Austria has opted out of participation in several Contests . The first of these was the 1969 Contest , which was staged in Madrid . As Spain was ruled at that time by Francisco Franco , Austria chose to boycott the Contest . Contest historian John Kennedy O'Connor points out , however , that Austria had given Spain two points in the previous event and since Spain only won by one point , the political protest was perhaps disingenuous
1969 Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1969
Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest