Eurovision's biggest scandals from 'fascist' rigging to shocking drugs claims

If there's one thing the is guaranteed to do, it's put on a show. The music competition has been running since 1956, and in the decades since has built up a reputation as being one of the most outlandish, bizarre, entertaining events out there - whether you think the singing’s actually any good or not.

Alongside the spectacle of heavy metal Vikings and on stage, Eurovision also makes headlines for its more dividing moments. From national feuds and law-breaking moments to stage blunders and eyebrow-raising behavior, Eurovision has it all.

is just moments away, taking place at the St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel, Switzerland on Saturday, May 17. Before we’re given even more shocking antics to debate over in the coming weeks, let’s take a look back at some of the most controversial moments leading up to this year's event.

Francisco Franco vs Cliff Richard

You would have thought that leaders would have bigger things to worry about than Eurovision, but that might not be the case. While it’s often more unknown singers who enter the competition, back in 1968 the legendary represented the UK.

He was obviously expected to win, but was beaten by Spanish entrant Massiel by just one point. While it might be down to the musical tastes of voters, a modern Spanish documentary claimed that there was something more menacing going on. Apparently, the dictator strongly felt that winning Eurovision was essential in showing the strength of his fascist regime, and so rigged the vote to make sure they came out on top.

The song contest made it clear that they weren't going to investigate the matter, with director Bjørn Erichsen stating: “No! Just to make Cliff Richard a little happier and the Spanish winner a bit more unhappy? I don’t think you should dig up old bodies to prove he was or wasn’t the father. It’s history.”

Drugs bust

More recently, viewers were certain that they spotted a competitor sneakily taking drugs live on air. won Eurovision in 2021 as the lead singer of his band , but prior to the win was seen lowering his head behind a bucket of drinks while the presenters interviewed the contestants, before quickly raising his head when his bandmate nudged him.

The band was quick to respond on X, formerly known as , when the allegations spread, writing: "We really are AGAINST drugs and we never used cocaine. We are ready to get [tested], cause we have nothing to hide. We are here to play our music and we are so happy about our Eurovision win and we wanna thank everyone for supporting us. Rock'n Roll never dies. We love you."

Damiano stayed true to his word and underwent voluntary testing, which gave him the all-clear. Eurovision also released a statement firmly denying the allegations, writing in part: "No drug use took place in the Green Room and we consider the matter closed. We are alarmed that inaccurate speculation leading to fake news has overshadowed the spirit and the outcome of the event and unfairly affected the band.”

Undercover journalists

In one wild turn, it was discovered that some singers in a band weren't singers at all. In 2000, the band PingPong beat out all of ’s other entries to represent the country at the final stage. They ended up placing a low 24th, but that wasn’t the only controversy.

In their song, ‘Be Happy’, the lyrics mentioned a boy from Damascus dating an girl. If that weren’t enough in the tense political climate, they then unfurled Syrian flags at the end of their performance - a country with whom Israel has incredibly tense relations.

PingPong was then officially ‘disowned’ by Israel, and damned for their political message and wild routine. However, it turned out that they weren’t exactly a real band anyway. They initially entered the song contest as a joke, and two of the band were actually journalists writing for the newspaper Ma'ariv.

Same-sex scandal

Considering the values Eurovision is supposed to represent and the sexual overtures of many performances, it’s shocking to think that some things are still considered to cross the line. Unfortunately, this happened in 2013, when Finland included a same-sex kiss in its performance at the final.

Krista Siegfrieds performed the song ‘Marry Me’, taking to the stage in a wedding dress and singing about nuptials. Basic enough, until she proudly kissed one of her female backing dancers.

This was a classic case of performers not revealing their plans until live on air, and caused a furore in some countries. Krista was protesting Finland’s anti-same-sex marriage stance, but some nations refused to get the message. censored the moment, while Turkey decided not to air the show at all. Gladly, however, same-sex marriage in Finland was legalised just a few years later in 2017, and Eurovision is no longer so shocked by the occasional same-sex kiss.

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