Eurovision Song Contest 1974
The Eurovision Song Contest 1974 was the 19th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Brighton, United Kingdom and was organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The UK agreed to host the event after Luxembourg, having won in both 1972 and 1973, declined to host it for a second successive year on the grounds of expense. The contest was held at the Brighton Dome on 6 April 1974 and was hosted by Katie Boyle for the fourth and final time (having hosted the 1960, 1963 and 1968 editions).
| Eurovision Song Contest 1974 | |
|---|---|
| Dates | |
| Final | 6 April 1974 |
| Host | |
| Venue | The Dome Brighton, United Kingdom |
| Presenter(s) | Katie Boyle |
| Musical director | Ronnie Hazlehurst |
| Directed by | Michael Hurll |
| Executive supervisor | Clifford Brown |
| Executive producer | Bill Cotton |
| Host broadcaster | British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) |
| Website | eurovision |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 17 |
| Debuting countries | Greece |
| Returning countries | None |
| Non-returning countries | France |
Participation map
| |
| Vote | |
| Voting system | Ten-member juries distributed ten points among their favourite songs. |
| Winning song | Sweden "Waterloo" |
Seventeen countries took part in the contest, with France being absent and Greece competing for the first time this year.
The winner was Sweden with the song "Waterloo", performed by ABBA, who would later go on to become one of the best-selling acts in pop music history.