"La dolce vita" was the Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1989

Eurovision Song Contest 1989

The Eurovision Song Contest 1989 was the 34th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 6 May 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Switzerland gained the hosting rights after Celine Dion's victory in Dublin the previous year. The presenters were Lolita Morena and Jacques Deschenaux. Riva was the winner of...

, performed in Finnish

Finnish language

Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...

 (despite the Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

 of the title) by Anneli Saaristo

Anneli Saaristo

Terttu Anneli Orvokki Saaristo is a Finnish singer and actress, best known internationally for her participation in the 1989 Eurovision Song Contest.- Early career :...

. The song was conducted by Ossi Runne

Ossi Runne

Yrjö Osvald "Ossi" Runne is a Finnish trumpeter, orchestra leader, composer, and record producer....

, who retired after this Contest (conducting 22 Finnish entries).

The song was performed 14th on the night, following Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

's Thomas Forstner

Thomas Forstner

Thomas Forstner is a singer who has represented Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest twice. In 1989 he performed "Nur ein Lied" in Lausanne, giving Austria the fifth place — their highest position since their last win in 1966 - and in all subsequent contests. Forstner was selected to represent...

 with "Nur ein Lied

Nur Ein Lied

"Nur ein Lied" was the Austrian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1989, performed in German by Thomas Forstner.The song was performed thirteenth on the night, following Denmark's Birthe Kjær with "Vi maler byen rød" and preceding Finland's Anneli Saaristo with "La dolce vita"...

" and preceding France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

's Nathalie Pâque

Nathalie Pâque

Nathalie Pâque is a Belgian singer, best known for her participation on behalf of France in the 1989 Eurovision Song Contest....

 with "J'ai volé la vie

J'Ai Volé La Vie

"J'ai volé la vie" was the French entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1989, performed in French by Nathalie Pâque. At the age of 11, Pâque was the youngest performer France ever sent to Eurovision....

". At the close of voting, it had received 76 points, placing 7th in a field of 22, Finland's best result in the Contest since 1975.

The song is sung from the perspective of a person looking back at her life and coming to the conclusion that she has lived well and has no regrets. Saaristo also recorded the song in English under the same title; "La Dolce Vita".

It was succeeded as Finnish representative

Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Finland first entered the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961, and has participated a total of 45 times. Finland won the contest for the first time in 2006 with Lordi's "Hard Rock Hallelujah"...

 at the 1990 Contest

Eurovision Song Contest 1990

The Eurovision Song Contest 1990, the 35th in the series, was held in Zagreb, Yugoslavia on 5 May 1990. The presenters were Helga Vlahović Brnobić and Oliver Mlakar. Toto Cutugno was the winner of this contest with the song "Insieme: 1992"...

 by Beat

Beat (band)

Beat were a Finnish band who represented their country in Eurovision Song Contest 1990. The group performed the song Fri? in Swedish and finished 21st out of 22 countries, scoring 8 points. The group was composed of members Janne Engblom, Kim Engblom, Tina Krausen and Tina Petersson.The song was...

 with "Fri?

Fri?

"Fri?" was the Finnish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1990, performed in Swedish by Beat....

".