On April 30, 1988, Switzerland won the Eurovision Song Contest for the second time when an unknown Céline Dion pipped the British entry by a single point. But since reaching the peak in Dublin 30 years ago, it’s been downhill all the way for the Swiss. What went wrong?
“Ne partez pas sans moi,” the 20-year-old Canadian sang live in front of a television audience of 600 million. Don’t leave without me. The juries in 20 other countries didn’t care whether the song was about running for a bus or pleading with a lover, they knew talent when they heard it.
Apart from the jury of historic rival Austria, that is, which gave the Swiss “nul points” (Switzerland returned the favour and Austria finished last). Neighbouring France also felt the Swiss effort was worth only one point. Germany, on the other hand, along with Portugal and Sweden, awarded Switzerland the maximum 12 points. Geopolitics à la Eurovision.
“It was a very strange adventure for me,” Dion said . “I was in Montreal, where I lived, and they wanted me to go to Ireland to represent Switzerland. I didn’t get it. What were the people in Switzerland going to think? ‘Where’s she coming from? We don’t even know her’,” she worried.
“But I went there – and I felt like a horse! You can bet on the artist that you want to win. So my husband, who’s a gambler, bet on me! A lot of money. I felt I really needed to win that race! And we won, and Switzerland loved me after that.”
April 30, 1988: Switzerland had a secret weapon going into the 33rd annual Eurovision song contest in 1988: Canadian singer Celine Dion. Just 20 at the time, Dion was already a household name in France and her native Quebec – courtesy of winning the 1982 World Popular Song Festival and eight French-language albums – but her driven manager (and future husband) René Angélil had set his sights on global success. Countries can choose a performer of any nationality to represent them at the Eurovision competition and Switzerland selected Dion, who delivered a soaring rendition of the love song Ne partez pas sans moi (Don’t Leave Without Me) before a TV audience of an estimated 600 million viewers. In the final scoring, Dion edged out British singer Scott Fitzgerald in the final round – winning the contest by a single point. Two years later, Dion released her first English-language album, Unison, which eventually sold more than 3 million copies worldwide. Never looking back, Dion went on to become one of the best-selling Canadian artists in music history and has been the recipient of countless awards, including five Grammys and 20 Junos. She was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2008 and received a lifetime achievement honour at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards. Three decades removed from her Eurovision win, her heart still goes on. – Samantha Cumerlato
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