1988 EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Edition number - 33

Date - April 30, 1988

Host broadcaster - RTÉ, Ireland

Host city - Dublin

Venue - Simmonscourt Pavillion, Royal Dublin Society

Hosts - Pat Kenny / Michelle Rocca

Director - Declan Lowney

Stage designers - Michael Grogan / Paula Farrell

Executive producer - Liam Miller

Musical director - Noel Kelehan

Orchestra - RTÉ Concert Orchestra

Concertmaster - Alan Smale

Music associate - Bill Whelan

Interval act - 'Don't Go' Hothouse Flowers (Fiachra Ó Braonáin - Liam Ó Maonlai - Peter O'Toole / prod. Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley)

Scrutineer - Frank Naef

Number of entries - 21

Winning entry - 'Ne partez pas sans moi' Céline Dion

Winning songwriters - Nella Martinetti / Atilla Şereftuğ

Winning orchestrators - Bela Balint / Atilla Şereftuğ

Winning conductor - Atilla Şereftuğ

Note - Cypriot broadcaster CyBC saw that its entry was ineligible to represent them as it had been presented to jurors in the Cypriot internal selection for the 1984 contest. This was classed as an infringement of the Eurovision Song Contest rules, upon which the country was disqualified from participation in Dublin; the botched entry, 'Thimame' is given at the bottom of the results' list below.

Resident conductor of the 1988 contest, Noel Kelehan (just visible on the far left) leading the RTÉ Concert Orchestra during the rehearsals of the Irish entry 'Take Him Home' by Jump The Gun

RESULT

1st place (137 votes)

SWITZERLAND

Song title – "Ne partez pas sans moi"

Rendition – Céline Dion

Lyrics – Nella Martinetti

Composition – Atilla Şereftuğ

Studio arrangement – D.W. Richards (Donald Häfliger) / Atilla Şereftuğ

Live orchestration – Bela Balint / Atilla Şereftuğ

Conductor – Atilla Şereftuğ

2nd place (136 votes)

UNITED KINGDOM

Song title – "Go"

Rendition – Scott Fitzgerald 

Lyrics – Julie Forsyth

Composition – Julie Forsyth

Studio arrangement – Julie Forsyth / Martin Pursey

Live orchestration – Graham de Wilde

Conductor – Ronnie Hazlehurst

3rd place (92 votes)

DENMARK

Song title – "Ka’ du se hva’ jeg sa’?"

Rendition – Hot Eyes (Kirsten Siggaard & Søren Bundgaard feat. Susanne Carstensen / Mette Riis / Otto Leander Nielsen / Cita de Friis)

Lyrics – Keld Heick

Composition – Søren Bundgaard

Studio arrangement – Søren Bundgaard

Live orchestration – Henrik Krogsgaard

Conductor – Henrik Krogsgaard

4th place (90 votes)

LUXEMBOURG

Song title – "Croire"

Rendition – Lara Fabian 

Lyrics – Alain Garcia

Composition – Jacques Cardona

Studio arrangement – Georges Augier de Moussac 

Live orchestration – Régis Dupré

Conductor – Régis Dupré

5th place (88 votes)

NORWAY

Song title – “For vår jord”

Rendition – Karoline Krüger

Lyrics – Erik Hillestad

Composition – Anita Skorgan

Studio arrangement – Kjetil Bjerkestrand

Live orchestration – Kjetil Bjerkestrand

Conductor – Arild Stav

6th place (87 votes)

YUGOSLAVIA

Song title – "Mangup"

Rendition – Srebrna Krila "Silver Wings" (Lidija Asanović / Mustafa Ismailovski / Davor Jelavić / Adi Karaselimović / Dukšo Mandić / Slavko Pintarić-Pišta)

Lyrics – Stevo Cvikić / Rajko Dujmić

Composition – Rajko Dujmić

Studio arrangement – Duško Mandić 

Live orchestration – Nikica Kalogjera

Conductor – Nikica Kalogjera

7th place (85 votes)

ISRAEL

Song title – “Ben-Adam”

Rendition – Yardena Arazi

Lyrics – Ehud Manor

Composition – Boris Dimitshtein

Studio arrangement – Eldad Shrem

Live orchestration – Eldad Shrem

Conductor – Eldad Shrem

8th place (79 votes)

IRELAND

Song title – “Take Him Home”

Rendition – Jump The Gun (Peter Eades / Brian O’Reilly / Eric Sharpe / Roy Taylor / Ciaran Wilde)

Lyrics – Peter Eades

Composition – Peter Eades

Studio arrangement – Nick Tauber

Live orchestration – unknown

Conductor – Noel Kelehan (MD)

9th place (70 votes)

NETHERLANDS

Song title – "Shangri-la"

Rendition – Gerard Joling

Lyrics – Peter de Wijn

Composition – Peter de Wijn

Studio arrangement – Hans Hollestelle

Live orchestration – Hans Hollestelle

Conductor – Harry van Hoof

10th place (64 votes)

FRANCE

Song title – "Chanteur de charme"

Rendition – Gérard Lenorman

Lyrics – Claude Lemesle / Gérard Lenorman

Composition – Claude Lemesle / Gérard Lenorman

Studio arrangement – Guy Matteoni

Live orchestration – Guy Matteoni

Conductor – Guy Matteoni

11th place (58 votes)

SPAIN

Song title – "La chica qué yo quiero (Made in Spain)"

Rendition – La Década (Manolo Aguilar / Cecilia Blanco / Ana Nery Fragoso / Carmelo Martínez / Manuel Santisteban / José Subiza)

Lyrics – Francisco Dondiego

Composition – Enrique Peiró

Studio arrangement – Jorge Alvárez

Live orchestration – Jorge Alvárez

Conductor – Javier de Juan

12th & 13th place (ex aequo, 52 votes)

SWEDEN

Song title – "Stad i ljus"

Rendition – Tommy Körberg 

Lyrics – Py Bäckman

Composition – Py Bäckman

Studio arrangement – Stefan Nilsson / Mats Wester

Live orchestration – Stefan Nilsson / Mats Wester

Conductor – Anders Berglund

ITALY

Song title – "Ti scrivo"

Rendition – Luca Barbarossa 

Lyrics – Luca Barbarossa

Composition – Luca Barbarossa

Studio arrangement – Pinuccio Pirazzoli

Live orchestration – none

Conductor – none

14th place (48 votes)

WEST GERMANY

Song title – “Lied für einen Freund”

Rendition – Maxi & Chris Garden

Lyrics – Bernd Meinunger

Composition – Ralph Siegel

Studio arrangement – Rainer Pietsch / Alfons Weindorf / László Bencker

Live orchestration – Michael Thatcher

Conductor – Michael Thatcher

15th place (37 votes)

TURKEY

Song title – “Sufi (Hey ya hey)”

Rendition – M.F.Ö. (Mazhar Alanson / Fuat Guner / Özkan Uğur)

Lyrics – Mazhar Alanson

Composition – Mazhar Alanson / Fuat Güner / Özkan Uğur

Studio arrangement – Albert Boekholt / Jurre Haanstra

Live orchestration – Turhan Yükseler / Jurre Haanstra

Conductor – Turhan Yükseler

16th place (20 votes)

ICELAND

Song title – "Sókrates (Þú og þeir)"

Rendition – Beathoven (Stefán Hilmarsson / Sverrir Stormsker) 

Lyrics – Sverrir Stormsker

Composition – Sverrir Stormsker

Studio arrangement – Sverrir Stormsker

Live orchestration – none

Conductor – none

17th place (10 votes)

GREECE

Song title – "Cloun (Clown)"

Rendition – Afroditi Fryda & Choir 

Lyrics – Dimitris Sakislis

Composition – Dimitris Sakislis

Studio arrangement – Charis Andreadis

Live orchestration – Charis Andreadis

Conductor – Charis Andreadis

18th & 19th place (ex aequo, 5 votes)

BELGIUM

Song title – "Laissez briller le soleil"

Rendition – Reynaert

Lyrics – Philippe Anciaux / Joseph 'Jef' Reynaerts

Composition – Joseph 'Jef' Reynaerts / Daniel Willem

Studio arrangement – Daniel Willem

Live orchestration – Daniel Willem

Conductor – Daniel Willem

PORTUGAL

Song title – "Voltarei"

Rendition – Dora 

Lyrics – José Niza

Composition – José Calvário

Studio arrangement – José Calvário

Live orchestration – José Calvário

Conductor – José Calvário

20th place (3 votes)

FINLAND

Song title – “Nauravat silmät muistetaan”

Rendition – Boulevard (Erkki Korhonen / Kyösti Laihi / Juha Lanu / Jari Nieminen / Jari Puhakka / Tommi Tepsa)

Lyrics – Kirsti Willberg

Composition – Pepe Willberg

Studio arrangement – Kristian Jernström / Kassu Halonen

Live orchestration – Kassu Halonen

Conductor – Ossi Runne

21st place (0 votes)

AUSTRIA

Song title – “Lisa Mona Lisa”

Rendition – Wilfried Scheutz

Lyrics – Ronnie Herbolzheimer / Klaus E. Kofler / Wilfried Scheutz

Composition – Ronnie Herbolzheimer / Klaus E. Kofler / Wilfried Scheutz

Studio arrangement – Harald Neuwirth

Live orchestration – Harald Neuwirth

Conductor – Harald Neuwirth

Withdrawn entry

CYPRUS

Song title – "Thimame"

Rendition – Giannis Demetriou

Lyrics – John Vickers

Composition – Aristos Moschovakis

Studio arrangement – John Themis

Live orchestration – John Themis

Conductor – John Themis