The Eurovision Song Contest 1977 was the 22nd in the long running series, and was held on 7 May 1977 in London. With Angela Rippon as the presenter, the contest was won by Marie Myriam who represented France, with her song L'oiseau et l'enfant. This was the country's fifth victory and most recent victory, a record, which was equaled by Luxembourg in 1983, the United Kingdom in 1997, and most recently The Netherlands in 2019. It was beaten by Ireland in 1994 and Sweden in 2015.
The language rule was brought back in this contest, four years after it had been dropped in 1973. However Germany and Belgium were allowed to sing in English, because they had already chosen the songs they were going to perform before the rule was reintroduced. As noted in The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History by author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor, the contest was originally planned to be held on 2 April 1977. According to reports in Dutch media the contest was cancelled mid-season following the BBC camera crew/technician strike of 1977. Dutch broadcaster AVRO were noted to intend reviving the contest in a minimised format featuring video clips instead of live performances. None of this eventually came to fruition, as subsequently the BBC announced that the contest was instead postponed and eventually held on 7 May 1977.
Returning Artists[]
Quite a few artists from previous years returned to the contest in 1977
| Country | Artist | Previous year(s) |
|---|---|---|
 Israel
|
Ilanit | 1973 |
 Belgium
|
Stella Maessen (Dream Express) | 1970 (for  The Netherlands with Hearts of Soul)
|
 Austria
|
Beatrix Neundlinger (Schmetterlinge) | 1972 |
| Günter Grosslercher (Schmetterlinge) | ||
 Ireland
|
The Swarbriggs Plus Two | 1975 (as The Swarbriggs) |
 Monaco
|
Michèle Torr | 1966 (for  Luxembourg)
|
 Portugal
|
Fernando Tordo (Os Amigos) | 1973 |
| Paulo de Carvalho (Os Amigos) | 1974 |
Participants[]
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Language | Translation | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ireland
|
The Swarbriggs Plus Two | It's Nice to Be in Love Again | English | -- | 3 | 119 |
| 02 | Monaco
|
Michèle Torr | Une petite française | French | A little French girl | 4 | 96 |
| 03 | The Netherlands
|
Heddy Lester | De mallemolen | Dutch | The merry-go-round | 12 | 35 |
| 04 | Austria
|
Schmetterlinge | Boom Boom Boomerang | German, English | -- | 17 | 11 |
| 05 |  Norway
|
Anita Skorgan | Casanova | Norwegian | 15 | 18 | |
| 06 |  Germany
|
Silver Convention | Telegram | English | 8 | 55 | |
| 07 | Luxembourg
|
Anne-Marie B. | Frère Jacques | French | Brother John | 16 | 17 |
| 08 | Portugal
|
Os Amigos | Portugal no coração | Portuguese | Portugal in my heart | 14 | 18 |
| 09 |  United Kingdom
|
Lynsey de Paul & Mike Moran | Rock Bottom | English | -- | 2 | 121 |
| 10 |  Greece
|
Paschalis, Marianna, Robert & Bessy | Mathima Solfege | Greek | Music lesson | 5 | 92 |
| 11 | Israel
|
Ilanit | Ahava Hi Shir Lishnayim | Hebrew | Love is a song for two | 11 | 49 |
| 12 |  Switzerland
|
Pepe Lienhard Band | Swiss Lady | German | -- | 6 | 71 |
| 13 |  Sweden
|
Forbes | Beatles | Swedish | 18 | 2 | |
| 14 |  Spain
|
Micky | Enséñame a cantar | Spanish | Teach me to sing | 9 | 52 |
| 15 |  Italy
|
Mia Martini | Libera | Italian | Free | 13 | 33 |
| 16 |  Finland
|
Monica Aspelund | Lapponia | Finnish | Lapland | 10 | 50 |
| 17 | Belgium
|
Dream Express | A Million in One, Two, Three | English | -- | 7 | 69 |
| 18 |  France
|
Marie Myriam | L'oiseau et l'enfant | French | The bird and the child | 1 | 136 |