The Greek branch of the international network of Eurovision Song Contest fans, OGAE Greece, held their annual winter event last Saturday dedicated to the best Eurovision entries of the 60's according to the club's members. Eighteen songs competed and the winner was Congratulations, the United Kingdom's 1968 entry by Sir Cliff Richard.
Over a hundred members of OGAE Greece gathered at the Athinaion Politeia on Saturday for the traditional Pita cutting, a Greek new year custom where the guests share a special pie hoping to find the coin hidden in one of the pieces. The lucky one, according to the custom, will have good luck all year through. The winner of the coin for this year was Spyros Tsaggouris from Athens.
The night was dedicated to the viewing of the 60's Dream Team, 18 songs chosen by a special jury as the best of the years 1960-1969. The show was hosted by International OGAE Coordinator and president of the Greek club Antonios Karatzikos and Alexandros Roussos, who is a living Eurovision encyclopaedia. The hosts shared with the audience a multitude of Eurovision trivia, unknown to most including interesting details from the contests as well as information on the artists' wherabouts today.
The following songs competed for the OGAE Greece Best song of the 60's title:
1.Denmark 1963 – Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann- Dansevise
2.Italy 1966 – Domenico Modugno – Dio come ti amo
3.Norway 1966 – Åse Kleveland – Intet er nytt under solen
4.Ireland 1965 – Butch Moore – Walking the streets in the rain
5.Sweden 1967 – Östen Warnebring – Som en dröm
6.Yugoslavia 1963 – Vice Vukov – Brodovi
7.Austria 1968 – Karel Gott – Tausend Fenster
8.Netherlands 1969 – Lenny Kuhr – De Troubadour
9.France 1969 – Frida Boccara – Un Jour, un enfant
10.Portugal 1969 – Simone De Oliveira – Desfolhada Portuguesa
11.Belgium 1968 – Claude Lombard- Quand tu reviendas
12.Switzerland 1963 – Esther Ofarim – T'en va pas
13.Spain 1961 – Conchita Bautista – Estando contigo
14.United Kingdom 1968 – Cliff Richard – Congratulations
15.Germany 1960 – Wyn Hoop – Bonne nuit ma chérie
16.Luxembourg 1963 – Nana Mouskouri – À force de prier
17.Monaco 1960 – François Deguelt – Ce soir-là
18.Finland 1961 – Laila Kinnunen – Valoa ikkunassa
The members present had then the chance to vote for their favourites (Eurovision style of course) and together with the votes cast by the members outside Athens through the internet the winner of the night was chosen. The fight for the top spot was mainly between Frida Boccara and Cliff Richard, with the latter winning with a small twelve point margin.
You can browse the gallery from the event here
You can visit the official site of OGAE Greece here
