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The Eurovision Song Contest 1981 was the 26th edition held on 4 April 1981 at the RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion in Dublin and presented by Doireann Ní Bhriain.

Israel returned after its year off, but Italy did not participate this year due to lack of interest, and Morocco withdrew permanently, whilst Cyprus made its debut. SFR Yugoslavia returned to the contest after five years of absence. In 1981, the total amount of participating countries was 20 once again, equaling the record set three years earlier in Paris.

The opening sequence of the 1981 Contest showed 'old Ireland' blending into 'modern Ireland' with shots of Celtic ruins, cliffs, castles, edited together with close-ups of art and shots of planes, waterfalls, people in the park, children feeding birds, traditional door knockers, front doors, architecture and horse races. The sequence ended with a map of Europe on a globe which span round to reveal the 1981 logo.

During the voting, Doireann was having trouble connecting with the Yugoslavian jury, and when asked for their votes the spokesperson, Helga Vlahovic, commented "I don't have it".  This made for a comedic moment. Also, the scoreboard went awry part-way through with Ireland having over 300 points and nothing been added to France. That error soon resolved itself.

The United Kingdom won for the fourth time with the song Making Your Mind Up by Bucks Fizz, beating Germany to the win by 4 points. Swiss participants Peter Reber, Sue Schell & Marc Dietrich participated for the fourth and final time and for the fourth time in a different language, this time in Italian.

Returning performers[]

Artist(s) Previous year(s)
Marty Brem 1980 (member of Blue Danube)
Tommy Seebach 1979
Maxi (with Sheeba) 1973
Jean-Claude Pascal 1961 (winner)
Björn Skifs 1978
Peter, Sue & Marc 1971, 1976, 1979
Cheryl Baker (with Bucks Fizz) 1978 (member of Co-Co)

Participants[]

Draw Country Artist Song Language Translation Place Points
01 Flag of Austria Austria Marty Brem Wenn du da bist German When you're here 17 20
02 Flag of Turkey Türkiye Modern Folk Trio & Ayşegül Aldinç Dönme Dolap Turkish The carousel 18 9
03 Flag of Germany Germany Lena Valaitis Johnny Blue German -- 2 132
04 Flag of Luxembourg Luxembourg Jean-Claude Pascal C'est peut-être pas l'Amérique French It may not be America 11 41
05 Flag of Israel Israel Hakol Over Habibi Halayla Hebrew Tonight 7 56
06 Flag of Denmark Denmark Tommy Seebach & Debbie Cameron Krøller eller ej Danish Curls or not 11 41
07 Flag of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia Seid Memic Lejla Bosnian Leila 15 35
08 Flag of Finland Finland Riki Sorsa Reggae OK Finnish -- 16 27
09 Flag of France France Jean Gabilou Humanahum French 3 125
10 Flag of Spain Spain Bachelli Y sólo tú Spanish And only you 14 38
11 Flag of The Netherlands The Netherlands Linda Williams Het is een wonder Dutch It is a wonder 9 51
12 Flag of Ireland Ireland Sheeba Horoscopes English -- 5 105
13 Flag of Norway Norway Finn Kalvik Aldri i livet Norwegian Never in my life 20 0
14 Flag of United Kingdom United Kingdom Bucks Fizz Making Your Mind Up English -- 1 136
15 Flag of Portugal Portugal Carlos Paião Playback Portuguese 18 9
16 Flag of Belgium Belgium Emily Starr Samson Dutch 13 40
17 Flag of Greece Greece Yiannis Dimitras Feggari Kalokerino Greek Summer moon 8 55
18 Flag of Cyprus Cyprus Island Monika -- 6 69
19 Flag of Switzerland Switzerland Peter, Sue & Marc Io senza te Italian Me without you 4 121
20 Flag of Sweden Sweden Björn Skifs Fångad i en dröm Swedish Captured in a dream 10 50
Eurovision Song Contest
Editions
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Countries
AlbaniaAndorraArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBelarusBelgiumBosnia and HerzegovinaBulgariaCroatiaCyprusCzechiaDenmarkEstoniaFinlandFranceGeorgiaGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandIsraelItalyLatviaLithuaniaLuxembourgMaltaMoldovaMonacoMontenegroMoroccoThe NetherlandsNorth MacedoniaNorwayPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSan MarinoSerbiaSerbia and MontenegroSlovakiaSloveniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTurkeyUnited KingdomUkraineYugoslavia
Winning Songs
RefrainNet Als ToenDors, mon amourEen beetjeTom PillibiNous les amoureuxUn premier amourDanseviseNon ho l'etàPoupée de Cire, Poupée de SonMerci, ChériePuppet on a StringLa, La, LaBoom Bang-a-BangVivo CantandoUn jour, un enfantDe TroubadourAll Kinds of EverythingUn banc, un arbre, une rueAprès ToiTu Te ReconnaîtrasWaterlooDing-a-DongSave Your Kisses For MeL'Oiseau et l'enfantA-Ba-Ni-BiHallelujahWhat's Another YearMaking Your Mind UpEin bißchen FriedenSi la vie est cadeauDiggiloo DiggileyLa Det SwingeJ'aime La VieHold Me NowNe Partez Pas Sans MoiRock MeInsieme: 1992Fångad av en stormvindWhy Me?In Your EyesRock 'n' Roll KidsNocturneThe VoiceLove Shine a LightDivaTake Me To Your HeavenFly on the Wings of LoveEverybodyI WannaEveryway That I CanWild DancesMy Number OneHard Rock HallelujahMolitvaBelieveFairytaleSatelliteRunning ScaredEuphoriaOnly TeardropsRise Like a PhoenixHeroes1944Amar pelos doisToyArcadeZitti e buoniStefaniaTattoo
Specials
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song ContestEurovision's Greatest HitsEurope Shine a Light
Aspects of Eurovision
CommentatorEuroClubEurovision VillageExecutive SupervisorFlag ParadeGrand PrixGreen RoomHead of DelegationInterval ActNational FinalNational JuryOfficial RulesOpening CeremonyPre-PartiesPre-Song PostcardsReference GroupRest of the World VoteRunning Order DrawSemi-FinalsScoreboardSpokespersonTelevotingVoting Systems
Miscellaneous
Big FiveCurse of 43Curse of Number TwoCurse of GreenDouze Points!ESCRadio AwardsESC Top 250Eurovision AgainEurovision National BroadcastersEurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire SagaFounding SevenLGBT visibilityLynda WoodruffMarcel Bezençon AwardsNul PointsOGAERecordsStand-insThe Reorder BoardTie SituationTop Scoring SongsVoting DiasporaWinner's CurseWithdrawn SongsYou're a Vision Award
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