Rare footage of the 1964 Eurovision Song Contest has been uncovered by a Reddit user, showing the moment that Gigliola Cinquetti was crowned as the ninth winner of the contest in Copenhagen. The footage also shows a part of the winning reprise of “Non ho l’età”.
Very little footage of the 1964 contest has previously been available, after DR’s original footage was reportedly lost in a fire in the 1970s. However, some reports say that the contest was never recorded in the first place. This newly-unearthed three-minute clip adds to the few known recordings that are publicly available of the contest, which was held in Copenhagen.
Gigliola takes the medal
The footage, posted by Reddit user DYLCWS, has been found in the archives of the Finnish broadcaster Yle. The footage features the host, shots of the audience, the winning medal and Gigliola’s winning reprise.
The trophy presentation was made to Italy’s Gigliola Cinquetti by the Head of Entertainment at Danmarks Radio (DR), Svend Pedersen. Gigliola was the ninth winner of the contest, with the trophy also awarded to the song’s composer Mario Panzeri.
Eurovision Song Contest 1964
After Denmark’s Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann won the 1963 contest with “Dansevise”, Copenhagen became the host city for Eurovision 1964. The contest was held in the Tivoli Concert Hall, with 16 countries participating in the contest. Portugal made their debut to the contest, while Sweden withdrew after a last place finish in 1963.
The contest was won by Italy’s Gigliola Cinquetti with “Non ho l’età”, scoring 49 points. Gigliola then went on to represent Italy again in 1974, placing 2nd, and then later she hosted the contest in 1991. The UK’s Matt Monro and Monaco’s Romuald finished off the top three, placing second and third respectively.
Though no full broadcast footage is available, a full radio broadcast can be found below.
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