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Eurovision Song Contest 1991

36th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 11, 2026
Entity authorityQ208523 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Eurovision Song Contest 1991 was the 36th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 4 May 1991 at Stage 15 of the Cinecittà Studios in Rome, Italy, and presented by Gigliola Cinquetti and Toto Cutugno. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI), who staged the event after winning the 1990 contest for Italy with the song "Insieme: 1992" by Cutugno. Cinquetti had also won the contest for Italy in 1964.

Broadcasters from twenty-two countries participated in the contest, with Malta making its first appearance in sixteen years, having last participated in 1975, while the Netherlands decided not to participate because the date of the event coincided with the country's Remembrance of the Dead commemorations. It was also the first time that Germany was represented as a single state following the reunification of East and West Germany.

For the first time since 1969, the contest resulted in a draw for first place, with both France and Sweden being awarded the same number of points. The contest's tie-break procedure was implemented for the first time in its history, which resulted in Sweden being declared the winner because its entry, "Fångad av en stormvind", written by Stephan Berg and performed by Carola, had received a greater number of top scores from the other competing countries than the French entry; it was Sweden's third win in the contest overall. Alongside France, Israel, Spain and Switzerland rounded out the top five.

Location

The 1991 contest took place in Rome, Italy, following the country's victory at the 1990 contest with the song "Insieme: 1992", performed by Toto Cutugno. It was the second time that Italy had hosted the contest, following the 1965 event held in Naples.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Eurovision Song Contest 1991” is 36th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Eurovision, Song and Contest, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1991, 1990, 1992, 1964—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Eurovision, Song and Contest is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “36th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q208523. Authority coordinates are 41.850, 12.567. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1991, 1990, 1992 and 1964.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Eurovision Song Contest 1991”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Eurovision Song Contest 1991 primary sources, Eurovision Song Contest 1991 archive and Eurovision research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Eurovision Song Contest 1991”?
  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Eurovision Song Contest 1991” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.