This year’s Eurovision Song Contest gets under way in Tel Aviv, Israel, on the 14th May. Tel Aviv, Israel’s second largest city with a population of 445,000, is a vibrant hub of culture and entertainment, filled with bars and nightclubs that welcome around 2.5 million tourists every year.
The opening ceremony for the contest is on the 12th May at the Habima National Theatre. The singing starts on Tuesday 14th May with the first of two semi-finals which will determine the rest of the entrants for the contest.
The host venue is The Expo Tel Aviv, also known as the Tel Aviv convention centre. Located in the north of the city, The Expo Tel Aviv includes the new Pavilion 2, which will be used for Eurovision 2019. Opened in 2015, the Pavilion 2 has a capacity of up to 10,000 and also holds 46 commentator booths. Contestants will be able to enjoy a spacious and modern green room in Pavilion 1 of the arena.
Florian Wieder has designed the stage for this year’s Eurovision Song Content and it is the sixth time he has done it. This year’s creation is set out in a sleek diamond shape, with some lucky fans able to enjoy a standing area right in front of the stage.
The Eurovision Village is an official festival area located in Charles Clore Park, a beautiful beachfront location where guests can see live performances from various artists and DJs. The Village will also hold special events and public viewing of all of the Eurovision shows broadcast live from the Arena. Tel Aviv nightclub Hangar 11 will be used as a venue for Euroclub, which will play host the after-parties and the winner’s celebration.
As with any Eurovision Song Contest, there is a slogan. Dare to Dream is the slogan for this year’s show and with a budget of around €28 million, there are plenty of opportunities for the contestants to dream up the perfect performance to win the contest.
Four people will be hosting the contest this year: Bar Refaeli, Erez Tal, Assi Azar and Lucy Ayoub. They will be there to announce each contestant as well as tell the world who the winner is, which looks likely to be the Netherlands in current Betfair Eurovision 2019 winner odds.
Although there will be 41 countries participating in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, it’s worth taking a look at the United Kingdom’s entrant Michael Rice.
Bigger than us
With a lifelong passion for singing, Michael has always been a fan of Eurovision and for him to represent the UK is a dream come true. He first came to the attention of the public after he posted a YouTube video that amassed over a quarter of a million views.
The success from there led him to audition for, and eventually win the BBC One show All Together Now. In a beautiful gesture, Michael gave his mum the majority of his £50,000 winnings to invest in the family waffle and crepe business.
Michael’s performance in the final saw 94 out of the 100 judges take to their feet, including former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell. Following on from his triumph, Michael has gone on to star in and win the BBC’s Eurovision: You Decide contest. By winning the show he has the chance to represent the UK in Israel at Eurovision 2019. Michael will be singing a song called Bigger than us, written by Laurell Barker, John Lundvik and Jonas Thander.
