1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt — February 1981 coup d'état attempt in Spain

1981 FIFA Intercontinental Cup — 1981 edition of the Intercontinental Cup, association football match between Liverpool FC and CR Flamengo in Tokyo, Japan

1981 Summer Universiade — multi-sport event in Bucharest, Romania

Eurovision Song Contest 1981 — 26th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest

World Chess Championship 1981 — chess competition

1981–82 UEFA Cup — 11th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA

1981 Formula One World Championship — sports season

EuroBasket 1981 — basketball championship

1981 CONCACAF Championship — 1981 edition of the CONCACAF Championship association football competition

1981 FIFA World Youth Championship — International football competition

17 macaques kept (1981–1991) in the Institute for Behavioral Research, Silver Spring, Md., US, whose afferent ganglia were cut and whose arms were restrained to study neuroplasticity; caused a criminal prosecution for animal cruelty with a $3000 fine