The Eurovision Song Contest 1965 was the tenth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Naples, Italy, following the country's victory at the 1964 contest with the song "Non ho l'età" by Gigliola Cinquetti. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI), the contest was held at Sala di Concerto della RAI on 20 March 1965, and was hosted by Italian singer Renata Mauro.
Eighteen countries participated in the contest - setting a new record for the highest number of entrants in the competition until that point. Sweden returned after being absent from the previous edition, while Ireland made its debut.
Luxembourg won for the second time with the highly controversial "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" sung by the French singer France Gall, and written by Serge Gainsbourg, which later went on to be a massive hit in almost all European countries. It was the first winning song since the Netherlands' "Een beetje" in 1959 to not be a ballad, being the first pop song to ever win the competition. For the fourth consecutive year, four countries all scored nul points; Belgium, Finland, Germany, and Spain - all of which finished with no points for the second time in the contest's history.
For the first time, the contest was now broadcasting in the Warsaw Pact countries.
Results[]
Country in gold is the winning entry and the country in silver is the host country.
| Rank | Country | EBU member station | Artist | Song | Conductor | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Luxembourg | CLT | France Gall | "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" | Alain Goraguer | 32 |
| 02 | United Kingdom | BBC | Kathy Kirby | "I Belong" | Eric Robinson | 26 |
| 03 | France | ORTF | Guy Mardel | "N'avoue jamais" | Franck Pourcel | 22 |
| 04 | Austria | ORF | Udo Jürgens | "Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüßen" | Gianni Ferrio | 16 |
| 05 | Italy | RAI | Bobby Solo | "Se piangi, se ridi" | Gianni Ferrio | 15 |
| 06 | Ireland | RÉ | Butch Moore | "I'm Walking the Streets in the Rain" | Gianni Ferrio | 11 |
| 07 | Denmark | DR | Birgit Brüel | "For din skyld" | Arne Lamberth | 10 |
| 08 | Switzerland | SRG SSR | Yovanna | "Non, à jamais sans toi" | Mario Robbiani | 8 |
| 09 | Monaco | TMC | Marjorie Noël | "Va dire à l'amour" | Raymond Bernard | 7 |
| 10 | Sweden | SR | Ingvar Wixell | "Absent Friend" | William Lind | 6 |
| 11 | Netherlands | NTS | Conny Vandenbos | "Het is genoeg" | Dolf van der Linden | 5 |
| 12 | Yugoslavia | JRT | Vice Vukov | "Čežnja" | Radivoje Spasić | 2 |
| 13 | Norway | NRK | Kirsti Sparboe | "Karusell" | Øivind Bergh | 1 |
| Portugal | RTP | Simone de Oliveira | "Sol de inverno" | Fernando de Carvalho | 1 | |
| 15 | Spain | TVE | Conchita Bautista | "Qué bueno, qué bueno" | Adolfo Ventas Rodríguez | 0 |
| Germany | ARD/NDR | Ulla Wiesner | "Paradies, wo bist du?" | Alfred Hause | 0 | |
| Belgium | BRT | Lize Marke | "Als het weer lente is" | Gaston Nuyts | 0 | |
| Finland | YLE | Viktor Klimenko | "Aurinko laskee länteen" | George de Godzinsky | 0 |
Broadcasts[]
The contest was reportedly broadcast in Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Poland and the Soviet Union via Intervision.
Participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) | Spokesperson |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | ORF | Unknown | Unknown |
| Belgium (Dutch) | BRT | Unknown | Unknown |
| Belgium (French) | RTB | Unknown | |
| Radio Une | Unknown | ||
| Denmark | DR TV | Unknown | Unknown |
| Finland | TV-ohjelma 1 | Aarno Walli | Unknown |
| Yleisohjelma | Erkki Melakoski | ||
| Ruotsinkielinen ula-ohjelma | Jerker Sundholm | ||
| France | Première Chaîne, France Inter | Pierre Tchernia | Unknown |
| Germany | Deutsches Fernsehen | Unknown | Unknown |
| Ireland | Telefís Éireann | Bunny Carr | Unknown |
| Radió Éireann | Unknown | ||
| Italy | Programma Nazionale, Secondo Programma | Renato Tagliani | Unknown |
| Luxembourg | Télé-Luxembourg | Unknown | Unknown |
| Monaco | Télé Monte-Carlo | Unknown | Unknown |
| Netherlands | Nederland 1 | Teddy Scholten | Dick van Bommel |
| Hilversum 2 | Unknown | ||
| Norway | NRK Fjernsynet, NRK | Erik Diesen | Unknown |
| Portugal | RTP | Unknown | Unknown |
| Spain | TVE, TVE Canarias | Federico Gallo | Unknown |
| RNE | Unknown | ||
| Sweden | Sveriges TV, SR P1 | Berndt Friberg | Edvard Matz |
| Switzerland (German) | TV DRS | Unknown | Unknown |
| Switzerland (French) | TSR | Jean Charles | |
| RSR 1 | Unknown | ||
| Switzerland (Italian) | TSI | Unknown | |
| RSI 1 | Unknown | ||
| United Kingdom | BBC TV | David Jacobs | Unknown |
| Yugoslavia | Televizija Beograd | Unknown | Unknown |
| Televizija Ljubljana | Unknown | ||
| Televizija Zagreb | Unknown |
Non-participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Czechoslovakia | ČST | Unknown |
| East Germany | Deutscher Fernsehfunk | Unknown |
| Hungary | MTV | Unknown |
| Malta | MTV | Victor Aquilina |
| Poland | TV Polska | Unknown |
| Romania | TVR | Unknown |
| Soviet Union | CT USSR | Unknown |
Broadcast notes[]
- East Germany - The show was broadcast on a delayed basis.
- Hungary - The show was broadcast on a delayed basis on 11 September 1965 at 21:00 CET.
- Spain - The show was broadcast on a delayed basis on TVE Canarias 27 March at 21:50 WET.
- Poland - The show was broadcast on a deferred basis on TV Polska at 22:15 CET.