1st Grand Prix

Grand Prix de l'union méditerranéenne was the first official edition of the annual Grand Prix contest. The contest was held in Marseille, France, following the broadcaster's decision to prepare an international music show, primarily for members of the Mediterranean Union. Due to mediocre interest, mostly from the Francophone countries, the director, Marc Jaquin, sent additional invitations for non-affiliated countries from western Europe.

The show took place in Marseillian Palace of Arts. All the acts were accompanied by live orchestra and could provide own conductor or cooperate with those provided by the French broadcaster. The winner was Monaco with song "Mains d'Or" sung by French-Monegasque singer Romuald Elevián, known by his stage name Romí. The winning song, just as four others, was performed in French language, which dominated the contest in its early years.

Location
The inaugural contest's location was discussed on the 7th meeting of the Mediterranean Union in Marseille. Initally, France and Monaco expressed interest in hosting the show, with France providing Paris, Lyon and Marseille as the possible venues and Monaco selecting Monte-Carlo casino as their arena of choice. However, in the voting process that followed, French delegates got 7 of the 9 votes, with Monaco only being supported by itself and Luxembourg.

After choosing France as the host, local authorities of Paris, Lyon and Marseille each provided their concert venues and budget proposals. Despite the plans to host the contest in Paris, the cost of the concer would be twice as the expected by the Union. The broadcaster decided then to hold the show in Marseille.

The venue of choice was the Palace of Arts (Palais Longchamp), a 19th century palace that served primarily as a museum of natural history. The great hall was expected to guest up to 500 people, including artists and organisators.

Participants
Nine countries took part in the contest, mostly members of the Mediterranean Union. Several invitations were sent to the broadcaster of other European countries - however only four of them accepted the invitation: Austria, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.

Initially, every broadcaster was supposed to send up to two songs - it was later deemed unnecessary. The draw was alphabetical, however the countries performed in order of their respective French, not native, name.