The 2023 final is about to get underway in Liverpool, but before it’s time to tune into the BBC to will on UK entrant Mae Muller and the other talented musicians from around the world, let’s take a walk down memory lane.
The show can be an excellent launchpad for an international career, and that’s exactly what it did for Celine Dion.
The now 55-year-old competed for Switzerland at the song contest held in Ireland’s Dublin.
Before the life-changing performance, she was well-known in and Canada, but the appearance began her global notoriety.
Celine performed in French and sang Ne partez pas sans moi, which translates to Do not go without me.
When was Celine Dion on Eurovision?
Celine performed at the contest in 1988 when she was 20 years old. It happened on Saturday 30th April if you want to get really specific.
Dressed in a white jacket with shoulder pads, it was the eighties after all, and a tulle skirt she belted out some impressive notes.
At the time, the rules made it so that the entrant didn’t actually have to be a national of the country they were representing and this was the case for Celine, who was born in Canada.
She didn’t initially understand why she’d been asked. ‘I didn’t get it,’ she admitted during an episode of The Jonathan Ross Show.
‘So I’m like, what about people in Switzerland? What are they gonna think? “Where’s she coming from? We don’t even know her!”‘
But clearly, they knew exactly what they were doing…
Did she win?
Of course she did! Celine tore the house down and was victorious against 20 other countries but it was very close!
The UK’s entrant Scott Fitzgerald was right behind her – in fact, she took the lead by one single point.
Scott was winning right up until the final country cast its vote. He was leading with 136 points compared to Switzerland’s 131, and then Yugoslavia changed it all. They gave six points to Switzerland, but nil points to the UK entry which took Switzerland to 137. Super tense.
Shortly after her win, Celine released her first English language album, Unison.
Fun fact: 1988 was the first time a computerised scoreboard was used as opposed to the mechanical ones previously used in contests.
What time is the Eurovision final?
If you want to witness musical history live, then you can tune into the Eurovision grand final tonight.
It begins at 8pm on BBC One.
