Celine Dion Eurovision 1988

She’s one of the most successful Eurovision alums in history. And on Saturday night, Céline Dion’s superstar status remained intact during #EurovisionAgain.

Once again Eurovision fans settled in for an evening rewatching yet another song contest from the vaults. This time, it was the turn of Eurovision 1988.

And real-life winner Céline Dion was the victor once more during the new fan vote.

Scroll down to watch Eurovision 1988

Céline Dion wins #EurovisionAgain 1988

Listed below are the results for #EurovisionAgain 1988. The rankings are based on the votes of those who decided to vote for their favourites while rewatching the Eurovision 1988 grand final on Saturday 13 June.

In brackets, we’ve included the differences between the new fan vote and the original result from 32 years ago.

#EurovisionAgain 1988 results

  1. Switzerland: Céline Dion “Ne partez pas sans moi” (=)
  2. Turkey: MFÖ “Sufi” (+13)
  3. United Kingdom: Scott Fitzgerald “Go” (-1)
  4. Denmark: Hot Eyes “Ka’ du se hva’ jeg sa’?” (-1)
  5. Luxembourg: Lara Fabian “Croire” (-1)
  6. Netherlands: Gerard Joling “Shangri-La” (+3)
  7. Israel: Yardena Arazi “Ben Adam” (=)
  8. Spain: La Década “La chica que yo quiero (Made in Spain)” (+3)
  9. Norway: Karoline Krüger “For vår jord” (-4)
  10. Yugoslavia: Silver Wings “Mangup” (-4)
  11. Portugal: Dora “Voltarei” (+7)
  12. Sweden: Tommy Körberg “Stad i ljus” (=)
  13. Greece: Afroditi Frida “Clown” (+4)
  14. Italy: Luca Barbarossa “Vivo (Ti scrivo)” (-2)
  15. Ireland: Jump the Gun “Take Him Home” (-7)
  16. Germany: Maxi & Chris Garden “Lied für einen Freund” (-2)
  17. Iceland: Beathoven “Þú og þeir (Sókrates)” (-1)
  18. Finland: Boulevard “Nauravat silmät muistetaan”(+2)
  19. Belgium: Reynaert “Laissez briller le soleil” (-1)
  20. France: Gérard Lenorman “Chanteur de charme”(-10)
  21. Austria: Wilfried “Lisa Mona Lisa” 21 (=)

Watch Eurovision 1988 online

#EurovisionAgain 1988 may be over but the Eurovision 1988 grand final remains online… for now. You can watch the full show on the official Eurovision YouTube channel.

However, it is only available for an unspecified “limited time”. Based on past #EurovisionAgain uploads, this will probably remain online for a week.

But why? Before 2004, the copyright for each show belonged to the respective broadcasters. In the case of 1988, that’s Ireland’s RTÉ. For now, the Irish network has opted to make the show available only temporarily.

From 2004, the rules changed with the EBU taking over ownership of the rights. Hence, the uploads of contests from 2004 onwards have remained online.

#EurovisionAgain is scheduled to return on Saturday 20 June at 21:00 CEST.

What is #EurovisionAgain

For the past several weeks, since the COVID-19 pandemic first took hold, the Eurovision Again team has been organising mass rewatchings of classic contests on Saturday evenings. The EBU soon came on board and began publishing previously unavailable entire show uploads on its YouTube channel.

As well as organising rewatches, the Eurovision Again team has also added a fundraising element for various LGBT+ charities. Details can be found here.

What do you think? Did Céline deserve to win the rewatch? Has “Ne partez pas sans moi” stood the test of time? Let us know in the comments.

Follow all of our Switzerland Eurovision news.

72 Comments
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TheDrMistery
TheDrMistery
3 years ago

Yardena Arazi two points away of the sixth place… again.

Peter
Peter
3 years ago

Finally justice for Sufi!!!

JDS
JDS
3 years ago

I’m not sure if this is a coincidence or not, but it is rather wonderful that the Eurovision Again series has covered the four most exciting voting sequences of the last 40 years (1988, 1991, 1998 and 2003). While watching each one on Eurovision Again (and of course knowing the end result each time), I found the 2003 voting most gripping.

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

Yeah, I didn’t actually watch that one, but wasn’t 2003 between three countries until the very end? 1998 too.

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Not quite. The Swedes (second last to vote) pretty much killed Russian chances. It was really just Belgium v Turkey into the final jury.

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

Thanks…and now that I think about it, 1998 was exciting for sure but it’s a shame it wasn’t actually accurate due to the Spanish blunder. Maybe it would have played differently if they’d got it right.
 
Due to it being so close, imagine if that error meant they crowned the wrong winner only for them to take it back offscreen! Nightmare.
 
 
 

Last edited 3 years ago by Jonas
Karl
Karl
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

One other thing to add to that possible nightmare of announcing wrong winner is that there is or at least was a rule in the rulebook back then that the winner could not be changed, even if the results were incorrect.
 
Imagine that would have happened 1998, could probably have been a new “1970” with many countries withdrawing

Fatima
Fatima
3 years ago

What a pity there will never again be a finish to a vote this exciting. Now, we know which country will get the last set of points and we can work out how many there will be. And if we don’t do it, someone else will yell “93” and ruin the drama.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Fatima

I dunno. Save for 2017, the new system has made things a lot more exciting in my opinion. Look at how down to the wire a year like 2016 was.

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

Yes, but I would argue it’s manufactured excitement. Of course, it’s still exciting but not the same as something like the 1988 or 2003 voting.

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
3 years ago

I’m so happy that RTÉ allowed the 1988 ESC to be viewed in full. I started watching ESC in 1990, and my late father was a huge fan of Céline Dion. I now finally understand what he saw and heard in her performance in Dublin, and why she is still such a superstar singer today. As for the rest of the contest – RTÉ should be very proud of this one. Unique stage, a very professional presentation and a really close finish with the UK was the icing on the cake. Biggest surprise: Turkey. Great song for its time! Oh,… Read more »

Last edited 3 years ago by Purple Mask
Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Purple Mask

The song is about admirable people in history the singer looks up to. One of them (Jon Paul Sigmarsson) was the world’s strongest man, and he accompanied the Icelandic delegation to Dublin (the guy lifting the Beathoven guys up in the intro video? That’s him)

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

Ah, thanks. 🙂

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  Purple Mask

Yeah, RTÉ should definitely be proud. Looking back, isn’t it remarkable how they hosted the contest five times in a decade? This being the first, and doing it differently each time…

JDS
JDS
3 years ago

What was it about 80s hair and clothes that made people look so much older? Luca from Italy was only 27 here and Karoline was just 18, they both look mid to late 30s. Same with Gerard, he was just 28.

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

I only just realised that Laura Fabian was only 18 too, and Michelle Rocca was 26. They also looked so much older. But Pat Kenny was 40 on the night and looked about 30!

Alex
Alex
3 years ago

Exciting battle between Switzerland and UK. Both were good and deserving but safe imo.
I really like Israel. They hardly do wrong.
Italy would have been my favourite as usual if Luca went with his amazing Sanremo hit “L’amore Rubato”. same story one year later for Italy.

Last edited 3 years ago by Alex
JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  Alex

That fade-our was weird and off-putting.

Bella
Bella
3 years ago

Oh right, Eurovision 1988. The only contest that gives somewhat of a reason for fans to perpetuate the urban legend that Eurovision could launch an international career… Even though Celine Dion did not become famous at all after Eurovision, but after singing the Titanic soundtrack a decade later.

Celine
Celine
3 years ago
Reply to  Bella

No, she had several no1 hits prior to MHWGO, both in French and English.

James
James
3 years ago
Reply to  Bella

She as already hitting it big by the time she dropped her major English-language album stateside in 1990 and had a strong of hits before Titanic.

“I’m Your Lady”, “To Love You More”, “Beauty and the Beast” and “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” being notable examples.

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  James

I think it’s fair to say though that it was the US who really discovered her. Her career took off there before it did in Europe. It was four years after Eurovision before she re-emerged in Europe.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

She had gained some local popularity in French Canada, then America, then the rest of the world. I actually read a really great book about her album Let’s Talk About Love (which was more of a broader way to introduce topics of what constitutes good taste and elitism in music criticism – worth a look if you get the chance) and I learned more about her and her worldwide impact than I ever expected to. Apparently, you can’t play her music in certain neighborhoods in Jamaica because people love her so much it literally makes them angry.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Bella

No, you’re thinking of 1974

Fatima
Fatima
3 years ago
Reply to  Bella

Bella, you really need to “Think Twice”

Jofty
Jofty
3 years ago
Reply to  Bella

Valentina had no movie soundtrack yet she is a household name?

Karl Fradgley
Karl Fradgley
3 years ago
Reply to  Bella

Ehhhh …. Where does my heart beat now? was number 4 in the US charts not to mention – The Colour of My love selling 20 million albums, D’eux selling 10 Million, Falling Into You selling 32 million and S’ll Suffisait D’aimer selling 4 million – ALLLLLLL before that Titanic song 🙂

Raoul
Raoul
3 years ago

Justice for Sufi! Finally!

Joe
Joe
3 years ago

Alright, 1988! The year of an awesome stage, one of the most exciting voting sequences that if we’re being honest shouldn’t have been nearly that close, and an interval act that might’ve been better than any of the competing songs (Hothouse Flowers rule). Anyway, my ranking: 21. Portugal – Hot take not putting Austria at the bottom (again) in a year they scored nil points (AGAIN) but the chorus of this song is like an ice pick in my head. Only thing worse than being really flat is being excruciatingly sharp. But speaking of being really flat… 20. Austria –… Read more »

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

I didn’t say it was more out of tune. I just take flat over shrill. Just how my ears work. I wouldn’t put either of them on voluntarily. And yeah, maybe Belgium was a little better than either of them, but below about my 13th place I wouldn’t call any of them anything to write home about. Spain is very silly. I probably put it too high but whoops too late to go back.   Incidentally, if you want to learn a lot not just about this year but a lot of the pre-00s contests from an insider’s perspective, this… Read more »

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

I’d never heard Made in Spain before, but it was a jolly little number and I think we all need that right now. There was no risk of overtaking Celine and people enjoyed it, so no harm.
It sounded like they were singing “Made in es-Spain” though. Was that an intentional in-joke?

Last edited 3 years ago by JDS
Purple Mask
Purple Mask
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

I noticed that too, about Es-Spain. I assume it was intentional, since the rhythm of the melody has the extra note there to cater for it. (“Sp” is usually pronounced “Esp” for the Spanish, hence the sort-of-musical joke.)

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

Yes, remember the Spanish spokesperson in 2001 tripping over “Slovenia?”

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

Or “Oit points from Espain”?

TheDrMistery
TheDrMistery
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

I always thought it was “Maybe in Spain”?! 🙂

Jofty
Jofty
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

How I miss the days of the overzealous backing singer, for example, Switzerland 2000. And more mature ladies dressed like secretaries, obviously chosen for their singing abilities but providing backup to a rap track.

Jofty
Jofty
3 years ago
Reply to  Jofty

Oh thanks for reminding us of that Una 🙂

Jofty
Jofty
3 years ago
Reply to  Jofty

Someone forgot to tell the male backing vocalist for Malta 2006 that it was not a “solo performance”. What a disaster that was and only mercifully spared the dreaded nul points.

Jofty
Jofty
3 years ago
Reply to  Jofty

There were sound and earpiece issues the poor guy was totally stitched up. Of course if it had been, say, Sweden, he would have been able to perform it again, maybe even twice just in case? There was a different rule for Carola obviously.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Jofty

*1994 but you figured that out already

Last edited 3 years ago by Joe
Stephanie
Stephanie
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

Calling Belgium forgettable but putting France on number 8 and Germany on number 5 makes no sense whatever…

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Stephanie

I could hum maybe two seconds of Belgium off the top of my head but after one listen I could tell you how the choruses of France and Germany go.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

Oh yeah, this French entry doesn’t even come close to the ‘90s entries (and unlike you, I do include “Mama Corsica”). I still like it fine enough. And I can’t speak to things as a piano player, but I tell you there are very few songs I want to try on my instrument, the drums (it’s almost all drum machines this year anyway – ah, the ‘80s).

Agree to disagree. It’s grown on me a bit but it’s not my favorite Belgian entry ever.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

Nah, I’m just looking at the year through my musical perspective.

JDS
JDS
3 years ago

Oh, and fair play to RTE for releasing another archive contest. To do it twice is admirable. I’m guessing they’re more open to negotiation than SVT or NRK or RTBF.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

There’s also already been two from the BBC (74 and 98)

JDS
JDS
3 years ago

1988 was a GREAT choice! I was wondering how long we would have to wait for an 80s edition, and I think 1988 was always likely, because of Celine. While she of course dominated the evening, turns out 1988 was full of great songs. Even the bad ones (Austria and Greece) were so bad they were good!   RTE really moved on the staging in a big way this year. They did a really good job at making RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion look enormous when it’s actually a rather small hall. They did, sadly, introduce running the credits over the reprise.… Read more »

PP77
PP77
3 years ago

For me one of best contest in terms of quality of songs and stage was modern for that time (look good also in 2020). Best songs had ESC 1983.
My TOP 3
1.Luxembourg
2.Norway
3.The Netherlands
Austria for me worst song in ESC, Switzerland 2004 is good song compare with Austria 1988

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  PP77

Shame it was pretty much copied in 1989 and 1990. Say what you will about the Rome stage from two weeks ago, at least it looked different.

Richard
Richard
3 years ago

Enjoyed seeing this again, especially for the voting, but to be honest the majority of the songs were ghastly in 1988, and they still are. 80’s styling is always a treat however and it was well produced and rattled along at a jolly pace.

Richard
Richard
3 years ago
Reply to  Richard

Treat as in a funny treat. Denmark was a visual feast especially

Fatima
Fatima
3 years ago
Reply to  Richard

At the time, the styling was perfect. I remember thinking that when I watched it at the time. Some people in 2030 will be saying that Eleni & co looked frightful in 2018.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago

I’ll give my full thoughts later but my delight at seeing Turkey leap to #2 is countered by my horror at seeing Ireland and France plummet.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

Also, props to the primarily British voters who not only didn’t take the bait to avenge for the one-point loss but also put a song AHEAD of their entry!

Roy Moreno
Roy Moreno
3 years ago

First of all, Céline deserved to win and so happened 🙂 A living legend with an amazing song!
Now, I know Lara came 4th, but I still think she was underrated xD
I also liked the German, Israeli, Danish and of course, the UK’s entry ??

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago

She sang Where Does My Heart Beat Now at the 1989 contest, so she must have been on the road to English-language success shortly after Dublin. That became a Top 5 hit in the USA.

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

I don’t actually know when it charted, I’m sure you are correct – but she definitely performed it at the start of the 1989 contest on the Lausanne stage. Diane Warren wrote that song, who twenty years later would be a competitor herself. Anyway…maybe Celine was focusing on other things instead of promoting her French-language album. Just a theory.

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Oh, good – sorry to have caused you stress! 🙂

James
James
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

That was the song she performed right before the first song of the contest had a chance to be heard so the intro segment was particularly long because of it.
 

Last edited 3 years ago by James
JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Performing “Where does it my heart beat now?” at Lausanne ’89 made no difference, it still flopped in Europe. About a year later, the US took to it, and the rest…

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago

If anybody wants to delve deeper (a little too deep?) like me, here’s some backstage footage of Celine – rehearsals, press conferences. I guess it was made by the Wiwi of 1988.
 
https://youtu.be/6IL_nbx3AfQ

Franka
Franka
3 years ago

Yardena was my favourite in 1988 and still is. Timeless classic song <3

Skiwalko
Skiwalko
3 years ago

Yeah, poor Yardena. Another interesting fact about her is that, according to a 2011 interview, she actually won the Israeli NF – Kdam – in 1983, but due to the mistake made in calculating the votes Ofra Haza was announced as the winner. After the error was discovered, Yardena refused to represent Israel at Eurovision and, in the end, Haza sang “Hi” in Munich, finishing second.

Idan Cohen
Idan Cohen
3 years ago
Reply to  Skiwalko

A lot of crazy things have happened over the years.
Gali Atari told in one of the recent episodes of the Next Rising Star is that originally, another singer was supposed to sing “Halleluja”, but she got electrified in one of her performances. Gali was asked to replace her, winning and bringing the double to Israel.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Idan Cohen

Having done a bit of looking into Israel at Eurovision, I know the story about Yardena both in ‘83 and ‘88 appears to be true (I heard she was gracious about ‘83 because she didn’t want to look like a sore loser, also lowkey her song was good but nowhere near as good as Hi). I heard Hallelujah was initially intended for Habibi (who wound up competing in ‘81) but the woman in the group whose name I don’t remember threatened to quit if they accepted.

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

How come Milk & Honey now seem to have suffered the same fate? They were the only Israeli winners excluded from Tel Aviv, and Gali again appeared solo on the Hilversum thing.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Fundamentally, Gali just never wanted to be in a group. She was fine doing it for Eurovision, but she already had a solo career prior to Eurovision and she wasn’t very interested in sacrificing it. In the end, I hate to admit it, but she made the right call. Her career is still going strong and Milk and Honey didn’t work as well with other temporary vocalists.

Stephanie
Stephanie
3 years ago

Céline Dion is without any doubt one of the biggest artists in the world! So I listened to the songs of 1988. Putting her song again on the first position is exaggerated, it wasn’t the best entry of that year. Luxembourg with another great singer, Lara Fabian should have won it. Putting Turkey on second position is just ridiculous, that place belongs to Norway. The UK is way too high ranked just likt The Netherlands. As it goes for Belgium. Sorry guys I think the song deserves way better, 19th place is way too low. There much worse songs than… Read more »

Celine
Celine
3 years ago
Reply to  Stephanie

NO

Jofty
Jofty
3 years ago
Reply to  Celine

Celine – yours was and still is my favourite song. However, had you not gone on to international success I don’t think you would have won this poll. Very disappointed you did not perform it when I saw you in Stockholm 2017. Agree re UK though – please?! Didn’t get Imaani 1998 either.

Stephanie
Stephanie
3 years ago
Reply to  Celine

No to what exactly?

James
James
3 years ago

Nice to see Portugal getting a lot of love this time around. Its actual placement was an injustice.