The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

. It took place in Tel Aviv,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, following the country's victory at the 2018 contest with the song " Toy" by Netta. Organised by the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who are members of the C ...

(EBU) and host broadcaster Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan), the contest was held at Expo Tel Aviv, and consisted of two semi-finals on 14 and 16 May, and a final on 18 May 2019. The three live shows were presented by Israeli television presenters Erez Tal,

Assi Azar Assi Azar ( he, אסי עזר; born 10 June 1979) is an Israeli television host. Biography Assi Azar was born in Holon, Israel.Lucy Ayoub, and Israeli model Bar Refaeli. Forty-one countries participated in the contest, with and not returning after their participation in the previous edition. Members of Bulgaria's delegation had been moved to other projects, while Ukraine, which had originally planned to participate, ultimately withdrew as a result of a controversy surrounding its national selection. The winner was the with the song " Arcade", performed by

Duncan Laurence Duncan de Moor (; born 11 April 1994), known professionally as Duncan Laurence, is a Dutch singer and songwriter. He represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with his song "Arcade" and went on to win the competition, gi ...

and written by Laurence along with Joel Sjöö,

Wouter Hardy Wouter Hardy (; born 3 April 1991), also known by his stage name HRDY, is a Dutch musician, songwriter and producer. He is known for his work with, among others, Duncan Laurence and Gjon's Tears. Career Hardy was born and raised in Boxtel, Nor ...

and Will Knox. , , and rounded out the top five, although, due to a voting error, were placed fifth and Sweden sixththis was corrected three days after the contest. Further down the table, and achieved their best results to date, finishing 7th and 19th respectively. finished 23rd in the final, making it the fourth time that the host country ranked in the bottom five since . The EBU reported that the contest had an audience of 182 million viewers in 40 European markets, a decrease of 4 million viewers from the previous edition. However, an increase of two percent in the 15–24 year old age range was reported. The lead-up to the contest was met with controversy on multiple fronts, primarily on issues surrounding the

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the world's most enduring conflicts, beginning in the mid-20th century. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside other ef ...

this eventually led to demonstrations by interval act performer

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

and Icelandic entrants Hatari during the broadcast of the final.

Location

Expo Tel Aviv - Pavilion 2 - 20190227 13

The 2019 contest took place in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, following the country's victory at the 2018 edition with the song " Toy", performed by

Netta Barzilai Netta Barzilai ( he, נטע ברזילי; born 22 January 1993), also known mononymously as Netta, is an Israeli singer. After winning the fifth season of '' HaKokhav HaBa'', she earned the right to represent her country at the Eurovision Song ...

. It was the third time that Israel had hosted the contest, after having hosted the and contests in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. The selected venue was Expo Tel Aviv's 7,300-seat congress and convention centre in "Bitan 2" (Pavilion 2), which was opened in January 2015. Located on Rokach Boulevard in northern Tel Aviv, the convention centre serves as a venue for many events, including

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide var ...

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibitio ...

trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...

s, and

conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

s. The fairground has ten halls and pavilions, plus a large outdoor space. The new pavilion had recently hosted the 2018 European Judo Championships from 26 to 28 April.

Bidding phase

After Israel's victory in the 2018 contest in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

, Netta Barzilai and the Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

stated that the 2019 contest would be held in

, but this was yet to be confirmed by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan) and the

(EBU). Israeli finance minister Moshe Kahlon also said in an interview the event would be held solely in Jerusalem and estimated its cost at 120 million Israeli shekels (approximately €29 million). The mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, mentioned Jerusalem Arena and Teddy Stadium as possible venues to host the event. The municipality of Jerusalem confirmed that because it lacked the seating capacity, the contest would not be held at the International Convention Centre, which had hosted the contest in 1979 and 1999. On 18 June 2018, Netanyahu stated that Israel had committed to remaining in compliance with EBU rules regarding the constitution of member broadcasters, so as not to affect its hosting of Eurovision. Kan's establishment included a condition that news programming would be delegated later to a second public broadcasting entity. This would have violated EBU rules requiring member broadcasters to have their own internal news departments. The following day, Israel was officially confirmed as the host country, and on 24 June 2018, Kan formally opened the bidding process for cities interested in hosting the 2019 contest. Israeli deputy minister Michael Oren stated that Jerusalem did not have the resources to host the contest on 28 July, reiterating that Tel Aviv was the more likely host. Soon afterwards, reports surfaced of the government not providing the €12 million downpayment requested by Kan to cover hosting expenses and security. Following a tense back-and-forth between Kan and the government, a compromise between the two parties was reached on 29 July 2018 that would see Kan paying the €12 million to the EBU and the Finance Ministry covering expenses should complications arise. The mayor of Tel Aviv, Ron Huldai, announced that the city would be willing to pay for the convention centre itself, should it be chosen as the host city. In the week of 27 August 2018, executive supervisor

Jon Ola Sand Jon Ola Sand (; born 21 December 1961) is a Norwegian television executive. He was the European Broadcasting Union's Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest from 2011 to 2020. Personal life He is the son of revue writer and actor B ...

led a handful of EBU delegates around Israel to look at potential venues in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and to hear the bid from Eilat. On 30 August 2018, Sand stated in an interview with Kan that Eilat was no longer in the running to host, leaving Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as the remaining cities in the running. He added that there was no serious discussion among members of the EBU about boycotting the event. On 13 September 2018, the EBU announced Tel Aviv as the host city, with Expo Tel Aviv as the chosen venue for the 2019 contest. Key: Host venue Shortlisted venues

Other sites

Located at the Charles Clore Park in Tel Aviv, the Eurovision Village was the official Eurovision Song Contest fan and sponsors' area during the events week. It was open from 12 to 18 May 2019. There it was possible to watch performances by local artists, as well as the live shows broadcast from the main venue. The EuroClub was located at Hangar 11 in

Tel Aviv Port Tel Aviv Port ( he, נמל תל אביב, Namal Tel Aviv) is a commercial and entertainment district in northwest Tel Aviv, Israel along the Mediterranean Sea. History in 1933 the Levant Fair was opened next to the waterfront area that would ...

and was the venue for the official after-parties and private performances by contest participants. Unlike the Eurovision Village, access to the EuroClub was restricted to accredited fans, delegates, and press. The "Orange Carpet" event, where the contestants and their delegations are presented before the accredited press and fans, took place at Habima Square in central Tel Aviv on 12 May 2019, followed by the Opening Ceremony at the Charles Bronfman Auditorium.

Format

Visual design

The contest's slogan, "Dare to Dream", was unveiled on 28 October 2018, while the official logo and branding were revealed on 8 January 2019. Designed by Awesome Tel Aviv and Studio Adam Feinberg, it consists of layered triangles designed to resemble a star, reflecting "the stars of the future" coming to Tel Aviv.

Postcards

Filmed between March and April 2019, and directed by Keren Hochma, the 2019 postcards involved the act travelling to a location in Israel that resembles that of their own country. An imaginary play button circled above the act's head, and, when the act pressed it, they performed a themed dance and threw the play button towards the screen, afterwards, it "flies over" to the stage where the ceiling lit up with their country's flag using

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...

. The dances in each postcard were wide-ranging and included

parkour Parkour () is an athletic training discipline or sport in which practitioners (called ''traceurs'') attempt to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment and often while performing ...

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

and

street dance Street dance is an umbrella term for a large number of social dance styles such as: breakdancing, popping, locking, house dance, waacking etc. Social dance styles have many accompanying steps and foundations, created organically from a cult ...

, among other styles. The following locations were used: * Banias Nature Reserve * Masada National Park *

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

* Tel Aviv Bauhaus *

Gan HaShlosha National Park Gan HaShlosha National Park ( he, גן השלושה, literally: "Park of the three"), also known by its Arabic name Sakhne ( ar, الساخنة, literally: "The hot ool), is a national park in Israel. Located between kibbutzim Beit Alfa and Ni ...

* Rockefeller Archaeological Museum,

* Mitzpe Ramon *

The Israel Museum The Israel Museum ( he, מוזיאון ישראל, ''Muze'on Yisrael'') is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclopa ...

, Jerusalem *

Eilat Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jorda ...

Caesarea Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesar ...

Jerusalem International YMCA Jerusalem International YMCA is a YMCA branch in Jerusalem established in the early twentieth century. History In 1924, Archibald Clinton Harte, General Secretary of the International YMCA, raised the sum of one million dollars towards the const ...

Tel Aviv Promenade Tel Aviv Promenade ( he, טיילת תל אביב-יפו, commonly referred to in Hebrew simply as the Tayelet, - "The Promenade") runs along the Mediterranean seashore in Tel Aviv, Israel. History In the late 1930s, the city council decided ...

* Financial District, Ramat Gan *

Tel Aviv Museum of Art Tel Aviv Museum of Art ( he, מוזיאון תל אביב לאמנות ''Muzeon Tel Aviv Leomanut'') is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. The museum is dedicated to the preservation and display of modern and contemporary art from Israel and aro ...

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest ...

* Van Leer Institute, Jerusalem * Beit Guvrin National Park * Beit She'an National Park * Palm Plantation, Eylot *

Old City Old City often refers to old town, the historic or original core of a city or town. Old City may refer to several places: Historical cities or regions of cities ''(by country)'' *Old City (Baku), Azerbaijan * Old City (Dhaka), Bangladesh, also ca ...

, Jerusalem * Ashdod Port * Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance, Tel Aviv * HaBonim Beach * Timna Park *

Zichron Yaakov Zikhron Ya'akov ( he, זִכְרוֹן יַעֲקֹב, ''lit.'' "Jacob's Memorial"; often shortened to just ''Zikhron'') is a town in Israel, south of Haifa, and part of the Haifa District. It is located at the southern end of the Carmel mounta ...

Wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

* Mikhmoret Beach *

Mount Arbel Mount Arbel ( he, הר ארבל, ''Har Arbel'') is a mountain in The Lower Galilee near Tiberias in Israel, with high cliffs, views of Mount Hermon and the Golan Heights, a cave-fortress, and ruins of an ancient synagogue. Mount Arbel sits acros ...

* Carmel Forest *

Judean Desert The Judaean Desert or Judean Desert ( he, מִדְבַּר יְהוּדָה, Midbar Yehuda}, both ''Desert of Judah'' or ''Judaean Desert''; ar, صحراء يهودا, Sahraa' Yahuda) is a desert in Palestine and Israel that lies east of Jerusa ...

* Mishkenot Sha'ananim, Jerusalem *

Dead Sea The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Ban ...

* Mount Hermon *

Tower of David The Tower of David ( he, מגדל דוד, Migdál Davíd), also known as the Citadel ( ar, القلعة, al-Qala'a), is an ancient citadel located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem. The citadel that stands today dates ...

, Jerusalem * Solar Thermal Power Station, Ashalim *

Cherry Blossom A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of Prunus, genus ''Prunus'' or Prunus subg. Cerasus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especia ...

Ein Zivan Ein Zivan ( he, עֵין זִיוָן) is an Israeli settlement organized as a kibbutz in the northern Golan Heights, under the jurisdiction of the Golan Regional Council. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Golan Hei ...

* Ruhama Badlands *

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

* Charles Bronfman Auditorium * Bahá'í Gardens, Haifa

Presenters

On 25 January 2019, Kan announced that four presenters would host the three shows: TV hosts Erez Tal (who was also one of the Israeli commentators for the final) and

Assi Azar Assi Azar ( he, אסי עזר; born 10 June 1979) is an Israeli television host. Biography Assi Azar was born in Holon, Israel.Channel 12), supermodel Bar Refaeli and Kan host Lucy Ayoub (who was also the Israeli jury spokesperson at the 2018 contest). Tal and Refaeli were the main hosts, while Azar and Ayoub hosted the green room.

Semi-final allocation draw

The draw to determine the participating countries' semi-finals took place on 28 January 2019 at 17:00 CET, at the

. The thirty-six semi-finalists were divided over six pots, based on historical voting patterns as calculated by the contest's official televoting partner Digame. The purpose of drawing from different pots was to reduce the chance of "bloc voting" and to increase suspense in the semi-finals. The draw also determined which semi-final each of the six automatic qualifiers – host country Israel and " Big Five" countries , , , and the – would broadcast and vote in. The ceremony was hosted by contest presenters Assi Azar and Lucy Ayoub, and included the passing of the host city insignia from Duarte Cordeiro, vice mayor of

(host city of the previous contest) to Ron Huldai, mayor of Tel Aviv.

Voting system

On 30 March 2019, the EBU announced that the presentation of the televoting results during the final would change for the first time since the current voting system was introduced in 2016. The jury results' presentation remained the same with a live spokesperson in each participating country revealing the top song from their national jury that earned 12 points. In a change from previous years, the televoting result was revealed in the order of jury ranking, from the lowest to the highest.

Opening and interval acts

On 8 April 2019, it was confirmed that

would perform three songs during the final. The EBU later revealed they would be "

Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that current ...

" featuring Quavo and " Like a Prayer" and a yet-to-be released song, "

Dark Ballet "Dark Ballet" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her fourteenth studio album ''Madame X (album), Madame X'' (2019). It was released on June 7, 2019 as the album's third promotional single. Written and produced by Madonna and lon ...

". On 15 April 2019, the EBU released further information about the opening and interval acts. The first semi-final was opened by

, performing a new version of her winning song " Toy", and also featured Dana International with " Just the Way You Are". The second semi-final included Shalva Band performing "

A Million Dreams "A Million Dreams" is a song performed by Ziv Zaifman, Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams for the film '' The Greatest Showman'' (2017). It is the second track from soundtrack of the film, '' The Greatest Showman: Original Motion Picture Soundtra ...

" and mentalist

Lior Suchard Lior Suchard ( he, ליאור סושרד, ; born 6 December 1981) is an Israeli mentalist and self-described "mystifier" who performs "supernatural entertainment". Early life Suchard was born in Haifa, Israel, as the youngest of three brother ...

. The final was opened with the traditional flag parade introducing the 26 finalists, which featured Netta Barzilai, Dana International with " Diva" and "Tel Aviv",

Nadav Guedj Nadav Guedj ( he, נדב גדג'; born 2 November 1998) is an Israeli singer and actor who represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. He is the winner of season two of '' HaKokhav HaBa'' (Israel's '' Rising Star''). Guedj was born in ...

with " Golden Boy" and Ilanit with " Ey Sham". In the "Switch Song" interval act, five former Eurovision participants were featured: Conchita Wurst performed " Heroes", Måns Zelmerlöw performed " Fuego", Eleni Foureira performed "

Dancing Lasha Tumbai Dance is a performing art art form, form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolism (arts), symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its chor ...

Verka Serduchka Andriy Mykhailovych Danylko ( uk, Андрі́й Миха́йлович Дани́лко; born 2 October 1973), better known as his drag persona Verka Serduchka ( uk, Вє́рка Сердю́чка, links=no, ; russian: Ве́рка Серд ...

performed "Toy", and

Gali Atari Gali Atari ( he, גלי עטרי; born December 29, 1953) is an Israeli singer and actress. Atari won the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 which was held in Jerusalem, as part of Milk and Honey. Early life Atari was born in Rehovot, Israel, to ...

, together with the four above-mentioned artists, performed her winning song " Hallelujah". Idan Raichel then performed "Bo’ee – Come to Me" together with the Idan Raichel Project. Netta Barzilai later performed her new single " Nana Banana", while actress Gal Gadot also appeared in a short video skit. Madonna's interval performance in the final was heavily criticised due to her poor vocal performance, and further criticisms were raised when her official YouTube channel uploaded a video of the performance with the vocals auto-tuned. Madonna's representatives at

Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertai ...

were subject to a lawsuit by host broadcaster Kan following the performance.

Participating countries

The EBU initially announced on 7 November 2018 that 42 countries would participate in the contest, with opting not to participate for financial reasons. announced its withdrawal from the contest on 27 February 2019, thereby reducing the number of participating countries to 41. On 6 March 2019, the EBU confirmed would take part for the first time under its new name, instead of the previous name of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia which had been used since the country first participated in 1998.

Returning artists

The contest featured five representatives who had performed previously as lead vocalists for the same countries. Two of them participated in — Sergey Lazarev represented and won the semi-final, while

Serhat Serhat is a Turkish given name for males. People named Serhat include: * Serhat Akın Niyazi Serhat Akın (born 5 June 1981) is a retired Turkish footballer who played as a striker. Career Fenerbahçe He played for Fenerbahçe SK between 20 ...

represented in the semi-final.

Joci Pápai József "Joci" Pápai (; born 22 September 1981) is a Hungarian singer, rapper and guitarist of Romani descent. He represented Hungary at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song " Origo" finishing in 8th place. He represented Hungary aga ...

represented in .

Tamara Todevska Tamara Todevska ( mk, Тамара Тодевска, pronounced , born 1 June 1985), also known mononymously as Tamara, is a Macedonian pop singer. Tamara began her music career in 2003 following the release of her debut studio album '' Sino'' ...

represented (now named North Macedonia) in the semi-final, alongside Vrčak and

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the mai ...

, and backed in and for Toše Proeski and Tijana Dapčević, respectively. Nevena Božović represented in the semi-final of as part of

Moje 3 Moje 3 ( sr-cyr, Моје 3; English: ''My 3'') was a Serbian girl group consisting of Mirna Radulović, Nevena Božović and Sara Jovanović. They represented Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö with the song " Ljubav je svud ...

, and in the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the fifth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in the Ahoy indoor sporting arena in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on 8 December. The host country was chosen by the European Bro ...

. The contest also featured a former backing vocalist representing his country for the first time—Jurijus Veklenko, Jurij Veklenko provided backup for Lithuania in and . On the other hand, previous representatives returned to provide supporting vocals for their own or another country. Mikheil Javakhishvili, in 2018 as part of Iriao, Ethno-Jazz Band Iriao, backed Oto Nemsadze. Michael Hennet Sotomayor, Mikel Hennet, who represented in as part of D'Nash, backed Miki Núñez, Miki. Stig Rästa, in alongside Elina Born, backed Victor Crone. Mladen Lukić, who represented in as part of Balkanika, backed Nevena Božović. Sahlene, who represented in , and provided backing for her native country in , for in and for in , backed for the this time. Jacques Houdek, who represented in , backed Roko. Émilie Satt, who represented in 2018 as part of Madame Monsieur, backed Bilal Hassani. Destiny Chukunyere, who won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 for Malta, backed Michela.

Semi-final 1

The first semi-final took place on 14 May 2019 at 22:00 Israel Summer Time, IDT (21:00 CEST). Seventeen countries participated in the first semi-final. Those countries plus , and voted in this semi-final. was originally allocated to participate in the second half of the semi-final, but withdrew from the contest due to controversy over its national selection. The highlighted countries qualified for the final.

Semi-final 2

The second semi-final took place on 16 May 2019 at 22:00 IDT (21:00 CEST). Eighteen countries participated in the second semi-final. Those countries plus , , and the voted in this semi-final. Switzerland was pre-drawn into this semi-final due to scheduling issues. The highlighted countries qualified for the final.

Final

The final took place on 18 May 2019 at 22:00 IDT (21:00 CEST). Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all forty-one participating countries eligible to vote.

Detailed voting results

Belarusian jury dismissal and incorrect aggregated vote

The Belarusian jury was dismissed following the revelation of their votes in the first semi-final, which is contrary to the rules of the contest. To comply with the contest's voting regulations, the EBU worked with its voting partner, Digame, to create a substitute aggregated result (calculated based on the results of other countries with similar voting records), which was approved by voting monitor Ernst & Young, to determine the Belarusian jury votes for the final. In these results, Israel, which did not receive points from any other jury during the final, received 12 points from Belarus. However, Twitter user @euro_bruno noted on 19 May that an incorrect substitute Belarusian result was purportedly used during the broadcast of the final. The mistake was later confirmed in a statement issued by the EBU on 22 May. According to the statement, the EBU "discovered that due to a human error an incorrect aggregated result was used. This had no impact on the calculation of points derived from televoting across the 41 participating countries and the overall winner and Top 4 songs of the contest remain unchanged. To respect both the artists and EBU Members which took part, [they wished] to correct the grand final results in accordance with the rules." The error, a reversal of the Belarusian aggregated votes, led to the bottom ten countries receiving points instead of the top ten. Malta, which had been incorrectly ranked last, would receive Belarus' 12 jury points, and Israel would end up with Voting at the Eurovision Song Contest#Scoring no points, no jury points. The corrected point totals also changed some rankings: Sweden finished fifth overall instead of Norway, Belarus finished 24th overall instead of Germany, San Marino ended 19th despite losing four points, and North Macedonia won the jury vote instead of Sweden. The mistake made by the EBU and their voting partner was widely panned by the press. Dutch newspaper ''Algemeen Dagblad'' said the EBU had to present the new vote totals "blushing with shame", calling the situation "chaos". British newspaper ''Metro (British newspaper), Metro'' thought the EBU had "screwed up", while the ''Daily Mirror'' named the accidental reversal of the aggregated vote total a "scandalous blunder". A similar situation occurred in the , , , and contests, and in the semi-final of the contest, whereupon the results also had to be corrected after the broadcast due to an error with the votes. The corrected results have been used in all following scoreboards (where applicable).

Semi-final 1

12 points

Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's professional jury and televote in the first semi-final. Countries in bold gave the maximum 24 points (12 points apiece from professional jury and televoting) to the specified entrant.

Semi-final 2

12 points

Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's professional jury and televote in the second semi-final. Countries in bold gave the maximum 24 points (12 points apiece from professional jury and televoting) to the specified entrant.

Final

12 points

Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's professional jury and televote in the final. Countries in bold gave the maximum 24 points (12 points apiece from professional jury and televoting) to the specified entrant.

Spokespersons

The spokespersons announced the 12-point score from their respective country's national jury in the following order: # # Faig Aghayev # Ben Camille # Nikola Trajkovski # Monica Fabbri # Emma Wortelboer # Ajda Šufta # Kelly Sildaru # Mateusz Szymkowiak # Alexander Rybak # Nieves Álvarez # Philipp Hansa # Rylan Clark-Neal # # Andri Xhahu # # Doina Stimpovschi # Sinead Kennedy, Sinéad Kennedy # Maria Vasilevich # Aram Mp3 # Ilinca Băcilă, Ilinca # Hovig Demirjian, Hovig # Electric Fields # Ivan Bessonov # Barbara Schöneberger # # Eric Saade # Monika Lelas Halambek # # # Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson # Gaga Abashidze # Gus G # Laura Rizzotto # # Rasmussen (singer), Rasmussen # # # Sinplus # Lea Sirk # Izhar Cohen

Other countries

Eligibility for potential participation in the Eurovision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with European Broadcasting Union#Members, active EBU membership that will be able to broadcast the contest via the Eurovision (network), Eurovision network. The EBU issued an invitation to participate in the contest to all active members. The Israeli minister of communications, Ayoob Kara, also invited other countries from the MENA region. With some Israel largely had tense relationships and others Foreign relations of Israel#No diplomatic relations, no diplomatic relations at all. Kara pointed out that Tunisia and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, were invited. Tunisia is eligible to participate but has not due to rules banning the promotion of Israeli content, while the Gulf states do not have national broadcasters with EBU membership.

Active EBU members

* – Despite being absent for 10 years, local media reported that Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra (RTVA) was still interested in returning to the contest, but the principality's failure to make the final along with the cost was discouraging the broadcaster from participating. For a return to take place, RTVA would need funding from the Andorran Government. On 19 May 2018, Andorra confirmed that they would not return in 2019. * – On 25 May 2018, the Bosnian broadcaster, Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT), announced that it would not be participating in 2019, stating that the country would not be allowed to return to the contest until debt-related sanctions placed on them by the EBU are lifted. Bosnia and Herzegovina last took part in . * – Despite confirming their preliminary participation in the 2019 contest, Bulgarian National Television (BNT) announced on 13 October 2018 that many members of the delegation were moving onto other projects, and on 15 October 2018, BNT announced that they would withdraw from the 2019 contest because of financial difficulties. * – On 31 May 2018, the Slovak broadcaster Radio and Television of Slovakia, Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska (RTVS) announced that the country would not return to the contest in 2019 due to financial difficulties. Slovakia last took part in . * – Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said in an interview that Turkey had no plans to return to the contest. On 4 August 2018, İbrahim Eren, general manager of Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, Türkiye Radyo Televizyon Kurumu (TRT), said that at the moment the broadcaster was not considering returning to the contest for various reasons, including Conchita Wurst's victory for in . Turkey last took part in . * – On 27 February 2019, UA:PBC announced the withdrawal of the country from the contest, due to the #Late Ukrainian withdrawal, controversy surrounding its national selection. Despite this, the channel still broadcast the show.

Associate EBU members

* – On 22 December 2017, the Ministry of Culture and Sport claimed that Channel 31 (Kazakhstan), Channel 31 had finalised negotiations with the EBU, allowing Kazakhstan to debut in 2019; however, on 23 December 2017, the EBU stated that "Channel 31 Kazakhstan has indeed expressed interest in becoming a member of the EBU and hence participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. However, since Channel 31 is outside the European Broadcasting Area and is also not a member of the Council of Europe, it is not eligible to become an active member of the EBU." On 25 July 2018, it was announced that Kazakhstan would participate in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018, thus making a debut in 2019 possible. On 30 July 2018, the EBU stated that the decision to invite Kazakhstan was made solely by the Junior Eurovision Steering Group, and there were no current plans to invite associate members other than Australia. On 22 November 2018,

said in a press conference that "we need to discuss if we can invite our associate member Kazakhstan to take part in adult ESC in the future, but this is part of a broader discussion in the EBU and I hope we can get back to you on this issue later." However, he later clarified that Kazakhstan was not going to have an entry in the 2019 edition.

Non-EBU members

* – In June 2018, RTK general director Mentor Shala said that they were pushing for full membership to still be able to take part in the 2019 contest. However, in December 2018, RTK's membership vote was delayed until June 2019. * – On 4 November 2017, 1 FL TV, 1 Fürstentum Liechtenstein Television (1 FL TV), the national broadcaster of the Principality of Liechtenstein, confirmed that the country were planning a debut in the 2019 contest, and that they were applying for EBU membership and are "in [the] process of complying all requirements". They also reiterated their intention to select the participant through a national selection process in the form of ''Liechtenstein Music Contest''. However, on 20 July 2018, the EBU stated that 1 FL TV had not applied for membership. On 26 July 2018, 1 FL TV confirmed that Liechtenstein would not debut at the 2019 contest due to the sudden death of the broadcaster's director, Peter Kölbel.

Broadcasts

Countries may add commentary from commentators working on-location or remotely at the broadcaster. Commentators can add insight to the participating entries and the provision of voting information. The European Broadcasting Union provided international live streams of both semi-finals and the final through their official YouTube channel with no commentary. The live streams were Geo-blocking, geo-blocked to viewers in Bolivia, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, United States and Venezuela due to rights limitations. After the live broadcasts, all three shows were made available for every country listed above, except the United States and Canada.

Incidents

Religious requests

On 14 May 2018, Yaakov Litzman, leader of the ultra-Orthodox party United Torah Judaism and Israel's former Ministry of Health (Israel), Minister of Health, drafted a letter to the Ministers of Ministry of Tourism (Israel), Tourism, Ministry of Communications (Israel), Communications, and Ministry of Culture and Sport (Israel), Culture and Sports, in which he requested the event not violate religious laws: "In the name of hundreds of thousands of Jewish citizens from all the populations and communities for whom Shabbat observance is close to their hearts, I appeal to you, already at this early stage, before production and all the other details of the event has begun, to be strict [in ensuring] that this matter does not harm the holiness of Shabbat and to work in every way to prevent the desecration of Shabbat, God forbid, as the law and the status quo requires". According to Jewish religious law, Shabbat is observed from just before sunset on Friday evening until Saturday night. The Saturday evening broadcast of the show, which were to start at 22:00 local time, would not conflict with this. However, the Friday evening jury show and Saturday afternoon rehearsals would. Similar protests arose in the lead-up to the , but then there were fewer competing delegations, which allowed for certain adjustments to be made to accommodate the issue. The chairman of the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group (the contest's executive board), Dr. Frank-Dieter Freiling, noted that he was well aware of the tension, and had plans to address it in his communications with host broadcaster Kan. Shalva Band, who performed as the interval act during the second semi-final, withdrew from Israel's Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, national final citing similar concerns on possibly performing during Shabbat in the rehearsals for the final, should they have won.

Calls for boycott

The possibility of

being the venue for an Israeli-hosted contest led many proponents of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to call on their national broadcasters to boycott the competition because of Israel's policies towards Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Gaza. This included members of the Australian Greens party, Sinn Féin, Sweden's Left Party (Sweden), Left Party and many entertainers including 1994 contest winner Charlie McGettigan. The Icelandic broadcaster RÚV met to discuss a boycott in response to a petition of 23,000 signatures, but ultimately neither RÚV nor any other broadcaster withdrew from the contest in response to boycott calls. In the event, viewing figures for the contest dropped to the joint lowest level since 2013. Several national selections were disrupted by BDS supporters calling for a boycott in the lead-up to the contest. This included the France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019#Semi-final 2, second semi-final of France's ''France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019#Destination Eurovision, Destination Eurovision'', which was invaded by stage intruders who held up signs advocating a boycott; and selection events in , , and were all targeted by protesters outside the venues calling for a boycott. The EBU later sent a special letter to all participating broadcasters advising precautions they could take to prevent similar disruptions. An opinion piece in Sweden's largest newspaper ''Aftonbladet'', calling for a boycott of the contest and other cultural exchanges with Israel, was signed by 171 Swedish professionals in the cultural sector. In March 2019, LGBT activist groups Al Qaws and Pinkwatching Israel called for a boycott of the contest in opposition to Israeli "Pinkwashing (LGBT), pinkwashing". In late April, over 100 celebrities including Stephen Fry and Sharon Osbourne signed a joint statement ''against'' boycotting Eurovision in Israel, asserting that any cultural boycott would be antithetical to advancing peace in the region.

Late Ukrainian withdrawal

During the final of the on 23 February 2019, it was announced that the Suspilne, Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC) had reserved the right to change the decision made by the jury and the Ukrainian public. Following Maruv's win, it was reported the broadcaster had sent a contract to her management, requiring her to cancel all upcoming appearances and performances in Russia to represent Ukraine. She was also given 48 hours to sign the contract or be replaced. On 24 February 2019, Maruv revealed the contract sent to her by UA:PBC had also banned her from Improvisation, improvising on stage and communicating with any journalist without the permission of the broadcaster, and required her to fully comply with any requests from the broadcaster. Later, the broadcaster published a statement explaining every entry of the contract. If she failed to follow any of these clauses, she would be fined Ukrainian hryvnia, ₴2 million (~€65,500). Maruv also said the broadcaster would not give her any financial compensation for the competition and would not pay for her trip to Tel Aviv. On 25 February 2019, both Maruv and UA:PBC confirmed she would not represent Ukraine in the contest due to disputes over the contract, and that another act would be chosen. National final runner-up Freedom Jazz announced on 26 February they had also rejected the broadcaster's offer to represent Ukraine as did third-place finisher Kazka the following day. The incident garnered media coverage from major international outlets, including ''The New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'', ''The Daily Telegraph, The Telegraph'', ''The Independent'', ''SBS World News, SBS News'', ''Irish Independent, The Irish Independent'', ''Le Figaro'', ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'', and ''ABC (newspaper), ABC.'' On 27 February, UA:PBC announced its withdrawal from the contest.

Ticket sales controversy

The ticket prices for the year's event sparked criticism, both in Israel and abroad, with ''The Times of Israel'' calling them "likely the most expensive ever for Eurovision". Explanations for the high prices included the high cost of living in Israel and the fact that the Israeli government was not subsidising the Eurovision production. Although the venue could hold up to 10,000 people, only 7,300 seats were available because of the size of the stage, the technical equipment and the security features. Of those 7,300 seats, 3,000 had been reserved for the EBU, leaving only 4,300 for fans so that demand exceeded supply. On 3 March 2019, ticket sales were frozen because of irregularities noticed by the Oversight Committee of Kan. Hebrew-language Israeli media reported tickets being illegally resold for more than twice their original price. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan ordered an investigation into the situation. On 14 March 2019, tickets sales resumed. According to Kan, 220 improperly-purchased tickets to the final live show were revoked and were sold again in the second round of ticket sales.

Technical issues

Cyber attack during semi-final 1

Kan suffered a cyber attack by a group of hackers that affected the broadcaster's accessibility livestreams of the first semi-final. The hackers were able to briefly show anti-Israeli statements on the streams such as "Israel is not safe, you will see" and "Risk of missile attack, please take shelter". The incident was investigated by both the broadcaster and the EBU. Kan released a statement regarding the incident saying: "The problem was fixed quickly, and it seems that during the first semi-finals a site was hacked here for a few minutes, and we believe that the messages were not seen by many people."

Semi-final 1 technical issues

Multiple broadcasters around Europe reported various issues during the live broadcast of the first semi-final. Viewers reported a loss of commentary from Tel Aviv in the Netherlands and North Macedonia. The Polish public broadcaster, Telewizja Polska, TVP, had to replace their regular commentator Artur Orzech who was in Tel Aviv with another person who was based in Warsaw because viewers were unable to hear Orzech. Germany and the United Kingdom lost a portion of the show. On BBC Four, which broadcast the semi-finals in the UK, the programme cut out as the recap of the qualifiers of the first semi-final began to play, and was replaced by the message "We are sorry for the break in this programme and are trying to correct the fault" while the French broadcaster France Télévisions experienced audio issues during the Portuguese and Belgian performances. Similar technical issues happened during the .

Keiino's jury final performance

During Norway's jury final performance, two technical issues occurred in a short time. The screen turned black while Keiino performed their song "Spirit in the Sky (Keiino song), Spirit in the Sky". When the picture returned the camera operator was seen in the picture. NRK complained to the EBU and requested a new run through, but the EBU rejected the complaints.

Jury vote issues

Following the reveal of the detailed jury voting, it emerged that three jurors appeared to have voted backwards in their semi-finals. In the first semi-final, Czech juror Jitka Zelenková ranked Portugal as her favourite entry, Slovenia as her least-favourite entry, and ranked Estonia as fourteenth on her list; this was directly opposite to the other Czech jurors, who all ranked Slovenia first and two who ranked Portugal last. In the final, Zelenková's rankings changed significantly; she listed Estonia as her fourth favourite and Slovenia as her sixth favourite. Neither Zelenková, the Czech broadcaster Česká televize (ČT) nor the EBU had confirmed that her semi-final votes were reversed, but if this were corrected, Poland would have qualified to the final instead of Belarus. Swedish juror Lina Hedlund also appeared to have voted backwards in the second semi-final. She ranked the Netherlands and Switzerland as her favourite entries in the final, but ranked them as her two least-favourite entries in the semi-final. Additionally, Hedlund ranked Austria her favourite entry in the semi-final, which led Austria to receive eight points from Sweden. Neither Hedlund, the Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT) nor the EBU had commented on the incident. The second semi-final also seemed to have had Russian juror Igor Gulyaev casting his votes in reverse order. In the semi-final, Gulyaev ranked Denmark first and Azerbaijan last, although he reversed these placements in the final. He also ranked Albania as his second least favourite entry in the semi-final, but conversely as his second favourite in the final. If his and Hedlund's votes were corrected, it would have had no impact on the result other than minor differences in the number of points received by each country. This was the second year in which a juror accidentally submitted their votes backwards. In the , Danish juror Hilda Heick ranked the entries backwards, resulting in Ukraine receiving 12 points from Denmark instead of Australia.

Political demonstrations during the final

The organisation of the Eurovision Song Contest in Israel faced protests due to the ongoing

, and not exclusively outside the venue. During

's interval performance in the final where she sang " Like a Prayer" and "Future (Madonna and Quavo song), Future", the singer directed a monologue (part of her song "

") to backup dancers wearing gas masks between the two songs, alluding to the "[storm] inside of us", saying "they think we are not aware of their crimes. We know, but we're just not ready to act". This was interpreted as a reference to the conflict. During "Future", two dancers—one wearing an Israeli, the other a Flag of Palestine, Palestinian flag on the back of their costumes—were seen holding each other while guest vocalist Quavo sang the lyrics: "Not everyone is coming to the future, not everyone is learning from the past". Madonna later stated that the use of Israeli and Palestinian flags was not a pro-Palestine demonstration, but a call for unity and peace. While receiving their points from the televotes, members of the Icelandic entry Hatari were seen showing banners that included the Palestinian flag. There had previously been concerns that the self-described anti-capitalism, anti-capitalist group would use their performance to protest the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, and the band had previously received warnings from the EBU about statements they had made prior to the contest. Following the flag incident, the EBU stated that "the consequences of this action will be discussed by the Reference Group after the Contest". Hatari subsequently announced a collaboration with Palestinian artist Bashar Murad for their next single. The Icelandic broadcaster RÚV was eventually handed a -fine for the incident. The incident was retained on the official replay of the final on YouTube, but was edited out on the official DVD release.

Other awards

In addition to the main winner's trophy, the Marcel Bezençon Awards and the Barbara Dex Award were contested during the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. The OGAE, "General Organisation of Eurovision Fans" voting poll also took place before the contest.

Marcel Bezençon Awards

The Marcel Bezençon Awards, organised since 2002 by Sweden's then-Head of Delegation and 1992 representative Christer Björkman, and 1984 winner Herreys, Richard Herrey, honours songs in the contest's final. The awards are divided into three categories: Artistic Award, Composers Award, and Press Award. The winners were revealed shortly before the Eurovision final on 18 May.

OGAE

OGAE, an organisation of over forty Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs across Europe and beyond, conducts an annual voting poll first held in 2002 as the Marcel Bezençon Fan Award. After all votes were cast, the top-ranked entry in the 2019 poll was Italy's "" performed by Mahmood (singer), Mahmood; the top five results are shown below.

Barbara Dex Award

The Barbara Dex Award is a humorous fan award given each year to the artist who wore the most notable outfit. First awarded in 1997, the award originally highlighted the worst-dressed artists in the competition, until this criterion was changed in 2019. Named after Barbara Dex, Belgium's representative who came last in the 1993 contest, wearing her self-designed dress, the award was handed by the fansite House of Eurovision from 1997 to 2016 and is being carried out by the fansite ''Songfestival.be'' since 2017.

Official album

''Eurovision Song Contest: Tel Aviv 2019'' is the official compilation album of the contest, put together by the European Broadcasting Union and released by Universal Music Group digitally on 12 April 2019 and physically on 26 April 2019. The album features all 41 entries including the semi-finalists that failed to qualify for the final.

Charts

Notes

References

External links

* {{Eurovision Song Contest Eurovision Song Contest 2019, Eurovision Song Contest by year, 2019 Music festivals in Israel 2019 song contests 2019 in Israel 2019 television specials May 2019 events in Europe Events in Tel Aviv Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Music controversies Television controversies

Location

Bidding phase

Other sites

Format

Visual design

Postcards

Presenters

Semi-final allocation draw

Voting system

Opening and interval acts

Participating countries

Returning artists

Semi-final 1

Semi-final 2

Final

Detailed voting results

Belarusian jury dismissal and incorrect aggregated vote

Semi-final 1

12 points

Semi-final 2

12 points

Final

12 points

Spokespersons

Other countries

Active EBU members

Associate EBU members

Non-EBU members

Broadcasts

Incidents

Religious requests

Calls for boycott

Late Ukrainian withdrawal

Ticket sales controversy

Technical issues

Cyber attack during semi-final 1

Semi-final 1 technical issues

Keiino's jury final performance

Jury vote issues

Political demonstrations during the final

Other awards

Marcel Bezençon Awards

OGAE

Barbara Dex Award

Official album

Charts

See also

Notes

References

External links