Sandra Kim was Eurovision’s youngest winner when she won for Belgium in 1986. Performing “J’aime la vie,” Kim won the contest in Bergen, Norway, at the age of 13 years and 362 days.
The song presented Kim as a 15-year-old, but she was actually younger. After her real age became known, several delegations objected, and the European Broadcasting Union later introduced a minimum age rule. Since 1990, performers must be at least 16 on the day of the Eurovision final.
Kim’s victory remains Belgium’s only Eurovision win. “J’aime la vie” topped the scoreboard with 176 points, ahead of Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The record is sometimes incorrectly attributed to Nathalie Pâque, who represented France in 1989 at age 11, but Pâque did not win; she was later affected by the new age eligibility rule.