The non-qualified countries were Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Yugoslavia. For the second year in a row, the host country did not qualify for the final. The semifinal took place between 26 and 27 May, a few days before the televised final.[1]Julian Rachlin of Austria won the contest, with Norway and Italy placing second and third respectively.[2]
The Concertgebouw (also known as the "Royal Concertgebouw") a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands, was the host venue for the 1988 edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians.[1]
The Dutch term "concertgebouw" literally translates into English as "concert building". On 11 April 2013, on occasion of the building's 125th anniversary, Queen Beatrix bestowed the Royal Title "Koninklijk" upon the building, as she did previously on to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.[3] Because of its highly regarded acoustics, the Concertgebouw is considered one of the finest concert halls in the world, along with places such as Boston's Symphony Hall[4][5] and the Musikverein in Vienna.[6]
Format
Martine Bijl [nl] was the host of the 1988 contest.[1] Each participating country were able to send male or female artists who were no older than 19 years of age, to represent them by playing a classical piece of their choice accompanied by the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest conducted under Sergiu Comissiona. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands was a special guest at the contest.[1]
Results
Preliminary round
A total of sixteen countries took part in the preliminary round of the 1988 contest, of which six qualified to the televised grand final. The following countries failed to qualify.[1]
Awards were given to the top three countries. The table below highlights these using gold, silver, and bronze. The placing results of the remaining participants is unknown and never made public by the European Broadcasting Union.[2]
^"Mardi TV – 31 mai". Radio TV8 (in French). Lausanne: Héliographia SA. 21 May 1988. pp. 37–40. Retrieved 5 March 2024 – via Scriptorium.
^"Mardi - Télévision". Journal et feuille d'avis de Vevey-Riviera (in French). Héliographia SA. 21 May 1988. p. 19. Retrieved 23 March 2024 – via Scriptorium.
^"TV spored" [TV schedule] (PDF). Gorenjski glas (in Slovenian). 27 May 1988. p. 7. Archived(PDF) from the original on 10 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.