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Dictating the result - The 1968 contest was one for the history books. British singer Cliff Richard (center left) was a favorite to win for his song, 'Congratulations.' However, the prize went to Spanish singer Massiel (center right).

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Dictating the result - As reported by Time magazine, dictator Francisco Franco (allegedly) rigged the contest, to boost tourism in Spain. "It would be wonderful if someone official [...] said: 'Cliff, you won that darn thing after all,'" Richard told The Guardian.

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'We Don't Wanna Put In' - In 2009, Georgia's official entry was Stephane and 3G, with the song: 'We Don't Wanna Put In.' However, the song never made it to the live show.

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'We Don't Wanna Put In' - The track was apparently a commentary on Georgia's conflict with Russia. "Put In" apparently referred to Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

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Pushing buttons - Some commentators took issue with Israel's entry back in 2007. The country was represented by Teapacks, with the song 'Push the Button.'

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Pushing buttons - With reference to a "demonic" leader who will "blow us up to [...] kingdom come," it was alleged that the song was about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The song still made it to air, but raised plenty of eyebrows.

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Silvía Night: the swearing singer - Silvía Night is a character played by Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir. The spoof singer is a hit in Iceland, but the joke didn't translate at Athens in 2006.

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Silvía Night: the swearing singer - Her song, 'Congratulations,' was hilariously self-centered ("The vote is in, I'll f****** win"). She also slandered her competition in a swear-filled rant.

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Dana International goes international - Dana International broke boundaries as the first transgender winner of the contest. The Israeli entrant was warmly welcomed in Birmingham, but some took issue back home.

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Dana International goes international - Some conservative commentators tried to block Dana from representing Israel. However, it didn't work, and Dana has gone on to become a hugely successful artist.

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Turkish invasion - Over the summer of 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus, worsening relationships between Turkey and Greece. The latter backed out of the 1975 ceremony, as Turkey was also competing.

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Turkish invasion - In 1976, Turkish broadcasters didn't air the performance from Greek entry Mariza Koch.

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Wurst behavior - In 2014, Thomas Neuwirth made headlines and history, performing 'Rise Like a Phoenix' as Conchita Wurst. 

 

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Wurst behavior - Wurst is the singer's drag queen persona, who made headlines around the world thanks to her distinct look. She won the contest, though there were negative responses from political figures in Turkey and Russia. A Serbian patriach even blamed a dangerous flood on Wurst winning the contest.

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Kissing protest - Krista Siegfrids caused quite a stir in 2013. The Finnish singer protested her country's ban on same-sex marriage. "It's live on TV, so nobody can stop me," she said.

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Kissing protest - Siegfrids then kissed one of her female back-up dancers. Many wondered if the move would be censored, but it made the cut.

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Mistake or conspiracy? - At the 1963 contest in London, presenter Katie Boyle (pictured left) was receiving the voting results from Norway. She said she couldn't hear them, and would return later.

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Mistake or conspiracy? - However, by the time she got back to them, Norway had apparently changed their votes. They awarded top marks to Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann of Denmark, who won the contest at Switzerland's expense.

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PingPong's political performance - One of Eurovision's most controversial moments took place in 2000. Israeli group PingPong finished their performance by waving Syrian flags, and calling for peace.

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PingPong's political performance - Israeli officials condemned the performance, and the group came 22nd place. However, it turned out that the group was made up of journalists, and had entered the competition as a joke.

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Serduchka comes second - Andriy Danylko is a cross-dressing comedian, who was Ukraine's entrant back in 2007. Performing as drag queen Verka Serduchka, the singer enraged some people back home.

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Serduchka comes second - A national radio station protested after Danylko was picked, and some Ukrainian MPs debated the "grotesque and vulgar" character. However, Serduchka went on to come second place, proving her naysayers wrong.

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San Marino get sociable - San Marino isn't the biggest force in Europe, but their 2012 entry was a viral hit. Originally titled 'Facebook Uh Uh Oh,' the song simply had to be censored.

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San Marino get sociable - The song was renamed 'The Social Network Song,' with removed references to Mark Zuckerberg's site. However, the costumes still seemed to resemble the popular website.

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Broadcasting boycott - During the 1978 ceremony in Paris, the country of Jordan apparently refused to broadcast 'Abanibi,' by Israeli contestants Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta.

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Broadcasting boycott - Things were made complicated when Israel eventually won the contest. Jordanian broadcasters apparently crowned Belgium as the winners, hoping no one would notice.

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Starting a revolution -

ABBA stole the show back in 1974, with their winning song 'Waterloo.' However, Portugal's Paulo de Carvalho was actually involved in some serious conflict.

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Starting a revolution -

Carvalho's song, 'And After the Goodbye,' was broadcast across Catholic Radio Renascenca, which apparently kickstarted the Carnation Revolution on April 25, 1974.

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Hysterical rumors - In 1972, the Munich Olympics were besieged by Black September. The Palestinian terrorist group killed 11 Israelis, as well as a West German police officer.

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Hysterical rumors -

The next year, Israeli singer Ilanit came fourth place with the song 'Ey Sham.' There were hysterical rumors that the singer wore a bulletproof vest, and Time reported that the audience was asked to stay seated, to avoid being shot by security.

(Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Weary of the west - The UK and US don't always have the best reputation around the world, which was clear at this song contest. Jean-Claude Pascal was the French entry in 1981, with the song 'C'est peut-être pas l'Amérique.'

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Weary of the west -

The song featured lyrics that were arguably anti-American. The next year, Spanish singer Lucía caused a stir by performing the Argentinian tango dance. Apparently, this was a message to the British hosts, who were currently involved in the Falklands War.

See also: The most politically controversial moments at Eurovision.

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LGBT censorship - In 2018, a Chinese broadcaster lost Eurovision rights after censoring a performance from Irish singer Ryan O'Shaughnessy. 

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LGBT censorship - The European Broadcasting Union cut ties with Mango TV, after they censored tattoos and rainbow flags that referenced LGBT rights. They also cut part of the performance because there were two males dancing together.

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Illegal access - In 2017, Russia was engulfed in scandal after contestant Julia Samoylova was reportedly denied entry into host country Ukraine.

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Illegal access - The wheelchair-bound singer was banned from entering the country for three years after an "illegal visit" to Russian-annexed Crimea back in 2015.

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Dissing the competition - In 2018, the Swedish singer Benjamin Ingrosso got in trouble for releasing a video on YouTube in which he was seen criticizing other contestants.

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Dissing the competition - "It sounded like she farted," Ingrosso said of Macedonian act Eye Cue. "Wait look at that drummer, he doesn't know what he's doing. Oh no, they brought him from the streets."

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Armenian genocide - In 2015, Armenian group Genealogy used the opportunity to mark the centennial of the Armenian genocide.

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Armenian genocide - The massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire is recognized by many countries in Europe, but not by neighboring Turkey.

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Political statements - After Tanel Padar & Dave Benton won with 'Everybody,' Estonia became the first post-Soviet nation to take the Eurovision trophy home.

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Political statements - After the victory, Estonian Prime Minister Mart Laar famously said: "We freed ourselves from the Soviet Empire through song." Controversy ensued.

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Spilled milk - In 2014, Poland polarized voters with Donatan & Cleo, a duo who performed with a group of sultry milkmaids.

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Spilled milk - The raunchy performance was voted as the most popular in several countries. However, official judges in several countries placed Donatan and Cleo's act last.

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Terry Wogan - The late Sir Terry Wogan controversially stepped down as the UK's Eurovision host after he said it was "no longer a musical contest," as it was politically influenced.

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Terry Wogan -

But he wasn't the only Brit to say so. A YouGov poll showed that 75% of British people agreed that the event was politically biased and some countries never stood a chance of winning.

Why not also get to know Europe's cute little countries?

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