiadou
- Cyprus - Fryni Papadopoulou
- Switzerland - Theodor Haller (SRG), Georges Hardy (SSR), Giovanni Bertini (TSI)
- Sweden - Ulf Elfving
Spokespersons
- Austria - TBC
- Turkey - Başak Doğru
- Germany - Lotti Ohnesorge
- Luxembourg - Jean Octave
- Israel - Haim Yavin
- Denmark - Bent Henius
- Yugoslavia - Helga Vlahovic
- Finland - Annemi Genetz
- France - Marie Myriam
- Spain - Isabel Tenaille
- The Netherlands - Flip van der Schalie
- Ireland - John Skehan
- Norway - Sverre Kristoffersen
- United Kingdom - Colin Berry
- Portugal - Margarida Mercês de Mello
- Belgium - Jan Theys
- Greece - Fotini Yiannoulatou
- Cyprus - Aliki Fereou
- Switzerland - Michel Dénériaz
- Sweden - Bengteric Nordell
Map
