Eurovision Song Contest 1986
| Eurovision Song Contest 1986 | |
|---|---|
| Date and venue | |
| Final |
|
| Venue | Grieghallen Bergen, Norway |
| Organisation | |
| Organiser | European Broadcasting Union (EBU) |
| Scrutineer | Frank Naef |
| Production | |
| Host broadcaster | Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) |
| Director | John Andreassen |
| Executive producer | Harald Tusberg |
| Musical director | Egil Monn-Iversen |
| Presenter | Åse Kleveland |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 20 |
| Debuting countries | Iceland |
| Returning countries | |
| Non-returning countries | |
Participation map
| |
| Vote | |
| Voting system | Each country awarded 12, 10, 8-1 point(s) to their 10 favourite songs |
| Winning song | Belgium "J'aime la vie" |
The Eurovision Song Contest 1986 was the 31st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 3 May 1986 at Grieghallen in Bergen, Norway, and presented by Åse Kleveland. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), who staged the event after winning the 1985 contest for Norway with the song "La det swinge" by Bobbysocks!. Kleveland had also represented Norway in 1966.
Broadcasters from twenty countries participated in the contest, with Greece and Italy deciding not to enter, Yugoslavia and Netherlands returning, and Iceland competing for the first time. Turkey achieved their best result in the contest up to this point.
The winner was Belgium with the song "J'aime la vie" by Sandra Kim. Belgium was the last of the original 7 countries that had competed in the first contest to win. 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. The lyrics of her song implied that Kim was 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 was not successful.
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.