Eurovision Song Contest 1973

The Eurovision Song Contest 1973 was the 18th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 7 April 1973 at the Nouveau Théâtre in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, and presented by Helga Guitton. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT), who staged the event after winning the 1972 contest for Luxembourg with the song "Après toi" by Vicky Leandros. Broadcasters from a total of eighteen countries signed up to enter the contest, with Israel competing for the first time, while Austria pulled out after taking part in 1972 due to disputes between the broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) and Austrian record labels. However Malta's planned participation ultimately failed to materialise, after the Maltese Broadcasting Authority (MBA) deemed the quality of the songs that it had received of too low quality, leaving seventeen countries to participate.

For the second year in a row the winner was Luxembourg, represented by the song "Tu te reconnaîtras", composed by Claude Morgan [fr], with lyrics by Vline Buggy [de], and performed by Anne-Marie David. This was Luxembourg's fourth contest victory, matching the record number of contest wins previously set by France, and marked the second time that a country had won the contest two years in succession, previously set by Spain in 1969. Spain, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Sweden rounded out the top five positions, with Israel achieving the best performance for a debut nation since 1957. With 129 votes out of a possible maximum score of 160, "Tu te reconnaîtras" remains as of 2025^[update] the best-ever scoring song when compared to the potential maximum available, receiving 80.63% of the maximum vote.

The 1973 contest took place in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, following the country's victory at the 1972 contest with the song "Après toi" performed by Vicky Leandros. It was the third time that the event was hosted in Luxembourg, following the contests held in 1962 and 1966.

Within days of winning the 1972 contest the Luxembourgish broadcaster Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT) had confirmed its intent to stage the event. CLT proposed the Nouveau Théâtre, also known as the Grand Théâtre or Théâtre Municipal, an arts venue inaugurated in 1964, as the venue and suggested either 28 April or 5 May 1973 as the date of the event, the latest calendar dates proposed for the contest since its first edition in 1956. A revised date of 7 April was subsequently accepted by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), and announced during the 1972 edition of the Rose d'Or festival in Montreux, Switzerland. The venue's usual capacity of 800 seats was reduced by about 100 to allow space for technical equipment.

Broadcasters from a total of eighteen countries initially signed up for the 1973 event. Seventeen of the eighteen which had participated in 1972 were set to return – with Austria being the only absence – and were joined by Israel in its contest debut. The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), who was eligible to participate as a member of the EBU, became the first broadcaster to enter the contest representing a non-European country. The Austrian broadcaster, Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), in contrast refused to send an entry, reportedly due to disputes between its head of entertainment and Austrian record labels. In October 1972 the Greek broadcaster, the National Radio Television Foundation (EIRT), also enquired about entering the contest, however this was past the EBU's cut-off date; it would ultimately enter for the first time at the following year's event, in what was Greece's debut. Malta was among the eighteen countries initially scheduled to compete, however the Maltese Broadcasting Authority (MBA) withdrew its planned participation at a late stage, considering the standard of songs that it had received to be of too low quality for the contest; this left seventeen countries in the contest.

Three artists which had previously competed in the contest returned to represent their countries again: Marion Rung who had represented Finland in 1962, Cliff Richard who had represented the United Kingdom in 1968, and Massimo Ranieri who had represented Italy in 1971, appeared in the contest for the second time. Additionally, Nicole and Hugo had originally been selected to represent Belgium in 1971, however the duo were replaced after Nicole had contracted jaundice; among the Belgian duo's backing singers was Claude Lombard, who had represented the nation in 1968. Sweden's group had originally performed in the Swedish selection, Melodifestivalen 1973, as Malta; however to avoid confusion with the country, the group performed at Eurovision as "the Nova". Monica Dominique was the first female conductor in the contest's history when she led the orchestra during the Swedish entry; she was shortly followed by the second female conductor, Nurit Hirsh for Israel, a few songs later.

The Eurovision Song Contest 1973 was produced by the Luxembourgish public broadcaster Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT), with some technical assistance provided by the German public broadcaster ARD. Paul Ulveling [lb] served as producer, René Steichen served as director, Joachim Dzierzenga served as designer, and Pierre Cao served as musical director, leading the 46-piece Radio Télé Luxembourg 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 German radio and television presenter Helga Guitton, a regular presenter on the German-language Radio Luxemburg and the French-language Télé-Luxembourg. The preparation and production activities of the contest coincided with the introduction of colour television on Télé-Luxembourg in late 1972.

Each participating broadcaster submitted one song, which was required to be no longer than three minutes in duration. A maximum of six performers were allowed on stage during each country's performance. Following the confirmation of the eighteen planned participating countries, the draw to determine the running order of the contest was held on 8 January 1973 at the Villa Louvigny television studios in Luxembourg City, conducted by Jacques Harvey and Helga Guitton in the presence of Clifford Brown for the EBU and Gust Graas and Camille Ernster for CLT.