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ON TV SHOW
On April 4, 1988 Celine Dion appeared during the broadcast of the TV show "La Classe", hosted by Fabrice and aired on France 3 channel in France. Celine performed the song "La religieuse". Other guests invited on this episode were El Chato, Bézu, Lagaf, Jean-Marie Bigard, Clovis, Thierry Costa, Cathy Vagnon and Jean-Louis Blaize, among other.
ON TV SHOW
On April 12, 1988 Celine Dion appeared during the broadcast of the TV show "Les Demons Du Midi", hosted by Suzanne Lapointe and Gilles Latulippe and aired on Radio-Canada channel in Quebec, Canada. Celine performed "Ton visage". Then she sang "Paquetville" imitating Édith Butler. Accompanied by host Latulippe and Celine´s band member, Claude "Mego" Lemay, Celine did a funny sketch. Celine also performed "The way we were", and the song "Mes blues passent pu dans porte" in duet with Breen LeBoeuf. She also was interviewed.
IN MONTREAL
In early April 1988 Celine Dion was photographed accompanied by her manager, Rene Angelil at the Mirabel International Airport in Mirabel near Montreal, Canada. Celine was getting ready to travel to Dublin, Ireland to take part at the Eurovision Song Contest.
ON TV SHOW
On April 29, 1988 Celine Dion appeared during the broadcast of the TV show "Un DB De Plus", hosted by Didier Barbelivien and aired on Antenne 2 channel in France. Celine performed the song "La religieuse". Other guests invited on this episode were Loppo Martinez, Gérard Lenorman, Florent Pagny, Sampan and Gérard Blanc.
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST
On April 30, 1988 Celine Dion took part at the 33rd Eurovision Song Contest, wich took place at the RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion in Dublin, Ireland. The presenters were Pat Kenny and Michelle Rocca and it was aired on RTÉ channel (Radio Telefís Éireann) in Ireland. The competition draws more than twenty participating countries every year, and it gives European artists the kind of visibility they dream about. It ends with a televised special that reaches 600 million viewers, one hundred times the population of the province of Quebec. More than 250 songs were in the competition, but only nine made the cut for the national elimination round to be staged on February 9, 1988 and televised throughout Switzerland from the Beausobre Theater in the town of Merges. One of them was the song written by Attila and Nella and sung by Celine, who suddenly found herself in the middle of a lively controversy. How could a song interpreted by a Canadian, with words by an Italian-Swiss and music by a Turkish composer, possibly represent Switzerland?. Celine wasn´t wild about the song; neither was Rene. The melody was careless and unfocused, and the words were pretentious and trite. But it was the kind of song that often worked in this kind of competition. Celine finished with forty-eight points; her nearest rival with twentythree. Her victory was so overwhelming that all the muttering stopped. Hers would be the honor of representing Switzerland at the Eurovision on April 30, 1988. One month later, a team of Swiss technicians flew to Montreal, Canada to record Nella and Attila´s song in French and German. The plan was to release the single in early May 1988 in the French- and German-speaking countries. And on April 28, 1988 Celine and Rene jetted off to Dublin where singers, producers, songwriters and composers from a full thirty countries were gathering. The night of April 30, 1988 gave a new meaning to the word suspense. Celine sang with passion, even if her song wasn't a masterpiece of inspiration. Her long wavy hair cascaded down over an impeccably tailored suit in hues of turquoise and dark berry. After the twenty-one finalists - whose order had been determined by a draw - had sung, they withdrew to the Simmonscourt green room where they awaited the verdict. The jury, made up of eight men and eight woman of all age groups from several countries, deliberated long and hard. The final score was Switzerland 137, England 136. Celine already had a strong hometown reputation as a weeper. Victories and ovations brought tears to her eyes faster than any defeat. There, before the public at Simmonscourt and the 600 million television viewers watching the Eurovision gala, she broke into tears. Her message of thanks was an incoherent babble. Future international superstar Celine, then only famous in the French-speaking world, was the big winner of this Eurovision with the song, "Ne partez pas sans moi", composed by Swiss-Turkish composer Atilla Şereftuğ with lyrics by Nella Martinetti. Celine won by one point over Scott Fitzgerald (in representation of United Kingdom with the song "Go"). After receive the award accompanied by the songwriters of the song, Atilla Şereftuğ and Nella Martinetti, Celine performed "Ne partez pas sans moi". This event proves fateful in more ways than one: It fast-tracks an English-language record deal for Celine, and marks the turning point in her relationship with the twice-divorced manager Angelil.
ON INTERVIEW
On April 30, 1988 Immediately after winning the 33rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, Ireland Celine Dion was interviewed along with the songwriters of the winning song Atilla Şereftuğ and Nella Martinetti by Swiss sports reporter, TV presenter and game show host, Bernhard Thurnheer.
PRESS CONFERENCE
On April 30, 1988 after winning the 33rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, Celine Dion gave a press conference in Dublin, Ireland to talk about her triomphe with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi". She was acompannied by her manager, Rene Angelil. During the interview, a reporter asked if the winning song "Ne partez pas sans moi" would be translated into English. "No", answered Rene. But they would soon be doing an album in English with CBS. Celine was photographed raising the award along with the song composers, Atilla Şereftuğ and Nella Martinetti.
IN DUBLIN
On April 30, 1988 after winning the Eurovision Song Contest, Celine Dion returned to her hotel in Dublin, Ireland. As he did after every performance, her manager Rene Angelil joined her in her room and told her his take on the evening. He told her everything he saw, heard and felt. She sat there at the head of the bed, her legs crossed under the blankets, happy to be alone with the man she loved. She could listen to him talk all night, the next day, and forever. Her mother, her brothers and her sisters - they all knew she was madly in love with him, and they had known it for a long time. After he finished telling Celine about his impressions of the gala, Rene remained seated at the foot of the bed, not saying a word. Celine looked at him. Then he got up slowly, wished her good night and walked toward the door. Every night, ever since their first tour together in the winter of 1985, when they stayed in cheap hotels and motels in small Quebec towns the routine was the same. He would give her a little kiss on the cheek and wish her good night. And now, on this night of triumph and victory, he was about to leave without even a good-night kiss. He had already opened the door. He smiled. She came up to him and pressed herself tightly against him. "You didn´t kiss me, Rene Angelil". Her head was bent, eyes downcast. He didn´t realize what was happening, even though he´d imagined this very scene a thousand times over the past few weeks. He leaned toward her and kissed her on the lips, the neck, and wrapped his arms around her in a powerful embrace. Then he dropped his arms and rushed off to his room. For a moment, she stood there, speechless. Then she called out to him, "If you don´t come back, I´ll be knocking on your door". After that, Celine has confessed that it was Rene who called her several minutes later from the lobby of the hotel. To ask if she was all right. And then he told her "if you really want to, I´ll be the first". And Celine answered him "You´ll be the first. And the only".
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