Eurovision Song Contest 1991

Infobox Eurovision
name = Eurovision Song Contest 1991


final = 4 May 1991
presenters = Gigliola Cinquetti
Toto Cutugno
conductor = Bruno Canfora
director =
host = flagicon|Italy RAI
venue = Studio 15 di Cinecittà, Rome, Italy
winner = flag|Sweden
"Fångad av en stormvind"
vote = Each country awarded 12, 10, 8-1 points to their 10 favourite songs
entries = 22
debut = None
return = flag|Malta
withdraw = flag|Netherlands
null = flag|Austria
interval = Arturo Brachetti
opening = Sarah Carlson singing amongst the ruins of ancient Rome; Toto Cutugno singing "Insieme: 1992" and Gigliola Cinquetti singing "Non ho l'età"
con = Eurovision Song Contest
pre = ◄1990
nex = 1992►

The Eurovision Song Contest 1991 was the 36th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on May 4, 1991 in Rome. Due to the Gulf War and mounting tensions in Yugoslavia, RAI decided to move the contest from Sanremo to Rome, which felt a bit more secure.

The presenters were Gigliola Cinquetti and Toto Cutugno, the latter having some difficulty with the pronunciation of the song titles and names of the artists and conductors. Despite this, in Italy almost seven million people watched the show. In addition to tallying the vote numbers in English and French, Cinquetti and Cutugno gave each of the jury allotments in Italian as well.

Nearly all of the commentary during the voting was given in Italian, which is not an official language of the European Broadcasting Union (English and French are, and in the Eurovision Song Contest, it is mandatory to provide commentary in at least one of those languages). BBC commentator Terry Wogan opined that the 1991 contest would be known for its suspense, "definitely not for its quality."

Carola was the winner of this Contest with the song "Fångad av en stormvind". This was the third victory for Sweden, the last one being in 1984. There was a tie between Carola and France's Amina, as both had received 146 points. This necessitated a 'count-back', a tie-breaking measure introduced after the infamous four-way tie in 1969's Contest. Both Sweden and France had both received four lots of 12 points, but Sweden had received five lots of 10 points to France's two, so Carola was declared the winner.

The Netherlands did not participate in this contest as it conflicted with the Remembrance of the Dead national holiday, and so Malta was allowed to participate in the Contest for the first time in 16 years (unable to before due to entry restrictions).

Commentators

* Yugoslavia - TBD
* Iceland - TBD
* Malta - TBD
* Greece - Dafni Bokota
* Switzerland - Lolita Morena
* Austria - TBD
* Luxembourg - TBD
* Sweden - Harald Treutiger
* France - Léon Zitrone
* Turkey - Başak Doğru
* Ireland - Pat Kenny
* Portugal - Ana do Carmo
* Denmark - TBD
* Norway - TBD
* Israel - TBD
* Finland - Erkki Pohjanheimo
* Germany - Max Schautzer
* Belgium - André Vermeulen (BRTN)
* Spain - Tomás Fernando Flores
* United Kingdom - Terry Wogan (BBC TV), Ken Bruce (BBC Radio 2)
* Cyprus - Evi Papamichail
* Italy - Peppi Franzelin

pokespersons

* Yugoslavia - Draginja Balać
* Iceland - TBD
* Malta - John Demanuele
* Greece - Fotini Yiannoulatou
* Switzerland - Michel Dénériaz
* Austria - TBD
* Luxembourg - Fernand Mathes
* Sweden - Bo Hagström
* France - Marie Myriam
* Turkey - Canan Kumbasar
* Ireland - Eileen Dunne
* Portugal - Maria Margarida Gaspar
* Denmark - Bent
* Norway - Sverre Tinnå
* Israel - Daniel Pe'er
* Finland - Heidi Kokki
* Germany - Christian Eckhardt
* Belgium - Monique Delvaux
* Spain - María Ángeles Balañac
* United Kingdom - Colin Berry
* Cyprus - Anna
* Italy - Rosanna Vaudetti

Controversy

*This Contest is regarded as one of the more controversial in history, with the hosts frequently confusing the voting system in their announcements, despite the fact that it had not changed since 1975.
*During Carola's performance, the sound system in the venue broke down and the audience could not hear her sing. However, the song was broadcast without problems. That said the transmission on the BBC did break up during the song
*The show also over-ran, something which subsequent contests have been careful to prevent (except 2005).

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