The Eurovision Song Contest 1972 was the 17th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Edinburgh, United Kingdom and was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), who agreed to stage the event after Monaco, who won in 1971, were unable to meet the demands of hosting the event and could not find a suitable venue. The contest was held at the Usher Hall on 25 March 1972 and was hosted by Scottish ballet dancer Moira Shearer. Eighteen countries took part in the contest, the same countries as the previous year.
The winner was Luxembourg with the song "Après toi", performed by Vicky Leandros, with lyrics by Yves Dessca, and music composed by Mario Panas (which was the writing pseudonym of Vicky's father Leo Leandros). "Après toi" became the winner with the lowest percentage of the total vote, winning with just 8.30% of the points available. Yves Dessca also wrote "Un banc, un arbre, une rue" that had won the previous edition, and became the second person to win the contest twice, the first person to win for two different countries and the first person to win two years in a row. Germany finished in third place for the third consecutive year, equalling their highest placement from the previous two editions.
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 | RTL | Vicky Leandros | "Après toi" | Klaus Munro | 128 |
| 02 | United Kingdom | BBC | The New Seekers | "Beg, Steal or Borrow" | David Mackay | 114 |
| 03 | Germany | ARD/SFB | Mary Roos | "Nur die Liebe läßt uns leben" | Paul Kuhn | 107 |
| 04 | Netherlands | NOS | Sandra and Andres | "Als het om de liefde gaat" | Harry van Hoof | 106 |
| 05 | Austria | ORF | The Milestones | "Falter im Wind" | Erich Kleinschuster | 100 |
| 06 | Italy | RAI | Nicola Di Bari | "I giorni dell'arcobaleno" | Gian Franco Reverberi | 92 |
| 07 | Portugal | RTP | Carlos Mendes | "A festa da vida" | Richard Hill | 90 |
| 08 | Switzerland | SRG SSR | Véronique Müller | "C'est la chanson de mon amour" | Jean-Pierre Festi | 88 |
| 09 | Yugoslavia | JRT | Tereza | "Muzika i ti" | Nikica Kalogjera | 87 |
| 10 | Spain | TVE | Jaime Morey | "Amanece" | Augusto Algueró | 83 |
| 11 | France | ORTF | Betty Mars | "Comé-comédie" | Franck Pourcel | 81 |
| 12 | Finland | YLE | Päivi Paunu and Kim Floor | "Muistathan" | Ossi Runne | 78 |
| 13 | Sweden | SR | The Family Four | "Härliga sommardag" | Mats Olsson | 75 |
| 14 | Norway | NRK | Grethe Kausland and Benny Borg | "Småting" | Carsten Klouman | 73 |
| 15 | Ireland | RTÉ | Sandie Jones | "Ceol an Ghrá" | Colman Pierce | 72 |
| 16 | Monaco | TMC | Anne-Marie Godart and Peter MacLane | "Comme on s'aime" | Raymond Bernard | 65 |
| 17 | Belgium | RTB | Serge and Christine Ghisoland | "À la folie ou pas du tout" | Henri Segers | 55 |
| 18 | Malta | MBA | Helen and Joseph | "L-imħabba" | Charles Camilleri | 48 |
Broadcasts[]
The contest was reportedly broadcast in Brazil, Hong Kong, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Morocco, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Zaire.
Participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | FS2 | Ernst Grissemann |
| Belgium (French) | RTB | Unknown |
| Belgium (Dutch) | BRT | Unknown |
| Finland | TV-ohjelma 1 | Unknown |
| Yleisohjelma | Matti Paalosmaa | |
| Ruotsinkielinen ohjelma | Åke Grandell | |
| France | Première Chaîne | Pierre Tchernia |
| Germany | Deutsches Fernsehen | Unknown |
| Ireland | RTÉ | Mike Murphy |
| RTÉ Radio | Unknown | |
| Ireland | Programma Nazionale, Secondo Programma | Renato Tagliani |
| Luxembourg | Télé-Luxembourg | Jacques Navadic |
| Malta | MTS, National Network | Norman Hamilton |
| Monaco | Télé Monte-Carlo | Unknown |
| Netherlands | Nederland 1 | Pim Jacobs |
| Norway | NRK Fjernsynet, NRK | Roald Øyen |
| Portugal | I Programa | Unknown |
| Spain | TVE 1 | Julio Rico |
| Radio Nacional, La Voz de España | Unknown | |
| Sweden | TV1 | Bo Billtén |
| SR P3 | Björn Bjelfvenstam | |
| Switzerland (German) | TV DRS | Theodor Haller |
| DRS 1 | Unknown | |
| Switzerland (French) | TSR | Georges Hardy |
| RSR 2 | Robert Burnier | |
| Switzerland (Italian) | TSI | Unknown |
| United Kingdom | BBC1 | Tom Fleming |
| BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2 | Pete Murray | |
| BFBS Radio | Terry James | |
| Yugoslavia | TV Beograd 1 | Unknown |
| TV Ljubljana 1 | Unknown | |
| TV Zagreb | Unknown |
Non-participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | TV Paraná | Unknown |
| Czechoslovakia | ČST2 | Blažena Kočtúchová |
| Hong Kong | Unknown | Unknown |
| Hungary | MTV | Unknown |
| Iceland | Sjónvarpið | Björn Matthíasson |
| Israel | Israeli Television | No commentary |
| Japan | Unknown | Unknown |
| Morocco | RTM | Unknown |
| Philippines | ABS-CBN | Unknown |
| Taiwan | TTV | Unknown |
| Thailand | Thai Television Channel 4 | Unknown |
| Zaire | RTNC | Unknown |
Broadcast notes[]
- Hungary - The show was broadcast on a delayed basis on 21 April at 21:30 CET.
- Iceland - The show was broadcast on a delayed basis on 5 April at 21:45 CET.
- Switzerland - The show was broadcast on a delayed basis on DRS 1 on 27 March at 22:30 CET.