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.

Malta made their début in this year's contest, while Austria, Finland, Norway, Portugal and Sweden all returned after a brief absence.

Belgium's preview video featured Nicole and Hugo performing the song "Goeie morgen, morgen", but Nicole was struck with a sudden illness days before the contest final, with Jacques Raymond and Lily Castel stepping in at short notice to perform the entry in their place.

The BBC were worried about the possible audience reaction to the UK song due to the hostilities raging in Northern Ireland.

[8] In between each song, a film depicting the tourist highlights of each nation was shown, using stock footage provided by the participant tourism bureaus, accompanied by a piece of organ music chosen to complement the country.

Broadcasters were able to send commentators to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language and to relay information about the artists and songs to their television viewers.

[12] In addition to the participating countries, the contest was also reportedly broadcast in Greece, Iceland, Morocco and Tunisia, in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania via Intervision, and in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Ethiopia, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Kenya, Mauritania, Mauritius, Sierra Leone, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda and the United States.