Nose too close to the table, fake votes and revolution: the biggest incidents during the Eurovision Song Contest

Coke or broken glass?

The most successful participant in recent years is undoubtedly the Italian winner from 2021. Måneskin has now performed on almost all major international stages, including far beyond Europe, and their albums are selling quickly. Yet there was no immediate celebration when they won.

Because besides the news of the victory, most attention went to front singer Damiano David. In between votes, viewers suddenly saw him bend over a table in the green room. Immediately there were rumors that he snorted a line of coke. “None of that,” the singer denied. He stated that a glass had been knocked over, he wanted to see how bad it was and that he wanted to sweep up the shards of it.

After a voluntary blood test it turned out that he had no traces of cocaine in his body. “No drugs were used in the green room and we consider it a closed case,” the EBU said. A year later, Måneskin was allowed to perform some new songs, as is customary for the winner of the previous edition. After their performance, Damiano said clearly into the microphone: “Two things. Have fun and don’t get your nose too close to the table!”

Madonna and her flags

It is not the first time that the Palestinian cause is a major topic at the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2019, the song competition was organized in Tel Aviv, Israel, much to the dismay of some countries and viewers. To fill the time during voting, the organization invited none other than Madonna. From a gigantic staircase she performed a (false) medley of hits such as Like a prayer and new work. But in the last half minute the pop icon made a huge statement. Two of her backup dancers step up the stairs hand-in-hand. One with a Palestinian and the other with an Israeli flag stuck to the back.

A little later, when the Icelandic band Hatari received points for their striking and rough act, they took out some Palestinian flags with an icy look. A mix of cheering and booing and a quick transition to France’s points was the result.

There was also a notable absence in 2019: Ukraine. The national final was won by Maruv. Her act consisted of a catchy song with a good chorus, strong vocals, lots of trumpets and a very seductive choreography. However, the public broadcaster that organized the national preselection dropped Maruv. She refused to sign a contract, one of the conditions of which stated that she would no longer be allowed to perform in Russia. The broadcaster then offered its place to the candidate with the second highest number of votes, but he also refused. Ukraine then decided not to go to the Eurovision Song Contest at all.

Banned artist

When Ukraine was allowed to organize the Eurovision Song Contest in 2017, all eyes were on Russia. The two neighboring countries were already in conflict with each other at that time and everyone wondered whether Russia would participate. The country decided to participate and selected a former candidate from the Russian X Factor: Julia Samoylova. However, she was not allowed to enter Ukraine because she had given a performance in Crimea, the hotly contested region that was illegally annexed by Russia. That country then decided not to send anyone to Kiev.

A year later, Samoylova got the chance to participate in the biggest show in the world, this time in Lisbon. She failed to relate to the song I won’t break to qualify for the final, becoming the only Russian candidate ever to be out of the competition after the semi-final.

Controversial flag

The EBU, which is the organization behind the Eurovision Song Contest, repeatedly insists that the song festival is absolutely apolitical. Yet politics has often been the subject of discussion. In 2016, Armenian singer Iveta Mukuchyan found herself in choppy waters during her semi-final. She raised the flag of the hotly contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which has long been a hot topic between Armenia and Azerbaijan. She was reprimanded by the EBU, who said if she did that again she would be disqualified.

Iveta then responded: “You should not forget that I represent my country with my heart, my thoughts, my feelings and all my emotions. My thoughts are with my motherland and I want to ensure peace at the border.” The commotion caused no further problems: Iveta achieved seventh place with her song.

Kissing women

Just like this year, the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest was organized in Malmö, Sweden. Finland represented Krista Siegfried with the song Marry me. She sang that in a wedding dress, which completely fits in with the extravagance of the Eurovision Song Contest. What was unacceptable for Turkey, which did not participate that year but would broadcast the program, was the kiss that Krista gave full on the mouth of one of her female background dancers. She did this in protest because gay marriage had not yet been legalized in Finland.

When the Turkish public broadcaster heard that this would happen, it promptly decided to cancel plans to broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest. China also took measures: they censored the moment of the kiss.

Hidden messages

Politics was also everywhere in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009. Georgia tried to turn its conflict with Russia into a danceable disco song. The band Stephane and 3G did that with the song We don’t wanna put in. Put the last two words of that title together and you have a strong political statement. The country was given another opportunity by the EBU to send another number, but Georgia decided to withdraw.

Earlier, in 2007, Ukraine did much the same. They also made an anti-Russia song that did slip through the net. Verka Serduchka performed the song Dancing lasha tumbai, which to many people sounds remarkably loud like ‘Russia goodbye’. Because that was not an official statement and there was no consensus within the EBU, Verka was still allowed to participate. In the meantime, she and her hilarious disco act became legendary and appear every year on the big stage of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Falsified mood

Due to the invasion of Ukraine, the Russians are no longer welcome at the festival since 2022 (for the time being?). Yet they managed to invite themselves that year, albeit illegally. Well, in the voting system anyway. Russian hacker groups carried out several cyber attacks to disrupt those systems. The results were also tampered with from within. The juries of six countries are said to have made agreements regarding the vote, which is of course not allowed. This was discovered in time, causing the EBU to have the jury votes recalculated and adjusted based on results from countries with similar voting behavior. The result (which the Russians surely wanted to avoid): Ukraine won the match.

Lying about age

In 1986, our country caused quite a commotion when we achieved our first and only victory at the Eurovision Song Contest. Sandra Kim sang there in her white-pink suit and large pink bow J’aime la vie. In it she sang that she was fifteen, which later turned out not to be true. The Walloon was only thirteen, which was far too young for some countries. Switzerland, which then came in second, started a petition to take away Sandra Kim’s winnings. That failed, making Sandra still the youngest winner ever. The minimum age has since been raised to sixteen years.

‘Belgian’ victory

When the Eurovision Song Contest was organized in Paris in 1978, it quickly became clear that Israel would win the competition with the song A-ba-ni-bi. When Izhar Cohen & The Alphabeta were going to perform their song for the first time, the Jordanian broadcaster decided not to show it. Instead, Jordanian viewers were shown flowers for three minutes. Just before Israel emerged as the winner, the broadcaster pulled the plug completely. Later they said that Belgium, which came second at the time, had won the Eurovision Song Contest.

Start of a revolution

The ballad E depois do adeus by the Portuguese Paulo de Carvalho made absolutely no progress in 1974. With three points, the likeable Paulo finished in the very last place. Where the song did make waves was in Portugal itself – literally. A few weeks after the Eurovision Song Contest it was used as a signal to start the Carnation Revolution. This heralded the end of the authoritarian Estado Novo regime and the eventual beginning of democracy in the country. When the song was broadcast on the radio at 10:55 p.m., the rebel officers and soldiers had to take their positions. It was – as far as we know – the only time that the Eurovision Song Contest caused a true revolution.