The Eurovision Song Contest 1961, originally known as 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 .
This was the second time that the contest was staged in France, with the same venue having already hosted the . It also marked the first time that a country and city had staged the contest on two occasions.
Other events held during the week of the contest included a supper for the participating delegations, which was held after the contest in the in the city's . At 56 years old, Andersen was the oldest performer to have competed in the contest, and held this record until , when 75-year-old Ladislav Demeterffy (also known as 75 Cents) competed for with the group .
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sticky-header"
|-
|+ Eurovision Song Contest 1961 participants
|-
! scope="col" | Country
! scope="col" | Broadcaster
! scope="col" | Artist
! scope="col" | Song
! scope="col" | Language
! scope="col" | Songwriter(s)
! scope="col" | Conductor
|-
! scope="row" |
| ORF
| Jimmy Makulis
| ""
| German
| Leopold Andrejewitsch
| Franck Pourcel
|-
! scope="row" |
| BRT
| Bob Benny
| ""
| Dutch
|
| Francis Bay
|-
! scope="row" |
| DR
| Dario Campeotto
| "Angelique"
| Danish
| Aksel V. Rasmussen
| Kai Mortensen
|-
! scope="row" |
| YLE
| Laila Kinnunen
| ""
| Finnish
|
| George de Godzinsky
|-
! scope="row" |
| RTF
| Jean-Paul Mauric
| ""
| French
|
| Franck Pourcel
|-
! scope="row" |
| HR
| Lale Andersen
| ""
| German, French
|
| Franck Pourcel
|-
! scope="row" |
| RAI
| Betty Curtis
| ""
| Italian
|
| Gianfranco Intra
|-
! scope="row" |
| CLT
| Jean-Claude Pascal
| ""
| French
|
| Léo Chauliac
|-
! scope="row" |
| TMC
| Colette Deréal
| ""
| French
|
| Raymond Lefèvre
|-
! scope="row" |
| NTS
| Greetje Kauffeld
| ""
| Dutch
|
| Dolf van der Linden
|-
! scope="row" |
| NRK
| Nora Brockstedt
| ""
| Norwegian
|
| Øivind Bergh
|-
! scope="row" |
| TVE
| Conchita Bautista
| ""
| Spanish
|
|
|-
! scope="row" |
| SR
| Lill-Babs
| ""
| Swedish
|
|
|-
! scope="row" |
| SRG SSR
| Franca di Rienzo
| ""
| French
|
| Fernando Paggi
|-
! scope="row" |
| BBC
| The Allisons
| "Are You Sure?"
| English
|
| Harry Robinson
|-
! scope="row" |
| JRT
| Ljiljana Petrović
| "" <small>()</small>
| Serbo-Croatian
|
| Jože Privšek
|}
Production and format
The contest was organised and broadcast by the French public broadcaster (RTF). Each participating delegation was allowed to nominate its own musical director to lead the orchestra during the performance of its country's entry, with the host musical director also conducting for those countries which did not nominate their own conductor. The event was presented by Jacqueline Joubert, who had also hosted the 1959 contest; Joubert remains one of only three individuals to have presented multiple Eurovision Song Contests, alongside the UK's Katie Boyle (1960, , and ) and Sweden's Petra Mede (, and ).
Each country, participating through a single EBU member broadcaster, was represented by one song performed by up to two people on stage. The results of the event were determined through jury voting, with each country's jury containing ten individuals who each gave one vote to their favourite song, with no abstentions allowed and with jurors unable to vote for their own country. The jury comprised members of the public who represented the average television viewer.
The draw to determine the running order took place on 16 March 1961 at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes, conducted by Jacqueline Joubert and assisted by two children aged six and four.
Contest overview<span class="anchor" id="Results"></span><span class="anchor" id="Participants and results"></span>
<!-- Anchors in the header are the old section names -->
thumb|upright|[[Jean-Claude Pascal, the winning artist of the 1961 contest]]
The contest was held on 18 March 1961 at 20:00 (CET) and lasted 1 hour and 39 minutes. It was the first time that the contest was staged on a Saturday night, which has since become the traditional day on which the grand final of the contest is staged. The prize for the winning artist and songwriters, an engraved medallion, was presented by Tessa Beaumont. This was the first of an eventual five contest victories that Luxembourg has gone on to achieve . The came second for the third consecutive contest, while the placed third. Songs of such subject matter would have been considered taboo, and would not have been allowed to be spoken of widely in 1961; same-sex sexual activities were illegal in almost half of the countries competing in the contest at the time, including in Austria, West Germany, the UK and Spain. Therefore, the true meaning of the lyrics was required to be hidden behind subtext and double meanings, an interpretation later affirmed by Pascal, himself a gay man, although he never publicly came out during his lifetime. Given the song was released before the emergence of the modern gay liberation movement, it has since been interpreted as an early protest song in favour of rights for sexual minorities.
{| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders sticky-header"
|-
|+ Results of the Eurovision Song Contest 1961
|-
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Country
! scope="col" | Artist
! scope="col" | Song
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Votes
! scope="col" | Place
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1
|
|
| ""
| 8
| 9
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2
|
|
| ""
| 6
| 10
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 3
|
|
| ""
| 1
| 15
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 4
|
|
| ""
| 6
| 10
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 5
|
|
| ""
| 9
| 8
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 6
|
|
| ""
| 6
| 10
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 7
|
| Lill-Babs
| ""
| 2
| 14
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 8
|
|
| ""
| 3
| 13
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 9
|
|
| ""
| 13
| 4
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 10
|
|
| ""
| 16
| 3
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 11
|
|
| ""
| 1
| 15
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 12
|
|
| ""
| 10
| 7
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 13
|
|
| "Angelique"
| 12
| 5
|- style="font-weight:bold; background:gold;"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 14
|
|
| ""
| 31
| 1
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 15
|
|
| "Are You Sure?"
| 24
| 2
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 16
|
|
| ""
| 12
| 5
|}
Spokespersons
Each participating broadcaster appointed a spokesperson, connected to the contest venue via telephone lines and responsible for announcing, in English or French, the votes for its respective country. Known spokespersons at the 1961 contest are listed below.
- Michael Aspel
Detailed voting results<span class="anchor" id="Scoreboard"></span>
<!-- Anchor in the header is the old section name -->
Jury voting was used to determine the scores awarded by all countries; each country assembled a ten-person jury, with each juror awarding one vote to their favourite song. The announcement of the results from each country was conducted in reverse order to that which each country performed, with the spokespersons announcing their country's votes in English or French in performance order.
|-
! colspan="2" |
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
! scope="col"
|-
! rowspan="16"
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Spain
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 8 || || 1 || || || 2 || || || 2 || || 1 || 1 || || || || 1 || style="text-align:left; background-color:#aaa"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Monaco
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 6 || || 1 || || || || || 1 || || || || || || 3 || || style="text-align:left; background-color:#aaa"| || 1
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Austria
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 1 || || 1 || || || || || || || || || || || || style="text-align:left; background-color:#aaa"| || ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Finland
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 6 || 2 || 2 || || 1 || || || || 1 || || || || || style="text-align:left; background-color:#aaa"| || || ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Yugoslavia
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 9 || || 1 || || 1 || || || 1 || 2 || || || 1 || style="text-align:left; background-color:#aaa"| || || 3 || ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Netherlands
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 6 || 2 || || || || || || || 1 || 1 || || style="text-align:left; background-color:#aaa"| || 2 || || || ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Sweden
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 2 || || || || || || || || 2 || || style="text-align:left; background-color:#aaa"| || || || || || ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Germany
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 3 || || || || 1 || || || || || style="text-align:left; background-color:#aaa"| || 1 || || || || 1 || ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | France
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 13 || || 2 || 1 || || || || || style="text-align:left; background-color:#aaa"| || 4 || 1 || || || 1 || || 2 || 2
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Switzerland
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 16 || 2 || 2 || || || || || style="text-align:left; background-color:#aaa"| || || || 4 || 2 || 1 || || 2 || 2 || 1
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Belgium
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 1 || || || 1 || || || style="text-align:left; background-color:#aaa"| || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Norway
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 10 || || || || 1 || style="text-align:left; background-color:#aaa"| || 5 || || || || || || 1 || 2 || || || 1
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Denmark
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 12 || || || || style="text-align:left; background-color:#aaa"| || 8 || || || || || 2 || 1 || || 1 || || ||
|- style="background:gold;"
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; font-weight:bold; background:gold;" | Luxembourg
| style="text-align:right; font-weight:bold;" | 31 || 3 || || style="text-align:left; background-color:#aaa"| || 1 || || || 1 || 1 || 5 || 1 || 1 || 5 || 3 || 4 || 4 || 2
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | United Kingdom
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 24 || 1 || style="text-align:left; background-color:#aaa"| || 8 || 1 || || 1 || 7 || || || || 3 || || || || || 3
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:left; background:#f2f2f2;" | Italy
| style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;" | 12 || style="text-align:left; background-color:#aaa"| || || || 4 || || 4 || || 1 || || || 1 || 1 || || || 1 ||
|}
Broadcasts<span class="anchor" id="Broadcasters and commentators"></span>
<!-- Anchor in the header is the old section name -->
Broadcasters competing in the event were required to relay the contest via its networks; non-participating EBU member broadcasters were also able to relay the contest. 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. These commentators were typically sent to the venue to report on the event, and were able to provide commentary from small booths constructed at the back of the venue. Local press reported a total of 14 commentators reporting on the contest, with a total of 16 countries broadcasting the event.
|-
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" |
| BRT
| BRT
|
| style="text-align:center" rowspan="2" |
|-
| RTB
| RTB
| Robert Beauvais
|-
! scope="row" |
| DR
| , Program 1
| Sejr Volmer-Sørensen
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
! scope="row" |
| YLE
| ,
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
! scope="row" |
| RTF
| RTF, France I
| Robert Beauvais
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
! scope="row" |
| ARD
|
| Wolf Mittler
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
! scope="row" |
| RAI
| ,
| Corrado Mantoni
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
! scope="row" |
| CLT
|
| Robert Beauvais
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
! scope="rowgroup" |
| colspan="2" | , Radio Monte Carlo
| Robert Beauvais
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| VARA
| Hilversum 1
| Coen Serré
|-
! scope="row" |
| NRK
| , NRK
| Leif Rustad
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" |
| TVE
| TVE
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| RNE
| RNE
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="4" |
| rowspan="4" | SRG SSR
| TV DRS, Radio Bern
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| TSR
| Robert Beauvais
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| TSI, Radio Monte Ceneri
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Radio Sottens
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
! scope="row" |
| BBC
| BBC TV
| Tom Sloan
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" |
| rowspan="2" | JRT
| , , ,
| Saša Novak
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Radio Ljubljana 2
|
| style="text-align:center" |