I was very pleasantly surprised when Lebanon registered for the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest. Through the history of the contest, only one Arab country had taken part before and it seemed about time to have another one in the running.
Tunisia intended to enter in 1977 but pulled out after the running order was established (and would have performed as fourth in London, between the Netherlands and Austria had they stayed in), so Morocco remains the only Arab nation to have taken part.
Morocco ended second last at their only attempt, and it is my firm belief that Lebanon would have done better hadn't politics gotten in the way.
Aline Lahoud was internally selected to sing "Quand tout s'enfuit" in Kyiv, but the lebanese pulled out only hours before the drawing of lots in March 2005.
When pressured by the EBU, Télé-Liban admitted they had no intent of showing the Israeli entry during their broadcast, claiming promotion of Israel would clash with Lebanese law.
So Aline had to stay home and we will never know how her dramatic, slightly oriental-flavoured ballad would have fared.
Hopefully, in the future, one or several Arab nations would decide to enter the ESC and participate alongside Israel. Showing themselves, and the world, that singing together is a pretty harmless activity and nothing to be afraid of.
Aline Lahoud - Quand tout s'enfuit (Lebanon 2005, did not participate)
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