Jordan's TV Cuts to Flowers as Israel Wins Eurovision

MAY 15 1978 · 12:20

Jordanian State Television (JRTV) · "A-Ba-Ni-Bi (reaction)" · Jordan · 1978 Language: N/A · Venue: Palais des Congrès · Host: Paris, France · Type: political statement · Broadcast: color analog Paris, April 1978. Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta perform 'A-Ba-Ni-Bi' for Israel. By the time the voting is clearly going Israel's way, Jordanian state television cuts away from the broadcast entirely — no more Eurovision — and plays uninterrupted footage of daffodils growing in a field. When the voting ends, JRTV returns and announces that Belgium has won. In Amman the next morning, many Jordanians first learn of Israel's actual win by reading the international press. Context Jordan was not an EBU participant but broadcast Eurovision under shared Middle Eastern network arrangements. Anwar Sadat had visited Jerusalem five months earlier; the Camp David process was underway. JRTV's decision to falsify the result was editorial policy rather than technical error. Legacy The 'daffodils incident' is one of Eurovision's most cited political anecdotes. Izhar Cohen's win remained Israel's first. Jordan has never joined the EBU. The moment is taught in media-studies classes across Europe as an early case study in state broadcaster editorial manipulation during live international events. Mythology Some retellings claim JRTV also falsely announced Belgium as winner; confirmed in multiple Jordanian and Israeli newspaper archives from April 1978, making this more historical than mythological.