Under many years, the ESC attracted mainly young, fairly unknown performers who often got to shine for one night and then disappeared into obscurity again once the spotlight was turned off.
But then - now and again, a real superstar tread out into the light and the whole atmosphere changed.
Alla Pugacheva wasn't just any old star either - she was the biggest Diva of the Soviet Union, so loved by the audience that she could afford being more outspoken than most, who unlike many others had survived the transition into the new realities of the Russian Federation without losing her popularity.
Her good friend, the late Swedish tv presenter Jacob Dahlin, had always talked to her about Eurovision, how grand it was and how she should be there. She told the Swedish press that she finally went there as a gesture to him.
And quite possibly as a bit of an ego rub.
For a few years, during the mid 80's when perestroika was the new big thing, Alla travelled Europe and was a welcome guest on several high-profile tv shows and song festivals and had quite a nice little career going for her.
Eurovision was a new chance for her to mingle in the international limelight and show the world she could still perform. She squeezed every single drop of emotion out of her bombastic chanson-esque entry and had the audience eat from her hand.
For some reason, the juries remain unimpressed (apart from the jury in Slovenia awarding her top points) and The Queen landed on a bleak 15th place.
Not that it in any way affected her career, but that is no way to treat royalty.
Alla Pugacheva - Prima Donna (Russia 1997)
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