EUROVISION'S 30 MOST CONTROVERSIAL MOMENTS. 
Part 3: 1963 (Scoring confusion). 
Continues tomorrow.

THE BIGGEST CONTROVERSIES

Of the

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

(1956 - 2019)  

From its inaugural year, the Eurovision Song Contest has had more than its fair share of controversial moments. This is a special look back on 30 significant upsets in chronological order.

1963

Scoring confusion.

In 1963, the Eurovision Song Contest was held in London. The BBC selected Katie Boyle to compere. After all of the songs had been performed, she asked the various juries to announce their points. When Boyle inquired about the Norwegian jury’s scores, the results were not yet finalized. They had 20 jurors instead of 10, so the scores needed to be adjusted. Norway announced tentative results. Boyle decided to move on and return to the Norwegian jury after all the other scores had been revealed.

Finally, Norway announced its jury points. This time, the scores did not match the previous ones. Initially, Denmark had received 2 points. By now, the leaderboard had the Swiss and Danish entries wrestling for victory. Norway revised its scores and this time gave 4 to its Scandinavian neighbour Denmark. Conversely, Switzerland had initially been awarded 3 points but received only 1 point after the adjustment. Originally, Switzerland was in the lead. Norway’s revised point allocation now placed Denmark in first place.

Were the scores from the Norwegian jury accurately and honestly distributed? Or were they changed so as to secure the first win for a Scandinavian country? “Dansevise” beat Switzerland’s “T’En Vas Pas” by only 2 points. The Swiss still maintain that they were cheated out of a victory that year.