| Eurovision Song Contest 1961 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dates | |
| Final | 18 March 1961 |
| Host | |
| Venue | Palais des Festivals et des Congrès Cannes, France |
| Presenter(s) | Jacqueline Joubert |
| Musical director | Franck Pourcel |
| Directed by | Maurice Barry |
| Executive producer | Marcel Cravenne |
| Host broadcaster | Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF) |
| Website | eurovision |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 16 |
| Debuting countries | |
| Non-returning countries | None |
| |
| Vote | |
| Voting system | Ten-member juries distributed 10 points among their favourite songs. |
| Winning song |  Luxembourg"Nous les amoureux" |
The Eurovision Song Contest 1961 was the 6th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. Once again, the contest was held in the French seaside city of Cannes, which had also hosted the 1959 edition. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF), the contest was again held at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès on Saturday 18 March 1961, becoming the first contest to take place on a Saturday evening, a tradition that has continued ever since (with the exception of 1962). The show was directed by Marcel Cravenne and again hosted by Jacqueline Joubert, who had also hosted in 1959.[1]
Sixteen countries participated in the contest - three more than in the previous edition; Finland, Spain and Yugoslavia all competed for the first time this year.
The winner was Luxembourg with the song "Nous les amoureux", performed by Jean-Claude Pascal, written by Maurice Vidalin, and composed by Jacques Datin, with the United Kingdom finishing in second place for the third consecutive year.