Eurovision Song Contest 1959
The Eurovision Song Contest 1959 was the fourth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in the French seaside city of Cannes, following France's victory at the 1958 contest with the song "Dors, mon amour" by André Claveau. It was the first time France hosted the event. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF), the contest was held at Palais des Festivals et des Congrès on Wednesday 11 March 1959, and was hosted by Jacqueline Joubert.[1] It was the first Eurovision Song Contest held in a coastal town and in the Mediterranean Basin.
Eleven countries participated in the contest. Monaco made its debut this year, the United Kingdom returned after one year of absence, and Luxembourg decided not to participate.
The winner was the Netherlands with the song "Een beetje", performed by Teddy Scholten, written by Willy van Hemert and composed by Dick Schallies. This was the Netherlands' second victory in the contest, having already won in 1957 - at the same time marking the first time a country had won more than once. Willy van Hemert had also written the first Dutch winner in 1957.
The event took place in Cannes, France, with the venue being the original building of Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, after France got the right to host this edition of the Eurovision Song Contest for winning the 1958 edition with the song "Dors, mon amour" performed by André Claveau. Cannes, a city located on the French Riviera, is a busy tourist destination and known worldwide for hosting the annual Cannes Film Festival, with the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès also hosting the Film Festival. The original building was built in 1949 and was located on the boulevard of Promenade de la Croisette, on the present site of the JW Marriott Cannes.
A new rule was created for this Eurovision, ensuring that no professional publishers or composers were allowed in the national juries. During the voting, Italy gave one point to France, no points to the UK and seven points to the Netherlands placing them just three points ahead of the UK. Later on, France gave only three points to Italy and four points to the Netherlands thus giving them a five-point lead over the UK, who were only one point ahead of France, leaving Italy behind in sixth position, behind Denmark, on nine points. Something that occurred only this year was that the third- and second-placed songs, France and United Kingdom respectively, were allowed to sing again at the end of the show along with the winner, the Netherlands.
Luxembourg decided not to return to the competition, having competed every year until then. The United Kingdom returned after missing the previous contest (appearing on the scoreboard as "Grande Bretagne") and finished second for the first time. The UK would go on to have 15 second-place finishes in the country's history in the contest. The small principality of Monaco made its debut in this year's contest, but came last.[2]
