The Eurovision Song Contest 1986 was the 31st Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 3 May 1986 in the Grieg Hall in Bergen, Norway. It was the first occasion on which Norway played host to the contest. The presenter was Åse Kleveland, a well-known folk guitarist who was President of the Norwegian Association of Musicians (and a former Eurovision entrant, in 1966).
The 1986 contest was a first for Eurovision in that royalty were among the guests—Crown Prince Harald, Crown Princess Sonja, Princess Märtha Louise and Prince Haakon Magnus were all in attendance.
Sandra Kim was the winner of this Eurovision with the song, "J'aime la vie". Aged 13, Kim was the youngest ever Eurovision winner. Current rules require Eurovision Song Contest participants to be at least 16, so unless the rule is changed Kim's record will never be broken. In the lyrics of her song, Kim claimed to be 15 years of age, but after the contest, it was revealed that she was actually 13. Switzerland, who finished second, appealed for her to be disqualified, but this was to no avail.
Read more about Eurovision Song Contest 1986: Background, Debuts and Withdrawals, Individual Entries, Results, Voting, Returning Artists, Spokespersons, National Jury Members
Famous quotes containing the words song and/or contest:
“Water. Its sunny track in the plain; its splashing in the garden canal, the sound it makes when in its course it meets the mane of the grass; the diluted reflection of the sky together with the fleeting sight of the reeds; the Negresses fill their dripping gourds and their red clay containers; the song of the washerwomen; the gorged fields the tall crops ripening.”
—Jacques Roumain (1907–1945)
“Another danger is imminent: A contested result. And we have no such means for its decision as ought to be provided by law. This must be attended to hereafter.... If a contest comes now it may lead to a conflict of arms. I can only try to do my duty to my countrymen in that case. I shall let no personal ambition turn me from the path of duty. Bloodshed and civil war must be averted if possible. If forced to fight, I have no fears from lack of courage or firmness.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)