1986 Eurovision Song Contest
| Eurovision Song Contest 1986 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Dates | |
| Final | 3 May 1986 |
| Host | |
| Venue |
Grieghallen Bergen, Norway |
| Presenter(s) | Åse Kleveland |
| Conductor | Egil Monn-Iversen |
| Directed by | John Andreassen |
| Executive supervisor | Frank Naef |
| Host broadcaster | Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) |
| Opening act | "Welcome to Music" performed by Åse Kleveland |
| Interval act | "Bergensiana" performed by Sissel Kyrkjebø and Steinar Ofsdal |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 20 |
| Debuting countries |
 Iceland
|
| Returning countries |
 Netherlands Yugoslavia
|
| Withdrawing countries |
 Greece Italy
|
|
|
| Vote | |
| Voting system | Each country awarded 12, 10, 8-1 point(s) to their 10 favourite songs |
| Nul points | None |
| Winning song |
 Belgium"J'aime la vie" |
The Eurovision Song Contest 1986 was the 31st Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 3 May 1986 in Grieghallen 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", representing Belgium. 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.
By 1985, Norway had received the unwanted distinction of being "the nul points country," receiving 0 points three times and coming in last six times. When they did win the 1985 Contest, it was a source of pride among Norwegian population, and the national broadcaster, NRK, took full advantage of being able to showcase Norway and its achievements in front of over 500 million television viewers. By the autumn of 1985, NRK had decided to hold the next year's contest at the Grieghallen in Bergen, turning down other bids from capital Oslo, and main cities of Stavanger, Sandnes and Trondheim.
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