Massiel was declared the 1968 winner of the competition ahead of Cliff Richard.
A documentary broadcast last night on the La Sexta television channel in Spain – claims that Franco paid money to ensure that the Spanish competitor in the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest, Massiel, would be declared the winner. That was the year when Cliff Richard was placed second with ‘Congratulations’.
The programme claimed that the Spanish dictator did so in an attempt to improve the image of Spain abroad. Special parties were organised to make the singer into a national hero at the time.