1990: "Keine Mauern mehr" — Simone

After the band Riva won the Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1989 for Yugoslavia, the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest was held in the Koncertna dvorana Vatroslava Lisinskog in Zagreb on 5 May. Austrian-Yugoslavian television presenter Helga Vlahović co-hosted the evening alongside Oliver Mlakar, who was already familiar to European audiences from the transnational TV show Games Without Borders.

The defining theme of the contest was the opening of borders in the Warsaw Pact countries. Austria was represented by Simone, who sang Keine Mauern mehr  (No More Walls) in German, English, French and Serbo-Croat. The lyrics begin by looking back: “This time last year, no one would have thought that our desire for freedom would make this leap forward.” The bridge to the chorus is a reference to the potential inherent in the present: “For our future is only just dawning: many languages, many ears.” Simone finished in 10th place. Ahead of her, in 9th place, was the last West German entry in ESC history, sung by Chris Kempers and Daniel Kovac. It was titled Frei zu leben (Free to Live) and includes the lyrics: “We are not lonely, but everyone is alone—let’s finally tear down the invisible walls.”

The winner in 1990 was Toto Cutugno for Italy with the song Insieme: 1992 (Together: 1992). His lyrics are about love without borders and the utopia of a united Europe, which he envisions happening two years into the future.