On Saturday night, the Eurovision Song Contest—an televised evening of chansons, costumes, and camp—returns to Stockholm, scene of an infamous disaster for Israel in this musical extravaganza.
In 2000, two years after singer Dana International won Eurovision for Israel, the Israel Broadcasting Authority selected the band PingPong to represent the country in Stockholm. Led by Guy Assif and Roy ‘Chicky’ Arad, the Tel Aviv quartet had released only one album that did not sell well. And yet, out of the 83 songs considered by the IBA, PingPong’s entry “Sameach” (Be Happy) was deemed the best of a bad bunch. (Even Arad thought the song was rubbish.)
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