Eurovision Song Contest 1971

The Eurovision Song Contest 1971 was the 16th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 3 April 1971 at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, and presented by Bernadette Ní Ghallchóir. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), who staged the event after winning the 1970 contest for Ireland with the song "All Kinds of Everything" by Dana.

Broadcasters from eighteen countries participated in the contest, equalling the record of the 1965 and 1966 editions. Austria returned after their two-year absence, while Finland, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden all returned after having boycotted the competition the previous year. On the other hand, Malta competed for the first time.

The winner was Monaco with the song "Un banc, un arbre, une rue", performed by Séverine, written by Yves Dessca, and composed by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre. This was Monaco's first and only victory in the contest. This was also the only time in the contest's history, where the second and third-placed entrants were also awarded.

The 1971 contest was held in Dublin, Ireland, following the country's victory at the 1970 contest with the song "All Kinds of Everything" performed by Dana. It was the first time that the contest was hosted in Ireland. The selected venue was the Gaiety Theatre; opened in 1871, the staging of the contest coincided with the venue's centenary anniversary.

Within hours of Ireland's win at the 1970 contest, the director-general of the Irish public broadcaster Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), Thomas P. Hardiman, confirmed that the broadcaster intended to stage the contest; however the staging of the contest in Ireland was not confirmed until a meeting of a European Broadcasting Union (EBU) committee in Helsinki in April 1970. The Gaiety was confirmed as the venue in July 1970, with other Dublin venues reported in relation to hosting the event including the Main Hall of the Royal Dublin Society, the Great Hall of University College Dublin, and the Abbey Theatre. An audience of around 700 was expected to be present in the contest venue, with around 400 seats removed to accommodate the orchestra and technical equipment.

Eighteen countries were represented in the 1971 contest – the twelve nations which had been represented in 1970 were joined by Finland, Norway, Portugal and Sweden, who all returned after a year's absence; Austria, participating again after a two year break; and Malta, in its debut appearance. The large number of returning countries was reported to have been mainly due to a number of rule changes proposed for this edition of the contest; broadcasters from Finland, Norway, Portugal and Sweden had all declined to participate in 1970 due to dissatisfaction with a four-way tie for first place in the 1969 contest and the lack of a tie-break rule.

Two artists which had previously competed in the contest returned to represent their countries again for a second time: Katja Ebstein who had represented Germany in 1970, and Jacques Raymond who had represented Belgium in 1963. Raymond and his singing partner Lily Castel had been late replacements for the original duo selected to perform the Belgian entry, Nicole and Hugo, after Nicole had contracted jaundice before the contest.

The Eurovision Song Contest 1971 was produced by the Irish public broadcaster Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ). Tom McGrath served as producer and director, Alpho O'Reilly served as designer, and Colman Pearce served as musical director, leading the 50-piece RTÉ Orchestra. A separate musical director could be nominated by each participating delegation to lead the orchestra during its country's performance, with the host musical director also available to conduct for those countries which did not nominate their own conductor. On behalf of the EBU, the event was overseen by Clifford Brown as scrutineer. The contest was presented by the Irish television presenter Bernadette Ní Ghallchóir.