Die Sommermelodie

The Eurovision Song Contest 1974 was the 19th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 6 April 1974 at the Brighton Dome in Brighton, United Kingdom, and presented by Katie Boyle. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), who staged the event after Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT), which had won the 1973 contest for Luxembourg, declined hosting responsibilities as it had staged the competition in 1973. The BBC took over as host after Televisión Española (TVE), which had finished second for Spain in 1973, declined the offer when approached, with the EBU ultimately choosing the BBC over bids from the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) and the BBC's commercial rival ITV. This was the fourth time that the BBC had staged the contest after another broadcaster declined – following the 1960, 1963 and 1972 contests – and the fifth time overall including 1968.