This Sunday marks 40 years since Sandra Kim brought Belgium its only victory in the Eurovision Song Contest with her song J’aime la vie.
On 3 May 1986, Sandra Kim, then 13 years old and originally named Sandra Caldarone, won the contest with her upbeat anthem, becoming the youngest-ever winner in Eurovision history.
Belgium was the last of the seven founding Eurovision countries—France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany—to secure a win. Prior to Kim’s triumph, Belgium’s best result was Jean Vallée’s second-place finish in 1978 with “L’amour ça fait chanter la vie”.
As tradition dictates, the winning country hosts the following year’s contest. In 1987, the Eurovision Song Contest was held in Brussels, at the Heysel stadium. Initially planned as a joint effort between Belgium’s public broadcasters RTBF and BRT (now VRT), BRT eventually withdrew, leaving RTBF solely responsible. The production costs were so significant that a new law was introduced to allow advertising on Belgian public channels.
This year’s Eurovision will take place in Vienna, Austria, with the semi-final scheduled for Tuesday 12 May and the grand final on Saturday 16 May. Representing Belgium will be singer Essyla with the song “Dancing on Ice” in what marks the highly controversial 70th edition of the contest.
Participation will drop to just 35 countries, the lowest since Eurovision expanded in 2004. The decline follows a boycott by public broadcasters from Spain, Ireland, Iceland, the Netherlands and Slovenia. The protesting countries cited Eurovision’s decision to allow Israel to participate as their reason for withdrawal.
Sandra Kim will make a return to Eurovision in a special role. Four decades after her historic win, she will announce the results of Belgium’s jury vote during the event.
