Eurovision Song Contest 1981
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| Eurovision Song Contest 1981 |
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| Final | 4 April 1981 |
| Presenter(s) | Doireann Ní Bhriain |
| Conductor | Noel Kelehan |
| Host broadcaster | |
| Venue | RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion, Dublin, Ireland |
| Winning song | "Making Your Mind Up" |
| Voting system | |
| Each country awarded 12, 10, 8-1 points to their 10 favourite songs | |
| Number of entries | 20 |
| Debuting countries | |
| Returning countries | |
| Withdrawing countries | |
| Nul points | |
| Interval act | Planxty with "Timedance" |
| Eurovision Song Contest | |
| ◄1980 • 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. Another memorable moment occurred as 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 performnce in 1994.
[edit] Results
| Draw | Country | Language | Artist | Song | English Translation | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Marty Brem | Wenn Du Da Bist | When You're Here | 17 | 20 | |
| 2 | Turkish | Modern Folk Trio and Ayseg | Dönme Dolap | The Carousel | 18 | 9 | |
| 3 | German | Lena Valaitis | Johnny Blue | Johnny Blue | 2 | 132 | |
| 4 | French | Jean-Claude Pascal | C'Est Peut-Être Pas L'Amérique | It May Not Be America | 11 | 41 | |
| 5 | Hebrew | Habibi | Halayla (הלילה) | Tonight | 7 | 56 | |
| 6 | Danish | Debbie Cameron and Tommy Seebach | Krøller Eller Ej | Curly Hair Or Not | 11 | 41 | |
| 7 | Serbo-Croatian | Seid Memić "Vajta" | Lejla | Lejla | 15 | 35 | |
| 8 | Finnish | Riki Sorsa | Reggae OK | Reggae OK | 16 | 27 | |
| 9 | French | Jean Gabilou | Humanahum | Humanahum | 3 | 125 | |
| 10 | Spanish | Bacchelli | Y Sólo Tú | And Only You | 14 | 38 | |
| 11 | Dutch | Linda Williams | Het Is Een Wonder | It Is A Wonder | 9 | 51 | |
| 12 | English | Sheeba | Horoscopes | - | 5 | 105 | |
| 13 | Norwegian | Finn Kalvik | Aldri I Livet | Never In my Life | 20 | 0 | |
| 14 | English | Bucks Fizz | Making Your Mind Up | - | 1 | 136 | |
| 15 | Portuguese | Carlos Paião | Play-Back | Playback | 18 | 9 | |
| 16 | Dutch | Emly Starr | Samson | Samson | 13 | 40 | |
| 17 | Greek | Yiannis Dimitras | Fegari Kalokerino (Φεγγάρι καλοκαιρινό) | Summer Moon | 8 | 55 | |
| 18 | Greek | Island | Monika (Μόνικα) | Monica | 6 | 69 | |
| 19 | Italian | Peter, Sue and Marc | Io Senza Te | Me Without You | 4 | 121 | |
| 20 | Swedish | Björn Skifs | Fångad I En Dröm | Captured In A Dream | 10 | 50 |
[edit] 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.
[edit] Map
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