Eurovision: 1968 Trivia Quiz

Answer: London

The competition took place in the Royal Albert Hall in London. Named for the late consort of Queen Victoria, the Hall is in the rotunda style, and best known for its annual Promenade concert series. At the time of the Eurovision contest, it was still notorious for its acoustical difficulties, particularly a bad echo, but this was resolved in 1969 by the addition of a number of fibreglass "mushrooms" suspended from the ceiling.

They don't look very pretty, but they work very well!

Answer: Spain

Spain's entry "La,La,La", won the contest by one point. There was a bit of controversy, however: accusations were later made that General Franco's staff had bribed some of the juries for the contest. An earlier controversy regarding the entry was that the singer originally slated to perform insisted in singing it in his native Catalan, the national language of Andorra and the regional language of several parts of Spain. This was deemed unacceptable by Franco's government, so another singer was substituted for the competition.

Answer: Cliff Richard

Written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter, this upbeat little song was originally written as "I Think I Love You". (Yes, I know. It's running through your head at this very moment, and it will take a LOT to tune it out - which is the mark of a very successful tune!) Cliff Richard (without his usual backing group, the Shadows) had a huge hit with the song throughout Europe.

Answer: broadcast in colour

For the first time, the contest was broadcast in colour - even though most of the people living in Europe at that time did not have colour television sets. Those in countries covered by the European Broadcasting Union were able to view the show, as well as anyone living in Tunisia or Eastern Europe.

Answer: four

Four countries sang their entries in French. They were

Belgium - "Quand tu reviendras" ("When Will You Come Back")
France - "La source" ("The Source")
Luxembourg - "Nous vivrons d'amour" ("We Will Live by Love") and
Monaco - "A chacun sa chanson" ("To Everyone His Song")

Answer: Austria

Karel Gott from Prague, Czechoslovakia, sang the entry from Austria, "Tausend Fenster" ("One thousand Windows"). Gott studied opera at the Prague Conservatory, where he also became involved in singing popular music, the career he followed following his time at the Conservatory.

Answer: none

All the participating countries had taken part in earlier competitions. Seven of them had participated since the very first contest in 1956.

Answer: Katie Boyle

For the third, but not last, time, Katie Boyle was the presenter. Boyle started her career as a model and actress, and has appeared on numerous television programmes since.

The others all are or were British television presenters.

Answer: Impressions from London

The interval show was something called (or by) "Impressions from London". One is unable to find any information on the content of the show.

Mike Yarwood and Dave Allen were both television personalities at the time, and Peter Warlock was a magician.

Answer: ten

Ten countries shared their positions with others. Belgium, Monaco and Yugoslavia tied for seventh place. Portugal and Luxembourg tied for eleventh. Austria, Norway and Switzerland tied for thirteenth and the Netherlands and Finland brought up the rear with a tie for sixteenth place.