CONTENTS
1. “If the Israeli contestant wins we would have to show the celebrations”
2. “Nul points as Lebanon quits contest” (The Scotsman, March 20, 2005)
3. “Lebanon officially withdraws from Eurovision” (Al Bawaba, March 29, 2005)
4. “‘World needs to help Lebanon’” (Ynetnews, Tel Aviv, March 21, 2005)
5. “Israel’s Maimon gets through to Eurovision Song final” (Ha’aretz, May 20, 2005)
[Note by Tom Gross]
EUROVISION: THE WORLD’S MOST POPULAR SONG CONTEST
Lebanon will not participate in this evening’s final of the Eurovision Song Contest – the light-hearted, popular event that is supposed to bring countries and peoples together, and has a television and radio audience of hundreds of millions.
For recipients of this email list who live outside Europe and the near east and who don’t follow Eurovision, it is the world’s most popular song contest. Twenty-four countries, including Israel, made it through to tonight’s final – the 50th year of the competition. The contest is broadcast on television and radio in dozens of countries in Europe and beyond.
Israel, Lebanon and Morocco are among the non-European countries allowed to take part, and Israel has won the competition three times.
This year the final is taking place in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, and will mark both biggest final in the history of Eurovision, and the largest international event ever held in Ukraine, according to the BBC.
The popularity of the contest stems from its talent show format. Viewers in each country phone in or vote over the Internet for the song they like the most.
“IF THE ISRAELI CONTESTANT WINS WE WOULD HAVE TO SHOW THE CELEBRATIONS”
Lebanon has withdrawn from the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest, after announcing it will refuse to show the Israeli entry on the Lebanese TV channel Tele-Liban. The channel told the European Broadcasting Union (which organizes Eurovision) that Lebanon’s legislation made it “all but impossible” to broadcast an Israeli singer. This puts Lebanon in breach of contest rules, which state all countries taking part must show the entire event. The Lebanese authorities said they could not air the Israeli song, or show the Israeli website on which viewers could vote for the Israeli participant, and they could not show Israeli celebrations if the Israelis won.
Israel has won the competition three times in 1978 (“A-ba-ni-bi,” by Izhar Cohen & Alphabeta), 1979 (“Hallelujah,” by Gali Atari & Milk and Honey) and 1998 (“Diva,” by Dana International, the first transsexual to take part in or win the contest).
ISRAEL REPLACED BY BELGIUM AS WINNER BY JORDANIAN TV
When Israel won the competition in 1978, Jordanian television showed pictures of flowers when the Israeli participants took to the stage, refused to mention that Israel had won the competition and instead declared second-place Belgium as the winner.
This year would have been Lebanon’s first ever entry into the competition and the country would have been represented by talented singer Aline Lahoud. Israel will be represented by Shiri Maimon who will sing a track called “The Quiet that Remains.” Maimon progressed to the final after a strong performance in last Thursday’s semi-final.
NO MISS UNIVERSE FOR LEBANON
This is not the first time Lebanon has withdrawn from an international competition because Israel was allowed to compete. A Miss Lebanon once dropped out of a Miss Universe pageant after she refused to be photographed with Miss Israel.
I attach four articles with summaries first.
--Tom Gross
SUMMARIES
NUL POINTS AS LEBANON QUITS CONTEST
“Nul points as Lebanon quits contest” (By Nicholas Christian, The Scotsman, March 20, 2005)
Lebanon has pulled out of this year’s Eurovision song contest because an Israeli is competing, organisers said. The country withdrew because it would have had to broadcast the Israeli portions of the contest, to be held on May 19 and 21 in Kiev, Ukraine.
A statement on the Eurovision website said: “According to Lebanese legislation, Tele Liban is not permitted to broadcast the performance of the Israeli participant, thereby breaching the rules of the Eurovision Song Contest 2005...”
LEBANON OFFICIALLY WITHDRAWS FROM EUROVISION
“Lebanon officially withdraws from Eurovision” (Al Bawaba, March 29, 2005)
... Lebanon was expected to take part for the first time in the contest this year... Lebanon would have been represented by talented singer Aline Lahoud representing it in the semi-final in Kiev on May 19...
Tele-Liban will still have to pay the participation fee for the contest and faces a further fine for withdrawing. The channel had originally said it would take part in December 2004, meeting a deadline by which all countries had to confirm their participation.
Lebanon would have been one of three newcomers to this year’s contest, the other two being Bulgaria and Moldova... Lebanon’s withdrawal of its Eurovision entry is not the first time that Israel has affected Arab countries’ entries into various global contests...
“THE WORLD NEEDS TO HELP LEBANON”
“‘World needs to help Lebanon’” (By Merav Yudilovitch, Ynetnews, Israel, March 21, 2005)
Help us show the world our other side - people want peace, quiet and culture, well-known Lebanese musician and composer Elias Rahbani told Ynet in an exclusive interview Sunday...
The reason Lebanon canceled its participation in the contest was the local broadcasting station’s fear radical Islamic groups may blow the station up should it air the contest, Rahbani said.
“I find it strange, as it’s not the first time we are participating in an international contest along side Israel,” he said. “But this year you can feel the fear.”
ISRAEL’S MAIMON GETS THROUGH TO EUROVISION SONG CONTEST FINAL
[This is the full article]
Israel’s Maimon gets through to Eurovision Song Contest final
By Ha’aretz Staff, Ha’aretz, May 20, 2005
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/578265.html
Israeli singer Shiri Maimon on Thursday evening got through to the finals of the 50th Eurovision Song Contest after an exhilarating performance with her song ‘Hasheket Shenishar’, at the semi-final stage.
Maimon was one of 10 artists who were distilled among 25 semi-final contestants at the semi-final in a packed Sports Palace in Ukrainian capital of Kiev.
The final will be held in Kiev on Saturday night. Maimon will appear eleventh in the running order of 24 countries.
Maimon grew up in Kiryat Haim and entered the entertainment business as a young child. After completing her military service in the Air Force’s entertainment troupe, Maimon achieved fame when she came in second in the first season of the television blockbuster “A Star Is Born.” She handily took first place in the national competition in March to select Israel’s song for Eurovision.
NUL POINTS AS LEBANON QUITS CONTEST
Nul points as Lebanon quits contest
By Nicholas Christian
The Scotsman
March 20, 2005
news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=299182005
Lebanon has pulled out of this year’s Eurovision song contest because an Israeli is competing, organisers said.
The country withdrew because it would have had to broadcast the Israeli portions of the contest, to be held on May 19 and 21 in Kiev, Ukraine.
A statement on the Eurovision website said: “According to Lebanese legislation, Tele Liban is not permitted to broadcast the performance of the Israeli participant, thereby breaching the rules of the Eurovision Song Contest 2005.”
All national broadcasters of participating countries must televise the entire event, comprising a semi-final and a final.
Tele Liban’s head, Ibrahim Khoury, confirmed the decision to pull out, saying that the broadcaster was unaware of the presence of an Israeli participant when it confirmed its entry in December.
“Lebanon is in a state of war with Israel. If the Israeli contestant wins, we would have to show the celebrations,” Khoury said.
He would also be obliged to allow viewers to vote for the Israeli entry. “I cannot do this,” he said.
LEBANON OFFICIALLY WITHDRAWS FROM EUROVISION
Lebanon officially withdraws from Eurovision
Al Bawaba
March 29, 2005
www.albawaba.com/en/news/181808
As international attention has been focused on the pull out of Syrian military troops from Lebanon, another type of “withdrawal” has dramatically taken place involving a beautiful Lebanese rising star, politics and music…
Lebanon has withdrawn from the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest, after refusing to show the Israeli entry on Lebanese TV channel Tele-Liban. The channel told the European Broadcasting Union that Lebanon’s legislation made it nearly impossible to broadcast the Israeli performance. This puts in breach of contest rules, which state all countries taking part must show the entire event.
Lebanon was expected to take part for the first time in the contest this year.
According to the Eurovision’s official website, “Tele-Liban has confirmed to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) the withdrawal of Lebanon from the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 (ESC 2005) to be hosted in Kiev by NTU, the national Ukrainian broadcaster, on 19 and 21 May”.
Lebanon would have been represented by talented singer Aline Lahoud representing it in the semi-final in Kiev on May 19.
Eurovision’s executive supervisor Svante Stockselius told Eurovision website ESC, “When we told them (Lebanon) they had to broadcast the entire program, they decided to withdraw from the contest.”
“I feel particularly sorry for Aline Lahoud.”
Aline Lahoud was born in 1981. She grew up in an artistic family. Her mother Salwa Katrib is a famous singer and her father Nahi Lahoud is a well-known producer. Her uncle Roméo Lahoud is one of the most famous musical directors and composers in the Arab world.
Tele-Liban will still have to pay the participation fee for the contest and faces a further fine for withdrawing. The channel had originally said it would take part in December 2004, meeting a deadline by which all countries had to confirm their participation.
Lebanon would have been one of three newcomers to this year’s contest, the other two being Bulgaria and Moldova. The final will be held on May 21, with a record 39 countries taking part overall.
The affair actually began several weeks ago after the official Lebanese website set up for the competition avoided any mention of Israel. Eventually, Lebanese broadcaster Tele-Liban found a creative solution by removing the names of all participating countries from the site. However, the EBU sought assurances that the upcoming contest would be broadcast in full, including the Israeli song.
Shiri Maimon, 24, will be representing Israel in the upcoming Eurovision, singing a song called “The Quiet that Remains”.
Tele-Liban was apparently unable to provide the assurances requested by the EBU and Lebanon subsequently withdrew from the popular music competition. According to the ESC rules, all national broadcasters of the countries taking part in the Contest must broadcast the entire event, comprising two live televised shows – a Semi Final and a Final.
Lebanon’s withdrawal of its Eurovision entry is not the first time that Israel has affected Arab countries’ entries into various global contests.
A Miss Lebanon once dropped out of a Miss Universe pageant after she refused to be photographed with Miss Israel. In 1978, the Jordanian broadcaster showed pictures of flowers when the Israeli participants took to the stage, avoided any mention of Israel’s win in the competition and announced second-place Belgium as the winner.
Tele-Liban’s head, Ibrahim Khoury, confirmed the decision to pull out, telling The AP that Lebanon was unaware of the presence of an Israeli participant when it confirmed its entry in December.
“Lebanon is in a state of war with Israel. If the Israeli contestant wins, we would have to show the celebrations,” Khoury said. He added that Lebanon would also be obliged to air the Israeli website on which viewers could vote for the Israeli participant. “I cannot do this,” he said.
Khoury said the decision to withdraw was “painful,” particularly as Lebanon was participating with a talented contestant.
Jad Rahbani, a Lebanese musician who composed the song Lahoud was to sing, said the withdrawal from Eurovision was “another blow” for Lebanon. Aline was to perform the song “Quand tout s’enfuit” (When everything escapes) for the upcoming contest.
“I’m very disappointed,” Rahbani said.
In the late 1990s, Aline began her professional career as a singer and actress. Under the supervision of Mrs. Hélou and Mrs. Haddad, Aline studied singing and dramatic art. After graduating from school, she enrolled in St. Joseph University IESAV (Institut des Etudes Scéniques et Audio Visuelles). In 2002, she obtained a BA degree in Communication Arts with a major in Screenplay and Directing Studies.
Aline had participated in several plays as well. She was awarded the Special Award Trophy of the FIDOF (Fédération Internationale de l’Organisation des Festivals) during the Megahit Festival in Turkey in September 2004 as well as the ‘Murex d’Or’ trophy. Apart from singing, Aline Lahoud has directed several short films and studied modern ballet and jazz dance.
‘WORLD NEEDS TO HELP LEBANON’
‘World needs to help Lebanon’
Well-known Lebanese musician and composer speaks to Ynet in exclusive interview; wants Lebanese culture exposed to help change country’s image
By Merav Yudilovitch
Ynetnews
March 21, 2005
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3061319,00.html
Help us show the world our other side - people want peace, quiet and culture, well-known Lebanese musician and composer Elias Rahbani told Ynet in an exclusive interview Sunday.
Rahbani is the father of Jad Rahbani, who composed and wrote the song “Quand Tout S’enfuit” (When Everything Fades), chosen to represent Lebanon in the 2005 Eurovision song contest.
The song was supposed to be the first Lebanes song ever to take part in the show, but Lebanese Télé-Liban television station aired an announcement last week stating that Lebanon had decided to withdraw from the contest in order to avoid airing the Israeli song on local television.
Rahbani said he is disappointed at the decision to withdraw from the contest.
“It’s bad luck; the whole story, and of course the withdrawal, is connected to the current situation in Lebanon,” he said.
The reason Lebanon canceled its participation in the contest was the local broadcasting station’s fear radical Islamic groups may blow the station up should it air the contest, Rahbani said.
“I find it strange, as it’s not the first time we are participating in an international contest along side Israel,” he said. “But this year you can feel the fear.”
‘Ground burning beneath our feet’
It has been reported by the news agencies that the withdrawal from the competition is due to a Lebanese law prohibiting the media to air any content that focuses attention on Israel.
Rahbani said he does not understand why people are making such a big deal about Lebanon’s latest decision.
He said last September representatives participated in a cultural festival in Turkey that was sponsored by the Fidof organization, which merges international festivals.
About 15 countries participated in the festival, and his son won a prize alongside Israeli musicians, Rahbani said.
“What’s the problem? I understand this year the situation is a little sensitive because the ground is burning beneath our feet,”he said. “I remind you that until recently it was not like this.”
‘We need to help Lebanon’
Rahbani said he believes the Lebanese song chosen for the contest should be heard on the night of the competition.
“Due to the problems, I’d like to believe it would be possible to hear it as a guest song, if not as a contender,” he said. “We need to help Lebanon. It’s is a cultured country, as it gave the world the first alphabet and the rule of geometry.”
According to Rahbani, the European Broadcasting Union’s contest coordinator Svante Stockselius told news agencies sources he had requested that Lebanese singer Aline Lahoud perform the song at the show as an artist and not as a participant in the contest.
However, her request was denied.
Over the past years, Rahbani said he has listened to the news on all of the all satellite stations.
“People always speak about Lebanon in a negative context, the time has come to help us,” he said. “Let us play the song; I’m convinced exposure to our culture will help.”