Eurovision Song Contest 1986
The Eurovision Song Contest 1986 was the 31st edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Bergen, Norway, following the country's victory at the 1985 contest with the song "La det swinge" by Bobbysocks! Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), the contest was held at Grieghallen on 3 May 1986 and was hosted by previous Norwegian contestant Åse Kleveland.
| Eurovision Song Contest 1986 | |
|---|---|
| Dates | |
| Final | 3 May 1986 |
| Host | |
| Venue | Grieghallen Bergen, Norway |
| Presenter(s) | Åse Kleveland |
| Musical director | Egil Monn-Iversen |
| Directed by | John Andreassen |
| Executive supervisor | Frank Naef |
| Executive producer | Harald Tusberg |
| Host broadcaster | Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) |
| Website | eurovision |
| 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" |
Twenty countries took part in this year's contest with Greece and Italy deciding not to participate and Yugoslavia and Netherlands returning. Iceland also competed for the first time this year.
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 very 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. 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 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.