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The 1998 Eurovision Song Contest from Birmingham culminated in one of the most thrilling voting sequences for years and reminded us that Europe is a more open-minded place than we might have thought.
In the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest, 25 countries competed. FYR Macedonia made its debut, and nations relegated in 1997 returned. However, Italian broadcaster RAI withdrew from the contest indefinitely. This year marked the first large-scale use of televoting, with national juries only used in countries that lacked a fully functional telephone system. A notable glitch occurred with the Spanish televote; their 12 points, intended for Germany, were mistakenly announced for Israel during the broadcast. The error was corrected shortly after the show. It was a taboo-breaking contest, highlighted by the performance of Israel's Dana International, a transsexual woman, who sang "Diva". Germany also sent an unconventional act, Guido Horn, who famously climbed all over the stage equipment during his wild performance. Due to low five-year average scores, Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Denmark, Russia, and Iceland were relegated and did not compete the following year.
