Eurovision Song Contest 1974

The Eurovision Song Contest 1974 was the 19th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 6 April 1974 in the Dome in Brighton, United Kingdom. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and presented by Katie Boyle, this was the fifth time that the contest was staged in the United Kingdom.

Although Luxembourg had won the 1973 contest with the song "Tu te reconnaîtras" by Anne-Marie David, making Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT) the presumptive host for 1974, the broadcaster opted not to organise the event as it had staged the contest in 1973, following their win in 1972. As Spain had placed second the previous year Televisión Española (TVE) was approached, however the Spanish broadcaster also declined the opportunity to stage the contest. The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), and the British broadcasters the BBC and ITV, all subsequently made bids to stage the contest, with the BBC ultimately winning out. This was the fourth time that the BBC had staged the contest after another broadcaster declined the opportunity, having done so previously in 1960, 1963, and 1972.

Entries representing eighteen countries were submitted for the contest, with Greece making its first appearance. However, France ultimately did not participate as the contest coincided with the death of French president Georges Pompidou, and with a national day of mourning scheduled for the date of the contest the French broadcaster, Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (ORTF), deemed participating in the event to be inappropriate. The voting system used between 1971 and 1973 was scrapped, and was replaced by the system last used in 1970, with ten people in each country awarding one vote to their favourite song.

The winner was Sweden, with the song "Waterloo", composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, written by Stig Anderson and performed by ABBA. Italy and the Netherlands placed second and third respectively, followed by a three-way tie for fourth place between Luxembourg, Monaco and the United Kingdom. It was Sweden's first contest win. After previous success within European markets with "Ring Ring", with which ABBA had attempted to represent Sweden in 1973, "Waterloo" gave the group their first global hit, and their Eurovision win was a launching point for ABBA to become one of the world's best-selling music artists. Olivia Newton-John, who represented the United Kingdom at this event, would also go on to achieve worldwide success in the years following the contest.