Top 10 Eurovision Controversies
Originally conceived in the 1950s as a way to bring Europeans together after World War II, the Eurovision Song Contest was never just about the music. With the 2009 finals in Moscow coming May 16, TIME takes a look at the years when controversy shouldered the singing out of the limelight
In 1978, at one of several low points in relations between Israel and its neighbors, Jordan refused to broadcast the Israeli entry, "Abanibi", by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta. (Loosely translated, the song's title means "I Love You" — note the irony.) Viewers were instead greeted with pictures of flowers. Complicating matters, however, Israel ending up winning that year's contest, held in Paris; Jordanian broadcasters cut the transmission and its media simply announced that runners-up Belgium had come first. (You could pull that kind of stunt pre-Internet.) Nevertheless, when Lebanon attempted the same trick in 2005, they were forced to withdraw for a breach of contest rules.
See pictures of the Pope in the Middle East.
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