Eurovision Song Contest 1972
| Eurovision Song Contest 1972 | |
|---|---|
| Dates | |
| Final | 25 March 1972 |
| Host | |
| Venue | Usher Hall Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Presenter(s) | Moira Shearer |
| Executive producer | Bill Cotton |
| Director | Terry Hughes |
| Musical director | Malcolm Lockyer |
| EBU scrutineer | Clifford Brown |
| Host broadcaster | British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) |
| Website | eurovision |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 18 |
| Debuting countries | None |
| Returning countries | None |
| Non-returning countries | None |
Participation map
| |
| Vote | |
| Voting system | Two-member juries from each country; each juror scored each song between one and five |
| Winning song | Luxembourg "Après toi" |
The Eurovision Song Contest 1972 was the 17th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom and was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), who agreed to stage the event after the Monégasque broadcaster Télé Monte Carlo (TMC), who won in 1971, was unable to meet the demands of hosting the event and could not find a suitable venue. The contest was held at the Usher Hall on 25 March 1972 and was hosted by Scottish ballet dancer Moira Shearer. Eighteen countries took part in the contest, the same number as the previous year.
This contest marked the first time that the event was hosted in Scotland. Prior to 1972, when the BBC hosted the contest in 1960, 1963, and 1968, it had always chosen a venue in London. However, for the Eurovision Song Contest 1972, the BBC broke this trend and chose to host the competition in the Scottish capital, marking the first time that London had not been chosen. The 1972 contest also marked the first time that the event was broadcast live in Asia, with viewers in Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Thailand able to watch the show on television for the first time. The 1972 contest also marked the first time that a video wall was used to present song titles and artists prior to their performance.
The winner was Luxembourg with the song "Après toi", performed by Vicky Leandros, with lyrics by Yves Dessca, and music composed by Mario Panas (which was the writing pseudonym of Vicky's father Leo Leandros). "Après toi" became the winner with the lowest percentage of the total vote, winning with just 8.30% of the votes available. Yves Dessca also wrote "Un banc, un arbre, une rue" that had won the previous edition, and became the second person to win the contest twice, the first person to win for two different countries and the first person to win two years in a row. Germany finished in third place for the third consecutive year, equalling their highest placement from the previous two editions.