The United Kingdom was represented at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1961 The Eurovision Song Contest 1961 was the 6th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 18 March 1961 in the in Cannes, France. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (RTF), and originally known as the () ...

with the song " Are You Sure?", written by John Alford and Bob Day, and performed by themselves as

the Allisons The Allisons were an English pop duo consisting of Bob Day (born Bernard Colin Day; 2 February 1941 – 25 November 2013) and John Alford (born Brian Henry John Alford, 31 December 1939 – 13 November 2023). They were marketed as being brother ...

. The British participating broadcaster, the

British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

(BBC), selected its entry through a national final. The entry came 2nd in the contest and reached No2 in the UK singles charts.

Before Eurovision

''A Song for Europe''

The

(BBC) held a national pre-selection to choose the song that would go to the

. It was held on 15 February 1961 and presented by

Katie Boyle Caterina Irene Elena Maria Boyle, Lady Saunders (; 29 May 1926 – 20 March 2018), usually known as Katie Boyle, was an Italian-born British actress, writer, radio announcer and television personality. She became best known for presenting the E ...

. The songs were voted on by a total of 120 jurors aged between 19 and 40 who were divided into 12 juries of ten in the following cities: Aberdeen, Glasgow, Belfast, Leeds, Bangor, Manchester, Norwich, Birmingham, Cardiff, London, Bristol, and Southampton. The Eric Robinson Orchestra supplied the music and vocal backing was provided by the Beryl Stott Singers.

At Eurovision

Voting

Every participating broadcaster assembled a jury of ten people. Every jury member could give one point to his or her favourite song.

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 1961

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1961

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster submits an origina ...