VENUE Palais des Congres, Paris		ENTRIES 20
HOSTS Denise Fabre Leon Zitrone		DEBUTS None

1978 saw the first contest to be presented by a duo, a combo which these days seems to have become the norm. Leon Zitrone entered Eurovision history as the first male presenter since the very first contest twenty-two years earlier, in whose footsteps such illustrious names as Ronan Keating, Morten Harket and Sir Terry Wogan would follow. Greece and Turkey competed together for the first time and Denmarks return after a dozen years upped the field to a new record of twenty.  

The first two entries were a double whammy:  Colm Wilkinson, on his way to becoming a major musicals star, gave it loads for Ireland, and then second up was Jahn Teigen, with a performance not so much over the top as over the horizon. Teigen gained notoriety for 'nul pointing', although many songs had scored zero before and would do later. His was however the first blank for eight years and the first under the current scoring system. (From 1971 to 1973 the scoring system made it impossible to score zero).

Not learning from the fate of Silver Convention the previous year, another hit girly disco act was entered for Luxembourg. Baccara were at the peak of their powers in 1978 but could finish no higher than 7th with their thinly-veiled clone of "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie".  Co-Co's UK entry managed the distinction of being our first ever entry to miss the top ten (although in hindsight of course far worse was to come).  Amidst it all Israel took the crown in only their sixth contest pipping two big male-sung French language ballads.    

WINNER: Israel

A-BA-NI-BI by Izhar Cohen & The Alphabeta

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