Eurovision Song Contest 1998 Eurovision Song Contest 1998 The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Birmingham, United Kingdom, following Katrina and the Waves's win at the 1997 contest in Dublin, Ireland with the song "Love Shine A Light". It was the UK's fifth win, and the eighth time that the UK hosted the contest, the last being in Harrogate in 1982. The UK has not won or hosted the contest since. The contest was staged at the National Indoor Arena on 9 May 1998. Twenty-five countries participated in the contest, with making
Eurovision Song Contest 1978 record at the time. The winning entry was a love song sung in the Hebrew equivalent of Ubbi dubbi (the title is an expansion of the Hebrew word "ani" אני, meaning "I"). This was Israel's first Eurovision win. The win caused problems for several North African and Middle-Eastern nations that were televising the contest, even though they were not participating. According to author and political commentator John Kennedy O'Connor in his book "The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History", when Israel became the clear winners during the voting, most of the Arabic stations ended their transmission of the contest. Jordanian