Eurovision Song Contest 1990
The Eurovision Song Contest 1990 was the 35th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Zagreb, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia,[a] following the country's victory at the 1989 contest with the song "Rock Me" by Riva. It was the only time Yugoslavia hosted the contest. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcasters Yugoslav Radio Television (JRT) and Radiotelevision Zagreb (RTZ), the contest was held at Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall on Saturday 5 May 1990 and was hosted by Helga Vlahović and Oliver Mlakar.[1] It was the first Eurovision Song Contest held in the Balkans as well as the first contest held in a communist or socialist state.
Twenty-two countries took part in the contest, the same countries that had participated the previous year.
The winner was Italy with the song "Insieme: 1992" by Toto Cutugno. Cutugno was aged 46 years and 302 days at the time of his victory, making him the oldest winner of the contest to date, the first to be aged in their forties since 1958. He held the record until 2000.[2] As of 2021, the 1990 contest was the last time that the five countries that would later become known as the "Big Five" – Italy, France, Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany – all placed in the top 10 (Italy won, France tied for second, Spain came fifth, the UK came sixth and Germany came ninth).
Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, was the second largest city in Yugoslavia. Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall was chosen to host the contest. The concert hall and convention center is named after Vatroslav Lisinski, a 19th-century Croatian composer.[3] The building has a big hall with 1,841 seats and a small hall with 305 seats.[3]
In order to host the 1990 contest, the venue underwent its first major renovation in 1989.[4] In 1992, the hall's copper roof cover was completely replaced.[4] Further reconstruction and redecoration work was done in 1999 and 2009.[5][6]
The Eurovision Song Contest 1990 was the first to implement an age rule. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) were forced to bring in a restriction rule after criticism arose over the ages of two performers at 1989 contest, being just 11 and 12 years old. From 1990, no artist under the age of 16 on the day of the contest could perform on stage. This rule meant that the record for the youngest ever winner at Eurovision could never be broken, as Sandra Kim, who won for Belgium at the 1986 competition, was just 13 years old.
