LUXEMBOURG 1966

Once again, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg had the honour of staging Europe’s most important musical contest and for the first time, a song in German managed to get the trophy. The capital city of Luxembourg was the home of the 11th Eurovision Song Contest. The rules for the contest were heavily discussed and many changes were suggested but they remained almost unchanged to the previous year apart from the fact that the national juries could include music experts again.

During the dress rehearsal, the Italian pariticipant Domenico Modugno was not satisfied with the orchestra and left the stage in anger. It was uncertain if he was going to perform during the live show, but he sang his song Dio Come Ti Amo after all. The song later became a huge success in South America for Gigliola Cinquetti, the winner of the 1964 Eurovision Song Contest.

The Austrian participant Udo Jürgens participated in the Eurovision Song Contest for the third consecutive time and finally, he managed to give the first ever victory to his native country with his song Merci Cherie. Udo later became one of the most-loved artists in the German-speaking countries.

Future song contest hosts Lill Lindfors and Åse Kleveland took part in this contest as singers, finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively. In her performance, Åse ignored tradition and was the first woman not to wear a dress in the Eurovision Song Contest; Dutch representative Milly Scott became the first black singer to take part in the contest.

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