LUXEMBOURG 1973

After hosting the Eurovision Song Contest already in 1962 and 1966, it was Luxembourg’s third occasion to show the best of Europe’s music to millions of viewers. The big favourite to win was yet again Cliff Richard representing the United Kingdom, but the country that managed to get the highest number of points was the host nation.

For the third time in the 18-year-old history of the Eurovision Song Contest, Luxembourg had the honour of hosting the event with 17 nations being present. After ending up in last position two years in a row, Malta decided to withdraw from the contest. Austria decided not to participate either. Instead, a new country joined the song contest, Israel. It was the first non-European country to enter the contest. Israel was allowed to do so because the country was already a member of the European Broadcasting Union. With the Israelis participating, the security control was unusually tight and there were special security measures for the Israeli delegation.

Another important rule change for the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest was that the participants could choose the language in which they wanted to sing their songs. This rule remained valid till 1976, and has been put in effect from 1999 onwards again.

The event was marked by a scandal: the Spanish entry Eres Tu by Mocedades was accused of plagiarism. It was suggested by critics that the song was merely a copy of the Yugoslav entry of 1966, Brez Besed performed by Berta Ambroz. The Spanish entry was not sanctioned though and became a huge hit internationally – it even outsold the winner Tu Te Reconnaitras by Anne-Marie David which marked the fourth victory for the Grand Duchy and the second one in a row after Vicky Leandros won the preceding year. Anne-Marie David tried her luck again in 1979 when she competed for France and came third. She is one of the few artists who ended up in the top-3 with all appearances in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Cliff Richard sang for the United Kingdom for the second time and came in third, one place worse than in 1968 and his last try ever on the Eurovision Song Contest stage; Sweden’s Monique Dominique became the first woman to conduct the orchestra. Nurit Hirsch, the female conductor for Israel, followed her a few minutes later.

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