The Eurovision Song Contest 1974 was the nineteenth edition held on 6 April 1974. Luxembourg, who had won the previous year, declined to host again due to financial concerns so the BBC agreed to stage the event, which took place at The Dome in Brighton. Katie Boyle acted as presenter, marking her fourth appearance as a Eurovision host. Greece made its debut in this edition, but France withdrew as a mark of respect following the death of their president, Georges Pompidou (the funeral was held on the day of the contest). Their chosen singer, Dani, was in attendance.
Though they did not participate, Turkey, Austria, France, Malta, Denmark and Iceland all broadcast the contest with their own commentators.
Several interesting occurences came up in this edition: for example, Italy did not broadcast the contest due to a referendum on divorce being held at the time and with the Italian entry's title called "Sì" ("Yes"), RAI felt it would affect the outcome of the vote, thus it wasn't played on TV or radio for over a month. The Portuguese entry was actually the first signal for the start of the Carnation Revolution that would overthrow the government. As noted in The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History, it was "the only Eurovision entry to have actually started a revolution".
Sweden earned its first win when ABBA stormed to victory with the song Waterloo, which was their launching point to international superstardom.