Dana International Wins the Eurovision Song Contest

It's May 9th, 1998, at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England.

A young man named Bill leaps up from his seat in the packed auditorium, as the Polish pop band on stage finishes its song.

Bill has a small Polish flag, and he waves it enthusiastically as the rest of the crowd around him cheers.

The singer from the band bows one last time, glowing kisses at the audience, and then she disappears off stage.

This Polish band is the seventh entry in this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

It's an annual music competition featuring singers and bands from 25 different countries.

Eurovision is a popular event in the nations that take part, so acts don't just perform to Bill and the other 4,000 spectators crammed into the Birmingham arena.

The songs are also broadcast to more than 150 million television viewers watching across Europe and the world.

Which might be one reason Bill is keen to stand out from the crowd.

He has a bag at his feet and in it is a flag for every country competing tonight.

Kneeling, Bill stuffs the Polish flag away before looking up at the large screens above the stage to see which country will be performing next.

There are cheers in the crowd as they spot that it will be Israel.

This is the entry that everyone's been waiting for and not just because of its upbeat tune.

The Israeli singer, 29-year-old Dana International, is the first transgender performer ever to sing at Eurovision.

So, Bill has something special planned to show his support for this act.

Delving into the bottom of his bag, he doesn't just pull out a small Israeli flag.

He also finds a rainbow-striped Pride flag.

He holds one flag in each hand and waves them above his head as the lights in the arena shift.

And Dana International and her backing singers take their spots at the center of the stage.

Bill loops at the top of his lungs as Dana waits for her cue.

There's a ripple of anticipation in the arena.

Then, Dana walks forward, a confident smile on her face, her arms in the air as she begins to sing.

By the end of the evening, Dana International will make history for a second time.

She won't just be the first transgender performer to appear on Eurovision.

She will become the first transgender performer to win the contest too.

Dana's triumph will propel her to international stardom as befitting her name.

But it will also cement Eurovision's reputation as an inclusive music competition and a platform for the transgender and queer community.

A fitting legacy considering the opposition that Dana International had to overcome before she won the Eurovision Song Contest on May 9, 1998.

From Noiser and Airship, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is History Daily.

History is made every day.

On this podcast, Every Day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is May 9th, 1998.

Dana International wins the Eurovision Song Contest.

It's the evening of April 23rd, 1983 in Tel Aviv, Israel, 15 years before Dana International's victory in Birmingham, England.

14-year-old Sharon Cohen finishes a last mouthful of food before bolting to the living room and grabbing the TV remote.

Sharon settles on the couch just as the show she's been waiting for is about to begin.

Sharon hasn't always had an easy life.

She was assigned male at birth, but from a very early age, identified as a girl.

Just a year ago, she came out as transgender.

And while people in her community have been unfriendly and sometimes cruel toward her, at home at least Sharon is free to be her authentic self.

Tonight, she's spending the evening in front of the television with her mother and two older siblings to watch one of the most popular shows of the year, the Eurovision Song Contest.

It's a competition that dates back to 1956.

Initially, it was part of an experiment in broadcasting content simultaneously across multiple countries.

An organization called the European Broadcasting Union decided that an international singing contest would be an ideal opportunity to try out its new continent-wide transmission network.

The first competition had just seven entries.

Since then, though, the number of countries taken part has almost tripled, and Eurovision has launched some notable careers, including Swedish supergroup ABBA, who won the competition in 1974 with their hit song Waterloo.

The 1983 Eurovision is being hosted in Munich, Germany, and it kicks off with a French entry.

As usual, the program consists of a kitschy mix of catchy pop songs, outlandish outfits, and over-the-top performances.

And after 15 acts have taken to the stage, it's finally time for Israel's entry.

Tonight, the country is represented by 25-year-old Ofra Haza.

When her song begins, Ofra struts the stage with confidence.

She's already a star in Israel, and Sharon is sure that the international judges will be impressed.

Ofra belts out her song and finishes to rapturous applause from the audience.

And then, after every act has performed, the presenters speak to judging panels from each country, one by one.

These panels award points to their 10 favorite songs, and the leaderboard fluctuates as each country's points are added.

It's a long but exciting process that Sharon enjoys almost as much as the music.

The screen cuts back and forth between the scoreboard and the performers waiting anxiously backstage.

And eventually, the contest comes down to a four-way race between Luxembourg, Sweden, Yugoslavia, and Israel.

And when the final votes are tallied, it's the singer from Luxembourg who celebrates.

Ofra has finished a close second, and although the Israeli entry may not have won, it plants a seed of inspiration in Sharon.

She decides that she wants to become a singer too.

Sharon's mother supports her new musical ambitions.

Although the family is not wealthy, they scrimp and save for singing lessons, and Sharon's tutor quickly recognizes that she has a natural talent.

Six years later, in 1989, the now 20-year-old Sharon secures a job as a nightclub entertainer.

Dressed in drag and taking the stage name Dana International, Sharon immediately becomes a favorite among Tel Aviv's club goers.

And at one of her gigs, a prominent Israeli DJ hears Sharon perform and offers to produce a single.

The result is Saita Sultana, a parody of Whitney Houston's My Name Is Not Susan.

This single is Sharon's big break.

It's a hit with local radio stations, but Sharon isn't satisfied with being well known as a drag artist.

She wants everyone else to see her as she sees herself as a woman.

So in 1993, Sharon flies to London for gender affirming surgery.

Upon her return to Israel, she finally legally changes her name to Sharon Cohen.

But most people know her better by her stage name, especially after Donna releases a self-titled album, Donna International.

This album sells well in Greece, Jordan and Egypt, but it's back home in Israel that it really takes off, selling over 20,000 copies and achieves gold record status.

Now an established star, Donna International sets her sights on a long-held ambition, competing in the Eurovision Song Contest.

So she tries out to become Israel's entry for the 1995 event.

Donna's song is catchy, but she just misses out.

Her entry comes second, and another performer is chosen to represent Israel instead.

Donna is disappointed, and she can't help but wonder whether she lost because she's transgender and not because of her song.

But social attitudes are slowly changing, and so is the Eurovision Song Contest.

Soon Donna will be inspired to try again, and this time, her song will be irresistible.

Thank.

It's November 23rd, 1997, in Tel Aviv, Israel, three years after Dana International missed out on the chance to perform at the Eurovision Song Contest.

Now 28 years old, Dana sits in a television studio as a presenter shuffles papers and waits for the signal to begin the interview.

Despite the bright lights and a twist of nerves in her stomach, Dana can't stop smiling because she's just been named Israel's representative for next year's Eurovision Song Contest.

Although she failed to be selected for the 1995 contest, Dana has continued to carve out a successful music career.

She's had two more albums go gold and she's become an icon in the Israeli LGBTQ plus community.

But Dana hasn't let her dream of performing at the Eurovision Song Contest go.

And a performance at this year's event gave her the confidence that the time was right for her to try again.

In May 1997, Icelandic singer, Paul Oscar became the first openly gay performer in Eurovision history.

Although Paul didn't win, his presence on the stage was a sign that attitudes to LGBTQ plus performers were changing in the music industry and at Eurovision in particular.

After Paul's pioneering performance, Dana was inspired to submit another song to the Israeli Eurovision selectors.

And her entry, Diva, was considered alongside 14 other nominees, but this time, Dana won, chosen to represent Israel at the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest.

Now the result has just been announced, and news outlets are scrambling to interview Dana for their evening broadcasts.

So soon, a camera operator gives the presenter a countdown, and the show goes live.

The presenter's initial questions focus on Dana's feelings about winning and the song she will perform at Eurovision.

But then the interviewer turns to more intrusive questions about Dana's gender and sexuality.

He asks whether Dana is aware that many people think she is not a suitable person to sing for Israel.

Dana brushes the questions aside.

She's pleased to have been given a platform to represent not just Israel, but the transgender community as well.

Nevertheless, the questions fired at her are a sign of things to come.

Over the next few days, Israel is split between Dana's fans and those who oppose her selection.

Traditionalist rabbis encourage their congregations not to listen to Dana's music, and one music reviewer describes Dana's song as pseudo-provocative garbage.

The debate even reaches the highest levels of Israel's government, with one deputy minister calling Dana an abomination and several other lawmakers reportedly considering ways to try to topple the government over the issue of her selection.

But despite the uproar, the Israeli Eurovision Selection Committee refuses to overturn their decision.

Six months after Dana's selection as Israel's entry, she travels to the city of Birmingham, England for the contest.

There, she steps back into the media spotlight.

Only the reaction of the international press is very different.

Foreign reporters tend to view Dana's performance at Eurovision as a positive story, one that highlights the competition's increasingly inclusive nature.

And after Dana sings Diva to a television audience of more than 150 million, she settles down to listen to the other entries, and the long process of voting begins.

Once again, deciding the winner comes down to the very last round.

With one more score to be revealed, Israel is at the top of the leaderboard.

But if the final 12 points go to second-place Malta, they will leapfrog Israel and take the title.

And finally, 12 points from Macedonia goes to Croatia.

Malta misses out on the last score.

Thanks to the Macedonian jury, Dana isn't just Eurovision's first transgender performer.

She's also won the contest.

Dana is plucked from the arena's green room and escorted onto stage in front of a cheering crowd.

She's presented with a trophy and gives a triumphant encore performance.

After the show, Dana tells the assembled media that she has no hard feelings for her critics or opponents.

She asks simply that they accept her for who she is.

The Eurovision Song Contest makes Dana International into an international star.

Her winning song, Diva, hits the top 10 in five European countries, and Dana releases eight more albums over the next nine years.

And in 2011, Dana will be selected to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest for a second time.

Her new song won't be as successful as her first, but she will remain an icon and a trailblazer who will inspire new acts and new voices to follow in her footsteps onto the Eurovision stage.

It's May 10th, 2014, at an arena in Copenhagen, Denmark.

16 years after Dana International won the Eurovision Song Contest.

25-year-old Austrian singer, Conchita Wurst, makes her way to the stage as celebratory music echoes all around the arena, and the crowd cheers her every step.

Conchita has just been named the winner of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest.

She's wearing a tight gold dress and high heels that make walking to the stage difficult.

She's also sporting a neatly trimmed black beard.

Conchita is a drag artist whose real name is Thomas Neuvert.

Earlier in the evening, Conchita performed her winning entry, Rise Like a Phoenix.

She sang without backup singers, showing off her impressive vocal talents to the fullest.

Her singing, her powerful ballad wowed the audience and the judges.

And when the votes were tallied, Austria won by 52 points.

And among the countries giving her the maximum score of 12 was Israel, a country that was previously divided in its opinion of their own Norm's challenging singer.

Now Conchita is about to replicate Dana's achievement and lift the Eurovision trophy.

As Conchita takes the stage, the show's presenter thrusts a microphone in front of her.

Do you have any words at all?

I do.

This night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom.

You know who you are.

We are unity and we are unstoppable.

Conchita's words are heard by a Eurovision record 195 million viewers, and her win is celebrated around the world.

The success of a drag artist is not just heralded as a victory for Austria, but also won for diversity and tolerance, values that have become a hallmark of the Eurovision Song Contest, thanks to pioneers like transgender singer Dana International, who won the competition on May 9, 1998.

Next, on History Daily, May 10th, 1877, Rutherford B.

Hayes becomes the first US president to use a world-changing new technology at the White House, the telephone.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily.

Hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Molly Bach.

Sound design by Gabriel Gould.

Music by Thrum.

This episode is written and researched by Rob Scrag.

Edited by Scott Reeves.

Managing producer, Emily Burke.

Executive producers are William Simpson for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.