winner, 1998
Dana International
Dana International sang at two Eurovision Song Contests, in 1998 and 2011, for Israel, and won in 1998 with “Diva”.
- who
- Israeli singer
- born
- 2 February 1969, Tel Aviv, Israel
- contests
- 1998, 2011
- win
- 1998
- music
- pop
- active
- since 1993
- record labels
- Hed Arzi Music
- sang for
- Israel
Biography
Dana International is an Israeli pop singer who had already had commercial success with the albums Umpatampa and Maganuna when Israel chose “Diva” for the 1998 contest in Birmingham. Dana International won, becoming the contest’s first transgender winner and a name known across Europe.
More albums followed. In 2011 Dana International sang for Israel a second time, with “Ding Dong”, which did not get through its semi-final, and the same year joined the judges of the Israeli talent show Kokhav Nolad.
Written by ESC Predictions, 8 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, “Dana International”.
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The act’s own accounts, as listed on Wikidata. If one is wrong or out of date, tell us and we’ll take it down.
At Eurovision
Two songs, oldest first, and what became of each.
-
1998 Birmingham
“Diva (דיווה)”
Winner Won the contest with 172 points, ahead of 24 other songs.
- Sung in
- Hebrew
- Written by
- Yoav Ginai, Svika Pick
- Running order
- 8th of 25
- Age on the night
- 29
Play: Dana International — “Diva”, the winning performance at Eurovision 1998 hear it YouTube the contest’s channel Spotify search Apple Music search
The story of Eurovision 1998: Dana International, under armed guard, and the public's first verdict
-
2011 Düsseldorf
“Ding Dong”
Out in the second semi-final Went out in the second semi-final: 15th of 19, with 38 points.
- Sung in
- Hebrew, English
- Written by
- Dana International
- Age on the night
- 42
- Won that year
- Azerbaijan: Ell and Nikki, “Running Scared”
The story of Eurovision 2011: Italy comes back, the champion defends, and Azerbaijan wins
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Away from Eurovision
Awards
- Independence Day (Israel) torchbearer 2025
As recorded on Wikidata, which is rarely the whole list.
In the drama file
The four scenes from our index of scandals, mishaps and lore that Dana International is part of.
- 1998 Where is she? When it went wrong
- 1999 The fall When it went wrong
- 1998 Dana International Moments people still talk about
- 2011 The champion defends her title Moments people still talk about
In our contest stories
What we wrote about Dana International, year by year. Follow a link for the rest of that night.
- 1998 Dana International
Israel's singer was Dana International, the first openly transgender performer the contest had seen.
- 1998 Where is she?
The winner is supposed to walk back on and sing. Dana International did not appear.
- 1999 The fall
Dana International came on to present the trophy. As she lifted it she lost her balance and went over, taking the winning songwriters down with her.
- 2011 The champion defends her title
She was not the only former winner in the field. Dana International, who had won for Israel in 1998, was back as well. It was only the second time two past winners had competed in the same year.
- 2011 The champion defends her title
Neither repeated it. Dana International went out in the semi-final. Lena finished tenth.
Results as published by the European Broadcasting Union. Biographical details from Wikidata. The photo is from Wikimedia Commons and is credited beside it. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it.