To his chagrin diplomatic reasons forced him to attend the actual concert and he was delighted when Cliff Richard's "Congratulations" was beaten into second place by the Spanish contestant Massiel as this meant he would not have to stage the contest again the following year.
The man was forced to attend the concert because of diplomatic reasons and was pleased when Cliff Richard's "Congratulations" came in second to Massiel from Spain, preventing him from having to host the contest again the next year.