Eurovision 1987: Brussels

Sandra Kim’s win was supposed to bring Belgium together. Organising the contest that followed did the opposite.

Two broadcasters, one contest

Belgium has two public broadcasters, one for French speakers and one for Dutch speakers. They take turns to choose the country’s entry, and they had agreed that if Belgium ever won, they would stage the contest together.

Kim had been the French-speaking side’s entry, and her victory came while the country was in the middle of turning itself into a federal state, with tension between the two language communities running high.

A joint committee looked at venues and recommended a theatre, on the grounds that both halls proposed by the French-language broadcaster, RTBF, would need heavy rebuilding. RTBF wanted Brussels, the symbolic capital of Europe, and on 6 October 1986 it announced the Centenary Palace there without consulting its partner.

The Flemish broadcaster, BRT, proposed a different Brussels venue and, according to the Flemish press, said it would withdraw if that was not chosen. It was not chosen. BRT withdrew.

So RTBF hosted alone. The films of Belgium shown on the night were mostly of Wallonia. BRT kept one job: it was its turn to pick the Belgian song.

When it was over, BRT’s president praised RTBF’s “perfect organization” and regretted that the two had not managed to work together. He added that the cost would have been hard to justify to Flemish taxpayers.

Sponsors

That cost was met in a new way. Hosting the contest pushed Belgium into changing its rules on public television so that advertising and sponsorship were allowed, and RTBF sold sponsorship for the show.

No contest had done that before. This one was paid for almost entirely with private money.

Twenty-two

It was the biggest contest yet. Greece and Italy returned, and for the first time 22 countries competed. Of all the countries that had ever entered, only Malta, Monaco and Morocco were absent.

The EBU decided that was as big as it could get, and fixed 22 as the maximum. For the next six years, as more countries asked to join or return, that ceiling was a constant problem.

The venue was one of the exhibition halls on the Heysel plateau, built for a world’s fair in 1935. Viktor Lazlo presented.

The result

Johnny Logan had won for Ireland in 1980. He came back with “Hold Me Now”, sang twentieth of the 22, and won again, on 172 points — 31 ahead of the runner-up. Nobody had ever won the contest twice as a performer.

Germany’s Wind were second, as they had been two years earlier. Italy’s Umberto Tozzi and Raf were third with “Gente di mare”, and Yugoslavia fourth.

Belgium, at home, was eleventh.

Turkey finished last with no points, for the second time in five years.