• Dates – Grand Final: Saturday, 20 March 1965 – 20:00 CET
• Host – Venue & Location: Sala di Concerto della RAI (RAI’s production center in Naples; Centro di produzione Rai di Napoli), Naples, 🇮🇹 Italy
• Presenter (s): Renata Mauro 
• Musical Director: Gianni Ferrio
• Director: Romolo Siena
  
• Executive Producer: —
  
• Executive Supervisor: Miroslav Vilček
  
• Multicamera Director: Romolo Siena
  
• Host broadcaster: Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI)
• Interval Act: Mario Del Monaco
• Participants – Number of entries: 18 [🇧🇪 Belgium (10ª), 🇫🇷 France (10ª), 🇩🇪 Germany (10ª), 🇮🇹 Italy (10ª), 🇳🇱 The Netherlands (10ª), 🇨🇭 Switzerland (10ª), 🇦🇹 Austria (9ª), 🇩🇰 Denmark (9ª), 🇬🇧 United Kindom (8ª), 🇲🇨Monaco (7ª), 🇱🇺 Luxembourg (9ª), 🇳🇴 Norway (6ª), 🇫🇮 Finland (5ª), 🇪🇸 Spain (5ª),  Yugoslavia (5ª), 🇵🇹 Portugal (2ª), 🇮🇪 Ireland (1ª), 🇸🇪 Sweden (7ª)]
• Debuting countries: 🇮🇪 Ireland (1ª)
• Return: 🇸🇪 Sweden (7ª)
• Non-returning countries: —
• Vote – Voting system: Ten-member juries awarded points (5, 3 and 1, or combinations thereof) to their three favourite songs.
• Nil Points: 🇧🇪 Belgium (2ª), 🇫🇮 Finland (2ª), 🇩🇪 Germany (2ª), 🇪🇸 Spain (2ª).
• Winning song:  “Poupée de cire, poupée de son” – France Gall – 🇱🇺 Luxembourg (2ª)

About. The 1965 Eurovision Song Contest took place in Naples and saw Luxembourg win again. The winning entry, performed by France Gall, “Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son”, is a milestone moment in the history of the show since it is the first time that a pop song won the Eurovision Song Contest.

Sweden returns, Ireland debuts. Italy and its national broadcaster RAI hosted this year’s contest for the first time. 18 countries took part, at that point, the number of participants ever. After a year of absence, Sweden returned to the competition and Ireland debuted. Belgium, Germany, Finland and Spain all scored nul points while Luxembourg won for the second time with the highly controversial “Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son” sung by teenager France Gall. The song went on to become a massive hit in almost all European countries and had a major impact on the type of songs entered into the contest in the following years. Swedish participant Ingvar Wixell performed his song -originally called “Annorstädes Vals” –  in English instead of Swedish while all the other participants sang in their native languages. This incident led to a rule change meaning that all participants would have to perform their songs in their respective national languages.

Facts & figures. For the first time, the Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast not only by the European Broadcasting Union, but also by Intervision, its Eastern European counterpart.

o/r	country	participant (s)	song – translate – language	Points	rank
01	🇳🇱 The Netherlands NTS	Conny Van den Bos	‘t is genoeg (Het is genoeg, It’s enough) Dutch	005	11
02	🇬🇧 United Kindom BBC	Kathy Kirby	I Belong English	026	02
03	🇪🇸 Spain TVE	Conchita Bautista	¡Qué bueno, qué bueno! (How good, how good!) Spanish	000	15
04	🇮🇪 Ireland RÉ	Butch Moore	Walking the streets in the rain (I’m Walking the streets in the rain) English	011	06
05	🇩🇪 Germany ARD	Ulla Wiesner	Paradies, wo bist du? (Paradise, where are you?) German	000	15
06	🇦🇹 Austria ÖRF	Udo Jürgens	Sag ihr, ich lass’ sie grüßen (Tell her I send my regards) German	016	04
07	🇳🇴 Norway NRK	Kirsti Sparboe	Karussell (Merry-go-round) Norwegian	001	013
08	🇧🇪 Belgium BRT	Lize Marke	Als het weer lente is (When it’s springtime again) Dutch	000	15
09	🇲🇨 Monaco TMC	Marjorie Noël	Va dire à l’amour (Go and tell love) French	007	09
10	🇸🇪 Sweden SR	Ingvar Wixell	Absent friend  [Annorstädes vals (Elsewhere Waltz)] English	006	10
11	🇫🇷 France ORTF	Guy Mardel	N’avoue jamais (Never admit) French	022	03
12	🇵🇹 Portugal RTP	Simone de Oliveira	Sol de inverno (Winter sun) Portuguese	001	13
13	🇮🇹 Italy RAI	Bobby Solo	Se piangi, se ridi (If you cry, if you laugh) Italian	015	05
14	🇩🇰 Denmark DR	Birgit Brüel	For din skyld (For your sake) Danish	010	07
15	🇱🇺 Luxembourg CLT	France Gall	Poupée de cire, poupée de son (Wax doll, sawdust doll) French	032	01
16	🇫🇮 Finland YLE	Viktor Klimenko	Aurinko laskee länteen (The sun sets in the west) Finnish	000	15
17	Yugoslavia JRT	Vice Vukov (Вице Вуков)	Čežnja (Чежња, Longing) Serbo-Croatian	002	12
18	🇨🇭 Switzerland SSR SRG	Yovanna	Non, à jamais sans toi (No, forever without you) French	008	08

Participation map

Participating countries  

ESC 1965 Scoreboard Ι Detailed voting results:

The Eurovision Song Contest 1965 was the tenth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Naples, Italy, following the country’s victory at the 1964 contest with the song “Non ho l’età” by Gigliola Cinquetti. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), the contest was held at Sala di Concerto della RAI on Saturday 20 March 1965, and was hosted by Italian singer Renata Mauro.

Eighteen countries participated in the contest – setting a new record for the highest number of entrants in the competition until that point. Sweden returned after being absent from the previous edition, while Ireland made its debut.

Luxembourg won for the second time with the highly controversial Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son sung by the french singer France Gall, and written by Serge Gainsbourg, which later went on to be a massive hit in almost all European countries. It was the first winning song since the Netherlands’ “Een beetje” in 1959 to not be a ballad, being the first pop song to ever win the competition. For the fourth consecutive year, four countries all scored nul points; Belgium, Finland, Germany, and Spain – all of which finished with no points for the second time in the contest’s history.

1.Location. The contest took place in Naples, the capital of region Campania in southern Italy and the third-largest city in Italy, after Rome and Milan. This was Italy’s first hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest. The host venue was the then new Sala di Concerto della RAI (RAI Production Centre of Naples), founded few years prior to the contest, in the late fifties and early sixties. It is located in Viale Marconi in the district of Fuorigrotta. The structure has three TV studios for a total of 1227 m² and capacity of 370 persons, used for the filming of programs and fiction and an auditorium. The Neapolitan song archives are also housed in it.

2.Format. Each country had 10 jury members who distributed three points among their one, two, or three favourite songs. The points were totalled and the first, second, and third placed songs were awarded 5, 3, and 1 votes in order. If only one song got every point within the jury it would get all 9 points. If only two songs were chosen, the songs would get 6 and 3 points in order.

Ingvar Wixell, the Swedish participant performed his song in English instead of the original Swedish title “Annorstädes vals”. The native languages were used for all of the other participants. This led to a rule being introduced for the next 1966 edition, that meant all participants had to perform their songs using one of their national languages.

3.Participating countries. 18 countries took part, with the Eurovision Song Contest reaching its highest number until then. Sweden returned after a one-year absence, and Ireland entered for the first time. Ireland would later become the most successful country in the competition, scoring seven wins in total.

3.1.Returning artists.

Artist	Country	Previous year(s)
Conchita Bautista	🇪🇸 Spain	1961
Vice Vukov	Yugoslavia	1963
Udo Jürgens	🇦🇹 Austria	1964

3.2.Conductors. Each performance had a conductor who led the orchestra.

3.3.Participants and results.

3.4.All the national selections for Eurovision Song Contest 1965: 

• National Selections in 1965:

COUNTRY	EVENT	WINNER
🇧🇪 Belgium	Eurosong 1965 (song selection) [b]	Lize Marke – Als het weer lente is
🇩🇰 Denmark	Melodi Grand Prix 1965	Birgit Brüel – For din skyld
🇫🇮 Finland	(Finnish Selection 1965)	Viktor Klimenko – Aurinko laskee länteen
🇩🇪 Germany	Ein Lied für Neapel	Ulla Wiesner – Paradies, wo bist du?
🇮🇪 Ireland	(Irish Selection 1965)	Butch Moore – I’m Walking the Streets in the Rain
🇮🇹 Italy	Sanremo 1965	Bobby Solo – Se piangi, se ridi
🇳🇱 The Netherlands	Nationaal Songfestival 1965	Conny van den Bos – Het is genoeg
🇳🇴 Norway	Melodi Grand Prix 1965	Kirsti Sparboe – Karusell
🇵🇹 Portugal	Grande Prémio TV da Canção 1965	Simone de Oliveira – Sol de Inverno
🇪🇸 Spain	Eurofestival	Conchita Bautista – ¡Qué bueno, qué bueno!
🇸🇪 Sweden	Svensk Sångfestival 1965 (song selection) [c]	Ingvar Wixell – Annorstädes vals
🇨🇭 Switzerland	Concours Eurovision 1965	Yovanna – Non, à jamais sans toi
🇬🇧 United Kindom	A Song for Europe 1965 (song selection) [d]	Kathy Kirby – I Belong
Yugoslavia	Jugovizija 1965	Vice Vukov – Čežnja

• Internal Selections in 1965: 

3.5.Connections:

4.Voting. Each country had 10 jury members who distributed three points among their one, two, or three favourite songs. The points were totalled and the first, second, and third placed songs were awarded 5, 3, and 1 votes in order. If only one song got every point within the jury it would get all 9 points. If only two songs were chosen, the songs would get 6 and 3 points in order.

Voting results

		Total score
C o n t e s t a n t s	🇳🇱 The Netherlands	5							5
	🇬🇧 United Kindom	26			5				1	6		3			1	5				5
	🇪🇸 Spain	0
	🇮🇪 Ireland	11												3	5				3
	🇩🇪 GermanY	0
	🇦🇹 Austria	16		3		5								5	3
	🇳🇴 Norway	1						1
	🇧🇪 Belgium	0
	🇲🇨 Monaco	7		5															1	1
	🇸🇪 Sweden	6														3		3
	🇫🇷 France	22	1		3	1	3				5						3	1	5
	🇵🇹 Portugal	1									1
	🇮🇹 Italy	15	3	1			1			3	3		3				1
	🇩🇰 Denmark	10										5					5
	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	32	5		1	3	5	5	3			1				1		5		3
	🇫🇮 Finland	0
	Yugoslavia	2											1	1
	🇨🇭 Switzerland	8						3					5

4.1.5 points. Below is a summary of all 5 points in the final:

N.	Contestant	Nation(s) giving 5 points
4	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	🇦🇹 Austria, 🇫🇮 Finland, 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇳🇱 The Netherlands
	🇬🇧 United Kindom	🇧🇪 Belgium,[a] 🇩🇰 Denmark, 🇪🇸 Spain, 🇨🇭 Switzerland
2	🇦🇹 Austria	🇮🇪 Ireland, 🇵🇹 Portugal
	🇫🇷 France	🇲🇨 Monaco,  Yugoslavia
	🇩🇰 Denmark	🇱🇺 Luxembourg, 🇸🇪 Sweden
1	🇮🇪 Ireland	🇮🇹 Italy
	🇲🇨 Monaco	🇬🇧 United Kindom
	🇳🇱 The Netherlands	🇳🇴 Norway
	🇨🇭 Switzerland	🇫🇷 France

4.2.Spokespersons. Listed below is the order in which votes were cast during the 1965 contest along with the spokesperson who was responsible for announcing the votes for their respective country.

5.Broadcasts. Each national broadcaster also sent a commentator to the contest, in order to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language.

Broadcasters and commentators in participating countries

Country	Broadcaster(s)	Commentator(s)	–
🇦🇹 Austria	ÖRF	Willy Kralik
🇧🇪 Belgium	RTB	French: Paule Herreman
	BRT	Dutch: Herman Verelst
🇩🇰 Denmark	DR TV	Eric Danielsen
🇫🇮 Finland	Suomen Televisio	Aarno Walli
	Yleisohjelma	Erkki Melakoski	–
🇫🇷 France	Première Chaîne ORTF	Pierre Tchernia	–
🇩🇪 Germany	Deutsches Fernsehen	Hermann Rockmann	–
🇮🇪 Ireland	Telefís Éireann	Bunny Carr
	Radió Éireann	Kevin Roche
🇮🇹 Italy	Programma Nazionale	Piero Angela
🇱🇺 Luxembourg	Télé-Luxembourg	Pierre Tchernia	–
🇲🇨 Monaco	Télé Monte Carlo
🇳🇱 The Netherlands	Nederland 1	Teddy Scholten	–
🇳🇴 Norway	NRK and NRK P1	Erik Diesen
🇵🇹 Portugal	RTP	Henrique Mendes
🇪🇸 Spain	TVE	Federico Gallo
🇸🇪 Sweden	Sveriges TV and SR P1	Berndt Friberg	–
🇨🇭 Switzerland	TV DRS	German: Theodor Haller
	TSR	French: Jean Charles	–
	TSI	Italian: Carlo Bonomi
🇬🇧 United Kindom	BBC1	David Jacobs	–
	BBC Light Programme	David Gell
Yugoslavia	Televizija Beograd	Serbo-Croatian: Miloje Orlović
	Televizija Zagreb	Serbo-Croatian: Mladen Delić
	Televizija Ljubljana	Slovene: Tomaž Terček

Broadcasters and commentators in non-participating countries

Country	Broadcaster(s)	Commentator(s)	–
🇨🇿 Czechoslovakia	ČST	Unknown	–
East Germany	Deutscher Fernsehfunk	Unknown	–
🇭🇺 Hungary	RTV	Unknown	–
🇵🇱 Poland	TVP	Unknown	–
🇷🇴 Romania	TVR	Unknown	–
Soviet Union	CT USSR	Igor Kirillov	–

6.Notes.

• [a] Belgium gave the United Kingdom 6 points
• [b] Lize Marke was internally selected to represent Belgium at Eurovision 1965. The song “Als het weer lente is” that Lize performed at Eurovision was selected through a national final with six songs.
• [c] Ingvar Wixell was internally selected to represent Sweden at Eurovision 1965. The song “Annorstädes vals” that Wixell performed at Eurovision was selected through Svensk Sångfestival 1965 with six songs.
• [d] Kathy Kirby was internally selected to represent United Kingdom at Eurovision 1965. The song “I Belong” that Kathy performed at Eurovision was selected through A Song for Europe 1965, and the result was announced a week later.

7.Trivial / Fun facts.

• For the first time the contest was broadcast not only by the European Broadcasting Union, but also by Intervision, its Eastern European counterpart.

← Eurovision Song Contest 1964 • Eurovision Song Contest 1965 • Eurovision Song Contest 1966 →
Countries (in order of appearance)
Final	The Netherlands ⦁ United Kingdom ⦁ Spain ⦁ Ireland ⦁ Germany ⦁ Austria ⦁ Norway ⦁ Belgium ⦁ Monaco ⦁ Sweden • France ⦁ Portugal ⦁ Italy ⦁ Denmark ⦁ Luxembourg (winner) • Finland • Yugoslavia • Switzerland
Artists (in order of appearance)
Final	Conny Vandenbos ⦁ Kathy Kirby ⦁ Conchita Bautista ⦁ Butch Moore ⦁ Ulla Wiesner ⦁ Udo Jürgens ⦁ Kirsti Sparboe ⦁ Lize Marke ⦁ Marjorie Noël ⦁ Ingvar Wixell ⦁ Guy Mardel ⦁ Simone de Oliveira • Bobby Solo ⦁ Birgit Brüel ⦁ France Gall (winner) ⦁ Viktor Klimenko ⦁ Vice Vukov • Yovanna
Songs (in order of appearance)
Final	“‘t Is genoeg” ⦁ “I Belong” ⦁ “¡Qué bueno, qué bueno!” ⦁ “Walking the Streets in the Rain” ⦁ “Paradies, wo bist du?” ⦁ “Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüßen” ⦁ “Karusell” ⦁ “Als het weer lente is” ⦁ “Va dire à l’amour” ⦁ “Absent Friend” ⦁ “N’avoue jamais” ⦁ “Sol de inverno” • “Se piangi, se ridi” ⦁ “For din skyld” ⦁ “Poupée de cire, poupée de son” (winner) ⦁ “Aurinko laskee länteen” ⦁ “Čežnja” (Чежња) • “Non, à jamais sans toi“