The Israeli city of Tel Aviv will host
next year's Eurovision Song Contest.
Israel's entry Netta Barzilai, who sang
“Toy,” won this year's contest, which was hosted in Lisbon,
Portugal. Her win means the annual contest moves to Israel in 2019.
Three Israeli cities – Tel Aviv,
Jerusalem and Eilat – were presented as host cities. The
Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group decided on Tel Aviv, saying
that the city “provides the best overall setup for the world's
largest live music event.”
“The city of Tel Aviv will be honored
to host the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest,” said Tel Aviv Mayor Ron
Huldai. “Our beloved city has gained international esteem as an
open city, a welcoming home to the LGBT community and many other
minorities. Tel Aviv-Yafo is a global city that respects all people
– residents and visitors.”
The 2019 Eurovision Song Contest will
take place from May 14 to 18 and will be held at Tel Aviv's
International Convention Center, known as the EXPO, Variety
reported.
Roughly 200 million viewers worldwide
tune in to watch the live show. Notable winners include ABBA
(Sweden) in 1974 with “Waterloo” and Celine Dion (Switzerland) in
1988 with “Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi.”
Israel has twice hosted the Eurovision
Song Contest. In 1979 and again in 1999, the song competition took
place in Jerusalem.