Israel and Italy were awarded Jointly today, the first prize at the International Song Contest held in Pesaro. Thirteen nations participated in the competition which was televised on a European-wide network. The winning Israeli song “Huppa Hey” by Naomi Shemer, was sung by Israel’s Zimra Ormatt and Italy’s leading popular singer Gino Latilla.
This marked the first time that an Israeli song and performer appeared at an international festival of popular music. The Itailian critics praised the song as “the most modern and brilliant of all foreign competing songs.”
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