Switzerland won the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest with Celine Dion’s “Ne partez pas sans moi.”
The final was held on 30 April 1988 at the Royal Albert Hall in Dublin, Ireland. Dion represented Switzerland despite being Canadian, an arrangement that is fully consistent with Eurovision’s rules: performers do not have to be citizens of the countries they represent.
Her victory was exceptionally close. Switzerland finished with 137 points, only one point ahead of the United Kingdom, represented by Scott Fitzgerald with “Go.” Dion’s winning song was written by Nella Martinetti and Atilla Şereftuğ and was performed in French.
The result helped make Dion internationally famous, although she was not yet the global superstar associated with later English-language hits. Some readers mistakenly identify Canada as the winning country because Dion was Canadian. Canada has never competed as a Eurovision participant; the winning entry was officially Switzerland’s.