The Eurovision Song Contest 1981 was the 26th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Dublin, Ireland, following the country's victory at the 1980 contest with the song "What's Another Year" by Johnny Logan. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), the contest was held at the RDS Simmonscourt on 4 April 1981, and was hosted by Irish television journalist Doireann Ní Bhriain.
Twenty countries participated in the contest, equalling the record of the 1978 edition. Cyprus made their début this year, while Israel and Yugoslavia both returned to the competition, after their one-year and five-year absences, respectively. Morocco and Italy decided not to participate.
The winner was the United Kingdom with the song "Making Your Mind Up", performed by Bucks Fizz, written by Andy Hill and John Danter. Germany finished second for the second consecutive year, while France finished third. Norway again finished last, with its third nul points in the contest.
Bucks Fizz's win launched the group's hugely successful international career. Their performance on the Eurovision stage included a dance-routine where the two male members ripped the skirts off the two female members only to reveal mini-skirts, and today stands as one of the most defining moments in the contest's history.
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 | United Kingdom | BBC | Bucks Fizz | "Making Your Mind Up" | John Coleman | 136 |
| 02 | Germany | ARD/BR | Lena Valaitis | "Johnny Blue" | Wolfgang Rödelberger | 132 |
| 03 | France | TF1 | Jean Gabilou | "Humanahum" | David Sprinfield | 125 |
| 04 | Switzerland | SRG SSR | Peter, Sue and Marc | "Io senza te" | Rolf Zuckowski | 121 |
| 05 | Ireland | RTÉ | Sheeba | "Horoscopes" | Noel Kelehan | 105 |
| 06 | Cyprus | CyBC | Island | "Monika" (Μόνικα) | Mihalis Rozakis | 69 |
| 07 | Israel | IBA | Habibi | "Halayla" (הלילה) | Eldad Shrem | 56 |
| 08 | Greece | ERT | Yiannis Dimitras | "Feggari kalokerino" (Φεγγάρι καλοκαιρινό) | Giorgos Niarchos | 55 |
| 09 | Netherlands | NOS | Linda Williams | "Het is een wonder" | Rogier van Otterloo | 51 |
| 10 | Sweden | SVT | Björn Skifs | "Fångad i en dröm" | Anders Berglund | 50 |
| 11 | Luxembourg | CLT | Jean-Claude Pascal | "C'est peut-être pas l'Amérique" | Joël Rocher | 41 |
| Denmark | DR | Tommy Seebach and Debbie Cameron | "Krøller eller ej" | Allan Botschinsky | 41 | |
| 13 | Belgium | BRT | Emly Starr | "Samson" | Giuseppe Marchese | 40 |
| 14 | Spain | TVE | Bacchelli | "Y sólo tú" | Joan Barcons | 38 |
| 15 | Yugoslavia | JRT | Seid Memić Vajta | "Lejla" (Лејла) | Ranko Rihtman | 35 |
| 16 | Finland | YLE | Riki Sorsa | "Reggae O.K." | Henrik Otto Donner | 27 |
| 17 | Austria | ORF | Marty Brem | "Wenn du da bist" | Richard Oesterreicher | 20 |
| 18 | Turkey | TRT | Modern Folk Trio and Ayşegül | "Dönme Dolap" | Onno Tunç | 9 |
| Portugal | RTP | Carlos Paião | "Playback" | Shegundo Galarza | 9 | |
| 20 | Norway | NRK | Finn Kalvik | "Aldri i livet" | Sigurd Jansen | 0 |
Broadcasts[]
Participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) | Spokesperson(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | FS2 | Ernst Grissemann | Unknown |
| Belgium (Dutch) | TV1 | Luc Appermont | Unknown |
| Belgium (French) | RTBF1, Télé 2 | Jacques Mercier | |
| Cyprus | RIK | Fryni Papadopoulou | Unknown |
| Denmark | DR TV | Jørgen de Mylius | Unknown |
| Finland | TV1 | Ossi Runne | Unknown |
| Rinnakkaisohjelma | Matti Paalosmaa | ||
| France | TF1 | Patrick Sabatier | Unknown |
| Germany | Deutsches Fernsehen | Unknown | Unknown |
| Ireland | RTÉ 1 | Larry Gogan | Unknown |
| RTÉ Radio 1 | Unknown | ||
| Israel | Israeli Television | No commentator | Unknown |
| Luxembourg | RTL Télé-Luxembourg | Unknown | Unknown |
| Netherlands | Nederland 1 | Pim Jacobs | Unknown |
| Norway | NRK Fjernsynet | Knut Aunbu | Unknown |
| NRK | Erik Heyerdahl | ||
| Portugal | RTP1 | Eládio Clímaco | Unknown |
| Antena 1 | Unknown | ||
| Spain | TVE 1 | Miguel de los Santos | Unknown |
| Sweden | TV1 | Ulf Elfving | Bengteric Nordell |
| Switzerland (German) | TV DRS | Theodor Haller | Unknown |
| Switzerland (French) | TSR | Georges Hardy | |
| Switzerland (Italian) | TSI | Giovanni Bertini | |
| Turkey | TRT Televizyon | Unknown | Unknown |
| United Kingdom | BBC1 | Terry Wogan | Colin Berry |
| BBC Radio 2 | Ray Moore | ||
| Yugoslavia | TV Beograd 1, TV Ljubljana 1, TV Novi Sad, TV Zagreb 1 | Unknown | Helga Vlahović |
Non-participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 2EA, 3EA | Unknown |
| Bulgaria | BNT | Unknown |
| Czechoslovakia | ČST2 | Unknown |
| Egypt | ERTU | Unknown |
| Hong Kong | Unknown | Unknown |
| Hungary | MTV2 | András Sugár |
| Iceland | Sjónvarpið | Dóra Hafsteinsdóttir |
| Jordan | JTV2 | Unknown |
| Netherlands Antilles | TeleCuraçao | Pim Jacobs |
| TeleAruba | Unknown | |
| Poland | TP1 | Unknown |
| Romania | TVR | Unknown |
| South Korea | Unknown | Unknown |
| Soviet Union | CT USSR | Unknown |
| United Arab Emirates | Dubai Radio & Color Television Service | Unknown |
Broadcast notes[]
- Czechoslovakia - The show was broadcast on ČST2 on a delayed basis and in a shortened format on 3 May 1981 at 17:10 CEST.
- Hungary - The show was broadcast on MTV2 on a delayed basis on 2 May 1981 at 21:50 CEST.
- Iceland - The show was broadcast on Sjónvarpið on a delayed basis on 19 April 1981 at 21:10 WET.
- Jordan - The show was broadcast on JTV2 on a delayed basis and in a shortened format on 10 October 1981 at 21:10 EET.
- Netherlands Antilles (Aruba) - The show was broadcast on TeleAruba on a delayed basis on 25 July 1981 at 20:00 ADT.
- Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao) - The show was broadcast on TeleCuraçao on a delayed basis on 13 July 1981 at 22:00 ADT.
- Norway - The show was broadcast on NRK deferred at 22:40 CEST.
- Poland - The show was broadcast on TP1 on a delayed basis and in a shortened format on 25 April 1981 at 22:45 CEST.
- Switzerland - TV DRS and TSI broadcast the show through a second audio programme on TSR.