1967: Song Contest in the Hofburg Palace

On 8 April 1967, the Grand Prix de la Chanson took place in Austria for the first time. After Udo Jürgens’s victory the previous year, the ORF chose the Großer Festsaal ballroom in Vienna’s Hofburg palace as the venue for the contest. The evening began with an orchestral performance of Wiener Blut and a waltz version of Merci Chérie. Presenter Erica Vaal explained how the contest would work in six languages, but apologised to the “Ladies and Gentlemen of Sweden, Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Portugal and Yugoslavia” for not speaking their languages. She promised to learn more languages should the song contest take place in Austria again.

The 1967 Song Contest was the last to be broadcast in black and white. This was reflected in the television commentary, with ORF commentator Emil Kollpacher providing viewers with information about the colours on stage. Between the songs and the voting, the Vienna Boys’ Choir sang The Blue Danube, while the camera showcased the imperial splendour of the ballroom by focusing on the double-headed eagle, paintings and chandeliers. Earlier in the evening, Peter Horten­—a former Vienna Choir Boy himself—had sung Warum es 100.000 Sterne gibt (Why There are 100,000 Stars), with lyrics by Karin Bognar, for Austria.

Sandie Shaw won the Grand Prix de la Chanson in the Hofburg for the United Kingdom with Puppet on a String. The fact that she was not wearing shoes during her performance caused a stir. Shaw was “barefoot grounds for divorce”, wrote Roman Schliesser in the Kronen Zeitung newspaper. In the 1980s, indie pop band The Smiths not only repeatedly quoted from Shaw’s lyrics but in 1984, they shared the stage with her on BBC show Top of the Pops. Sandie Shaw wore shoes, while the band performed barefoot.