Spain Was Not Living a Celebration

Franco’s Dictatorship (1939-1975) used Spanish Television (TVE) as a keyelement in the political propaganda of its apparent ‘openness’ during the1960s. The propaganda co-existed with political interest in showing thetechnological development of the media and the international co-operationestablished with other European broadcasters, mainly in the EBU. In acountry ruled by strong political censorship, the Eurovision Song Contestwas used as a political tool to show the most amiable image of thenon-democratic regime. Spain’s only two Eurovision wins (1968 and 1969) arestill, 50 years on, two of the building blocks of the history of TVE and oftelevised entertainment and popular memory in Spain.