Lebanon's Eurovision Debut Ends Before It Starts

MAY 15 2005 · 12:00

Aline Lahoud (withdrawn) · "Quand tout s'enfuit" · Lebanon · 2005 Language: French · Venue: Palace of Sports · Host: Kyiv, Ukraine · Type: boycott · Broadcast: digital hd Lebanon's broadcaster TL announced Aline Lahoud as the country's first Eurovision entrant. Rehearsals were scheduled. Then Lebanese law requiring that all broadcasts exclude Israeli content ran into Eurovision's unconditional live-broadcast rule — the entire contest must air uninterrupted, including Israel's performance. TL withdrew 18 March 2005. Lebanon was fined and banned from participating for three years. It has never returned. Context Lebanon had joined the EBU in 1994 but had delayed Eurovision participation due to the unavoidable Israeli broadcast. Lahoud, a Lebanese chanson singer, was the selected artist. The withdrawal forced a public reckoning with the incompatibility of Lebanese media law and EBU rules. Legacy Lebanon has not participated in Eurovision in 21 years. Lahoud continued as a leading Lebanese chanson vocalist, subsequently performing in Paris and Beirut through the 2020s. The card is now the paradigmatic case of non-participating Arab-world broadcasters unable to square domestic media law with Eurovision's non-negotiable mandatory full-broadcast rule.