Format
Due to the four-way tie in 1969, lots were drawn to choose which country would host this Eurovision. The Dutch producers were forced to pad out the show as only 12 nations decided to make the trip to Amsterdam. The result was a format which has endured almost to the present day. An extended opening sequence (filmed in Amsterdam) set the scene, while every entry was introduced by a short video 'postcard'. Interestingly, the long introduction film (over four minutes long) was followed by what probably is one of the shortest ever introductions by any presenter. Willy Dobbe only welcomed the viewers in English, French and Dutch, finishing her introduction after only 24 seconds.
The set design was devised by Roland de Groot; a simple design was composed of a number of curved horizontal bars and silver baubles which could be moved in a variety of different ways.
To avoid an incident like in 1969, a tie rule was created. It stated that, if two or more songs gained the same number of votes, each song would have to be performed again. After that every jury except the juries of the countries concerned would have a show of hands of which they thought was the best. If the countries tied again, then they would share first place.
Read more about this topic: Eurovision Song Contest 1970