< 1968 Review | 1969 Review | 1970 Review >
Introduction
We’ve now reached the year my mother was born in! I can imagine her as a baby to get a feel for how long ago this contest was. Eurovision 1969 was the only contest hosted in Spain and the first hosted in a city I’ve been to: Madrid. The count of Eurovisions hosted in cities I’ve visited is anywhere from four to eight, depending on what you count. I’ve been to Madrid, Paris, Munich, and Lisbon; Brighton and Athens too, but only as a baby; and I’ve transferred at airports in Amsterdam and Düsseldorf. Counting all of these, I could increase the number to 14 if I ever visit Dublin.
This contest had 16 countries, since Austria skipped it this time. After a rapid increase in contestants in the first decade, it must have been disappointing when countries started skipping out. Except for people who hated Eurovision and thought it was the stupidest thing ever; they probably found it satisfying.
The most notable part about this contest is that four countries tied for the winner: the United Kingdom, Spain, France, and the Netherlands. I imagine that the people running Eurovision must have been embarrassed that they never made a tiebreaker rule, which they did next year. Luckily, there were just enough medals to give to the winners. Normally one medal went to the winning singer, and up to three medals went to the winning songwriters; this time, each medal went to a winning singer. The four-way win was so controversial that four more countries skipped out in 1970.
A few other facts: Madrid was the southernmost and westernmost host city at the time. It was the first Eurovision broadcast in the Americas; according to the presenter, Chile, Puerto Rico, and Brazil. The promotional material was designed by a name everyone knows: Salvador Dali. That sounds crazy to me, but is it any crazier than ABBA being from Eurovision?
Fittingly, I watched this contest with commentary in Spanish. This should be a fun way to test how well I know the language, after learning it on and off for a year.
Continue reading
Cookie Fonster's stuff 