A Swede who lives in Finland and who is lost in Euroland - the wonderful world of Eurovision
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Monday, April 30, 2012

24 years ago: a very tight finish

At this very night, twenty-four years ago, 12-year old Tobson decided to give Walpurgis a miss for the first time ever and instead stay home and watch the Eurovision final from Dublin (in the company of classmate who had come down with a fever and who fell asleep after five or so songs).

There was a tremenduous feeling of suspense as the Swedish entry (my entry, being Swedish and all) was marred with Tommy Körberg's throat problems leading to heavy speculation in the press as to whether he would be able to sing or not.

Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet had tipped a tight race between Sweden, Switzerland and Israel. I didn't disagree, but hoped that my personal favourites from Spain, Denmark and Iceland could stand a chance too.

All that feeling of suspense in advance was nothing compared with what we had in store before the show was over. What seemed like a runaway victory for Switzerland soon turned into a battle between Celine Dion and Scott Fitzgerald before the latter pulled away, leading with a comfortable margin as Portugal cast their votes as #20 out of 21 participants.

And then the whole thing changed again. Switzerland was suddenly just five points behind the UK as Pat Kenny and Michelle Rocca call up the Yugoslav jury in Ljubljana. The rules stated that the juries were not supposed to know the standings when called up, but it sounds like Miša Molk knows a fair share, seemingly adding to the drama.

This, the closest voting sequence I had ever seen left me speechless and every time I watch it again I feel the thriller element again. Since then, only four votings have been as tight as this one, donning the same kind of suspense up until the bitter end.

Watch the final votes coming in here and enjoy - it is impossible not to be happy for Céline Dion and the Swiss delegation afterwards. Unless, of course, you are BBC commentator Terry Wogan.



Céline Dion - Ne partez pas sans moi (Switzerland 1988)

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