Eurovision 1962

The Eurovision Song Contest 1962 was the seventh in the series. France's win was their third and mar
It was not one of the most exciting Contests in the event's history. It had an atmosphere flatter than a pancake run over by a convoy of steamrollers and France consolidating the sort of reputation Ireland would gain notoriety for 30 years later by winning for the third time in five Eurovisions. This was the first year the juries ranked their songs, rather than spreading 10 votes out between all the acts on show. Despite them having 15 songs to choose from, they were only allowed to select a top three; with three points for a jury's preferred song, two for its second choice and one for the ditty they had in third place. Inevitably, four songs out of the 16 never got within sniffing distance of any jury's top three. Therefore, Eurovision's first ever 'nul points' were achieved in 1962. The four nations suffering this embarrassment in front of millions of viewers were Belgium, Spain, Austria - the three of them performing consecutively in the running order - along with two-times Contest champions thus far, The Netherlands.