Claim: Celine Dion sings.

The Eurovision Song Contest 1988 was the 33rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest . The contest took place on 30 April 1988 in Dublin , Ireland , following the country 's win at the previous 1987 edition . The presenters were Pat Kenny and Michelle Rocca . The host broadcaster was Radio Telefís Éireann -LRB- RTÉ -RRB- which revamped the show 's production style compared to its earlier editions , in order to appeal to a younger audience .   The winner was Switzerland with the song `` Ne partez pas sans moi '' , performed by future international superstar Celine Dion and composed by Atilla Şereftuğ with lyrics in French by Nella Martinetti . Switzerland beat the United Kingdom by just a point in the last vote to win the title . Twenty-one countries took part , after an initial plan of twenty-two , as Cyprus withdrew its already registered entry for breaching the contest 's rules by being published few years earlier , in an attempt to represent the country at a prior edition of the contest . The Cypriot song had been drawn to be performed 2nd in the running order .