The Eurovision Song Contest, which Ireland is hoping to win – or at least make the final – this year with We Are One, performed by Wild Youth, is a celebration of great music, international kinship and bonkers costumery. It has also been a cauldron of controversy ever since its 1950s origins. So sit back as we bring you a dramatic douze-en of Eurovision talking points.
Ireland sends a turkey to Eurovision
Belgrade, 2008
If pride comes before the fall, then the decision in 2008 to send Dustin the puppet turkey to represent the country with Irelande Douze Pointe was proof that the jig truly was up for Ireland. A few months later the economy collapsed and the IMF was on the way. Dustin was the siren warning of our impending doom. Was the evisceration of the Celtic Tiger the fault of a rubber turkey? Of course not – but his presence at the contest confirmed we had lost the run of ourselves and were taking Eurovision for granted. “A mockery of Eurovision” was Dana’s assessment of the hollowed-out bopper performed by Dustin, though Ireland’s judging-panel chairman, Bill Hughes, defended the song as “very funny” and “having a great melody”. Eurovision did not agree: Irelande Douze Pointe was booed, and we exited at the semi-final stage, in the first year of the expanded, two-semi-final competition.
Madonna turns up as a space pirate
Tel Aviv, 2019
Madonna had decided to grace the Tel Aviv Eurovision to plug her forthcoming album, Madame X. Alas, the performance fell short of Madge-nificent. Flanked by humming monks, Madonna, wearing an eye patch and a bionic arm, inflicted grievous bodily harm on Like a Prayer and then wobbled through a forgettable new single, Future.
Portugal starts a revolution
Brighton, 1974
Portugal bored the proverbial pants off Eurovision viewers with their ballad E Depois do Adeus, by Paulo de Carvalho. The song created a bigger splash back home, where it was a pre-agreed signal for left-leaning military to start the “carnation revolution” against the right-wing Estado Novo regime (headed for most of its history by António Salazar). The Eurovision coup took flight, and within a few years Portugal was a democracy.
Finland’s same-sex kiss
Malmo, 2013
A campaign for same-sex marriage was gathering momentum in Finland when Krista Siegfrids went to Eurovision with her song Marry Me. She took to the stage in a wedding outfit – as had been the plan. But then came the surprise when she locked lips with one of her backing dancers. Turkey immediately cancelled the airing of the second semi-final and final, and China blanked out the snog. Siegfrids lived to kiss another day, though she finished just 24th in the grand decider.
Eurovision: Where did it all go wrong for Ireland?
Russia boycotts Ukraine
Kyiv, 2017
Ukraine was proud to host the 2017 Eurovision. With Russia having invaded part of the country in 2014, it was unclear whether Moscow would send an entry to Kyiv. It was finally decided to dispatch the Russian X Factor singer Yuliya Samoylova with her tune Flame Is Burning. But then it emerged that she had previously performed in Crimea, which led to Ukraine barring her from the country. Russia withdrew from the contest, though Samoylova went to Lisbon in 2018 (only to be eliminated in the semi-final).
Georgia boycotts Eurovision
Moscow, 2009
Tensions between Russia and its neighbours have affected Eurovision more than once. In 2009 Georgia voted to send Stephane & 3G to the finals with the song We Don’t Wanna Put In. Put-in… get it? The European Broadcasting Union, which organises the song contest, saw the tune as a broadside against Vladimir Putin following Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008. Georgia was invited to submit an alternative – but decided to withdraw completely. Georgia hosted Tbilisi Open Air/AlterVision, an alternative European music festival, over the weekend of that year’s final.
Belgium’s 13-year-old winner
Bergen, 1986
Belgium’s solitary Eurovision victory was in 1986, when Sandra Kim won with J’Aime la Vie. But then it emerged that, although it had been claimed that she was 16, the teenager was, in fact, 13. Switzerland, who came second, petitioned for Belgium to be stripped of its title. The European Broadcasting Union demurred, and Kim stands as the youngest Eurovision winner ever – a situation unlikely to change given that the minimum age for singers has since been set at 16.
Israel’s entry is boycotted... by Israel
Stockholm, 2000
In 2000 Israel’s PingPong created a splash at the contest by unfurling Israeli and Syrian flags and calling for peace while performing their song Sameach (Hebrew for Happy) at Eurovision rehearsals. They also made suggestive gestures with cucumbers. Neither the flags nor the cucumbers went down well in Israel, which disowned PingPong and forced the group to cover their own expenses. “They will compete there, but not on behalf of the Israeli Broadcasting Authority or the Israeli people,” the chair of the Israeli Broadcasting Authority said. “They are representing only themselves.” PingPong, who included two journalists, later revealed that they had entered Eurovision as a joke and had been surprised to have been selected.
Belgium sings in a made-up language
Riga, 2003
Those crazy Belgians are at it again. Not content with sending a 13-year-old in 1986, in 2003 Urban Trad, from Brussels, performed their tune Sanomi in a made-up language. This was the year when Eurovision allowed contestants to sing in languages other than their own “native” tongue. Belgium took full advantage. Back home, the track was already notorious. Belgian security services claimed the group’s singer, Soetkin Collier, had previously held far-right sympathies. She pleaded innocent, and an investigation would subsequently conclude that the claims had been exaggerated. But it was too late for Collier, who had to stand down from Eurovision.
Norway’s voting scandal
London, 1963
Back in the formative years of Eurovision, the contest was embroiled in a nasty vote-rigging controversy. Denmark and Switzerland were neck and neck for first place, but it looked as if Switzerland would carry the day. Then came the vote from Norway, whose spokesman did not follow the official format when announcing who they were awarding their points to, and was asked to start again. Instead, the head of the jury asked that the presenter in London come back to them later in the broadcast. When the cameras returned to Norway, the jury had changed its votes so that they were more favourable to Denmark, who duly seized victory from under the nose of the outraged Swiss.
Terry Wogan calls out the wrong winner
Helsinki, 2007
This was at the UK Song Contest rather than at Eurovision proper. The Limerick smoothie announced that Cyndi had won the right to represent the UK in 2007 rather than the actual winners, Scooch, and had to be corrected on air. Wogan, to his credit, accepted the blame. “Nobody died. It’s a television programme,” he later said. “There’s no doubt Scooch won. They won. We wish them well, and I shall be there to cheer them on by word and gesture in Helsinki. Bad luck on Cyndi. My apologies for any embarrassment she may have suffered – but it probably wouldn’t do her career any harm, either. She’s a fine singer.”
Ireland skips Eurovision because of an RTÉ strike
Munich, 1983
In 1983 Ireland was having a collective nervous breakdown. Whether it was mayhem in the North or the economic meltdown in the South, the island was falling to pieces. The malaise spread to RTÉ, where a strike was called. Consequently, the broadcaster lacked the resources to send a contestant – or even a broadcasting team. Instead we took the BBC feed. Luxembourg scooped the prize with Si La Vie Est Cadeau, performed by the French singer Corinne Hermès. It was the country’s fifth victory – but, as even the official Eurovision Song Contest website admits, the winning song “did not set the European charts alight”. Johnny Logan was in his Eurovision prime. Did Ireland miss an opportunity to add to its tally of victories?
The first semi-final of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest is on RTÉ One and BBC One at 9pm on Tuesday, May 9th; Wild Youth will perform Ireland’s entry, We Are One, sixth. The second semi-final is on Thursday, May 11th, with the final on Saturday, May 13th
