The Eurovision Song Contest 1969 was the 14th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Madrid, Spain, following the country's victory at the 1968 contest with the song "La La La" by Massiel. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Televisión Española (TVE), the contest was held at the Teatro Real on 29 March 1969 and was hosted by Spanish television presenter and actress Laurita Valenzuela.
Sixteen countries took part in the contest with Austria deciding not to participate this year.
At the close of voting, four countries were declared joint-winners: the United Kingdom with "Boom Bang-a-Bang" by Lulu, Spain with "Vivo cantando" by Salomé, the Netherlands with "De troubadour" by Lenny Kuhr, and France with "Un jour, un enfant" by Frida Boccara. It was the first time in the history of the contest that a tie for first place had occurred, and as there was no tiebreaker rule in place at the time, all four countries were declared joint winners. France's win was their fourth, thus making it the first country to win the contest four times. The Netherlands' win was their third. Spain and the United Kingdom each won for the second time, with Spain becoming the first country to win the Eurovision Song Contest twice in a row.
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 | Spain | TVE | Salomé | "Vivo cantando" | Augusto Algueró | 18 |
| United Kingdom | BBC | Lulu | "Boom Bang-a-Bang" | Johnny Harris | 18 | |
| Netherlands | NTS | Lenny Kuhr | "De troubadour" | Frans de Kok | 18 | |
| France | ORTF | Frida Boccara | "Un jour, un enfant" | Franck Pourcel | 18 | |
| 05 | Switzerland | SRG SSR | Paola | "Bonjour, Bonjour" | Henry Mayer | 13 |
| 06 | Monaco | TMC | Jean Jacques | "Maman, Maman" | Hervé Roy | 11 |
| 07 | Ireland | RTÉ | Muriel Day | "The Wages of Love" | Noel Kelehan | 10 |
| Belgium | BRT | Louis Neefs | "Jennifer Jennings" | Francis Bay | 10 | |
| 09 | Sweden | SR | Tommy Körberg | "Judy, min vän" | Lars Samuelson | 8 |
| Germany | ARD/HR | Siw Malmkvist | "Primaballerina" | Hans Blum | 8 | |
| 11 | Luxembourg | CLT | Romuald | "Catherine" | Augusto Algueró | 7 |
| 12 | Finland | YLE | Jarkko and Laura | "Kuin silloin ennen" | Ossi Runne | 6 |
| 13 | Yugoslavia | JRT | Ivan | "Pozdrav svijetu" (Поздрав свијету) | Miljenko Prohaska | 5 |
| Italy | RAI | Iva Zanicchi | "Due grosse lacrime bianche" | Ezio Leoni | 5 | |
| 15 | Portugal | RTP | Simone de Oliveira | "Desfolhada portuguesa" | Ferrer Trindade | 4 |
| 16 | Norway | NRK | Kirsti Sparboe | "Oj, oj, oj, så glad jeg skal bli" | Øivind Bergh | 1 |
Broadcasts[]
The contest was reportedly broadcast in 26 countries including in Tunisia, in Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the Soviet Union via Intervision, and in many Spanish-speaking countries including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama and Puerto Rico.
Participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) | Spokesperson |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium (Dutch) | BRT | Jan Theys | Eugène Senelle |
| Belgium (French) | RTB | Unknown | |
| Finland | TV-ohjelma 1, Yleisohjelma | Aarno Walli | Poppe Berg |
| Ruotsinkielinen ula-ohjelma | Unknown | ||
| France | Deuxième Chaîne, France Inter | Pierre Tchernia | Unknown |
| Germany | Deutsches Fernsehen | Unknown | Unknown |
| Ireland | RTÉ | Unknown | Unknown |
| RTÉ Radio | Unknown | ||
| Italy | Secondo Programma | Renato Tagliani | Unknown |
| Luxembourg | Télé-Luxembourg | Unknown | Unknown |
| Monaco | Télé Monte-Carlo | Unknown | Unknown |
| Netherlands | Nederland 1 | Pim Jacobs | Unknown |
| Norway | NRK Fjernsynet, NRK | Sverre Christophersen | Janka Polanyi |
| Portugal | I Programa, II Programa | Henrique Mendes | Unknown |
| Spain | TVE 1, TVE 2, TVE Canarias | José Luis Uribarri | Unknown |
| Radio Nacional | Unknown | ||
| Radio Juventud | Unknown | ||
| Radio Popular | Unknown | ||
| Radio Barcelona, Radio Castellón, Radio Girona, Radio Lérida, Radio Murcia, Radio Orense, Radio Pamplona, Radio Rioja, Radio San Sebastián, Radio Tarragona, Radio Valladolid, Radio Zaragoza | Unknown | ||
| Sweden | Sveriges TV, SR P3 | Christina Hansegård | Edvard Matz |
| Switzerland (German) | TV DRS | Unknown | Unknown |
| Switzerland (French) | TSR | Georges Hardy | |
| Switzerland (Italian) | TSI | Unknown | |
| United Kingdom | BBC1 | David Gell | Colin Ward-Lewis |
| BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2 | Pete Murray | ||
| Yugoslavia | Televizija Beograd | Unknown | Unknown |
| Televizija Ljubljana | Unknown |
Non-participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | FS1 | Unknown |
| Brazil | TV Tupi Rio de Janeiro, TV Tupi São Paulo, TV Itacolomi, TV Paraná | Rubens Amaral |
| Chile | Canal 9 | Unknown |
| Colombia | Canal Nacional | Unknown |
| Costa Rica | Telecentro Canal 6, Telenac Canal 2 | Roberto Giralt |
| Czechoslovakia | ČST | Unknown |
| East Germany | Deutscher Fernsehfunk | Unknown |
| Hungary | MTV | Unknown |
| Malta | MTS | Victor Aquilina |
| Mexico | Unknown | Unknown |
| Panama | Unknown | Unknown |
| Poland | TVP | Unknown |
| Puerto Rico | Unknown | Unknown |
| Romania | Programul 1 | Unknown |
| Soviet Union | CT USSR | Unknown |
| Tunisia | RTT | Unknown |
Broadcast notes[]
- Chile - The show was broadcast on a delayed basis on Canal 9 on 29 March 1969 at 20:15 CLT.
- Colombia - The show was broadcast on a delayed basis on Canal Nacional on 1 May 1969 at 16:00 COT.
- Costa Rica - The show was broadcast on a delayed basis on Telecentro Canal 6, and Telenac Canal 2 on 4 May 1969 at 21:00 CST.
- Norway - The show was broadcast on a deferred basis on NRK at 22:30 CET. The connection between the commentary booth in Madrid and the NRK studios in Oslo was disabled partway through the broadcast, resulting in the Norwegian commentary not being relayed to Norwegian viewers and listeners. Commentary was temporarily provided by Janka Polanyi before the Swedish feed was rerouted to also cover the Norwegian broadcasts, with the original connection to Christophersen ultimately fixed before the start of the voting sequence.
- Spain - The show was broadcast on a delayed basis on TVE Canarias the following day at at 22:35 WET.