VENUE Binyaney Ha'ouma Centre, Jerusalem		ENTRIES 19
HOSTS Yardena Arazi Daniel Pe'er		DEBUTS None

The contest took place in Jerusalem following Israel's win in 1978, and, consciously or not, there was a lot of peace and love in the air. Not really a surprise then that Israel's uplifting, simple repetitive anthem fought it out with Spain's sugar-coated kiddies anthem. The latter featured some of the youngest performers ever on a Eurovision stage, barely past kindergarten yet it would be another decade before a ruling was brought in concerning the ages of the singers.  Co-presenter Yardena Arazi followed the precedent of Corry Brokken in going from singer (with Chocolate Menta Mastik in 1976) to presenter.  She went on to top that by reverting to singer in 1988, a feat (singer to host to singer) only recently equalled by Greek Sakis Rouvas in 2009.   

The Eurovision Song Contest has always had a "scrutineer" to oversee the voting and ensure that the votes announced tally with those cast earlier in the evening. These people have often been derided as much as premiership referees but 1979 was one occasion that illustrated why we have them.  With one jury to vote Spain was leading the contest, but the last country to vote was.. Spain, and they denied their own victory with the points they awarded Israel.    

One of the truly unique performances in Eurovision history occurred when Switzerland took the stage. They had a six piece, three of whom were the legendary Peter Sue and Marc (see 1971, 1976 and 1981), the other three were itinerant gardeners "playing" garden tools and dustbin lids. Peter (he of the esteemed trio) called it 'trash music', a term which could be applied to many entries over the years.  This year was also the peak of the disco boom, and Germany's contribution to the joy and love was a tribute to Genghis Khan that owed more than a little in both style and substance to Boney M's "Rasputin". The song though, along with Denmark's "Disco Tango" has become a Eurovision evergreen.   

WINNER: Israel

HALLELUJAH by Milk & Honey

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