4th Grand Prix

Quatrième Grand Prix de l'union méditerranéenne was the fourth edition of the annual Grand Prix contest. The contest was held in Grand Théâtre de Genève in Geneva, Switzerland, following the victory of Timo Perreten in the 3rd Grand Prix. Twelve countries participated in the contest, with Andorra and Portugal debuting, following Spain as the Iberian representatives.

The show marked some important milestones: the random draw was introduced that year as an answer to German and Austrian broadcasters' complaints. It was also the contest with the longest song ever: Luxembourgish entry lasted for 4 minutes and 37 second. Since then, every song has to be no longer than 3 minutes. Interestingly, it was also the contest with the shortest song ever, as Spanish song was only 1 minute 54 seconds long.

The contest was won by Italy, represented by Angelique with song "Fiori Morti". Interestingly, she won for her country in Switzerland, which she represented in the 1st Grand Prix.

Location
Following the Switzerland's victory, the Grand Prix moved to east of France. Several cities fought for organisation rights, including Geneva, Basil and Lausanne, however the Swiss broadcaster, SRF, decided to opt for Geneva. It's the largest city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

The show took place in Grand Théâtre de Genève, an opera house close to the city centre. The square shape of the auditorium allowed the stage to be seen from every angle. Excluding the room for orchestra and the juries, the hall could accommodate up to 600 people.

The show
The contest was hosted by Céline Odermatt, Geneva-born stage actress and Theodor Iten, a radio presenter and a pianist. The Grand Prix was once again opened with the "Le Mille Voix" anthem, conducted by the original author, Jonathan Petré, joined by Swiss compositor, Narcissu Boyant. Both of them later conducted several performances, including Austria, France, Monaco, Portugal and Switzerland.

There was also a change in the visual identification of the contest - instead of a laureal wreath present in the previous editions, the Swiss broadcaster came up with a simple logotype to promote the contest. This caused part of French and Monegasque representatives to file a complaint, stating that the Swiss broadcaster has no right to alter the identity of the Grand Prix. Following the voting within the participating broadcasters, the new slogan was allowed to remain, as long as it included the name of the contest. Since then, the host broadcaster possesses a full right to present a unique visual identification. The font used by SRF was later commonly copied as a standard for the event. This was also the last time that the words "Mediterranean Union" appeared as an official name.

For the first time, the draw for the participants was assigned randomly, as Austrian and German broadcasters claimed that them always opening the contest and singing in the same language was reducing their chances to win. Both countries were drawn to sing as the third to last and the last one. Ironically, in the 4th Grand Prix Andorra would have appeared on stage between Germany and Austria, separating the entries. The random draw rule was then implemented in the future events as well.

Participants
Twelve countries participated in the edition, an increase of 2 compared to the 3rd Grand Prix. Geneva welcomed Andorran and Portuguese delegations, both of whom were members of the Mediterranean Union. While Portugal expressed interest of participation earlier but their attempts were hindered by a lack of proper funding, Andorra decided to participate spontaneously, having had rejected the offer in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Grand Prix.

Returning artists
Angelique returned to the contest as a representative of Italy, after singing for Switzerland in the inaugural edition. She reached the 3rd place back then.