I
t’
s glitzy. It’
s kitschy. It’
s like a musi-
cal Olympics or American Idol on
steroids.
Welcome to the Eurovision Song
Contest, an annual pageant in which all
of Europe (and some of its neighbors)
send national representatives to com-
pete for the best forgettable pop song
and most unforgettable outfits.
The competition is huge in Europe
and beyond, yet many Americans know
little about it. And this year it is being
held in Tel Aviv. We break down the
music fest for you — including why
Israel is a part of it and the controversy
about this year’
s contest.
Founded in 1956, the Eurovision
Song Contest is a musical competition
mainly for European countries. Though
there’
s no cash prize, the 42 countries
that compete take it quite serious-
ly. Some 186 million viewers tuned in
for last year’
s finale.
Each country holds its own internal
contest to pick its act for the general
competition. All the countries then
get together for a series of televised
rounds, culminating in a glam-filled
finale featuring performances by the
top 26 entries, which happens May 18
this year.
Since 1973, countries have been able
to sing in any language — previous-
ly they could sing only in one of the
country’
s official languages — and most
entrants today perform in English.
Each country is given points to
award an entry; countries cannot vote
for themselves. After the performanc-
es, viewers vote on their favorites by
phone or on a mobile app. Those votes
make up 50 percent of each score — the
rest come from a professional jury. The
country with the most points wins the
contest.
In lieu of prize money, the winning
country gets to host the competition the
following year. For the winning artists,
it’
s an opportunity for exposure, though
many of them end up as one-hit won-
ders.
Why is Israel in the Eurovision?
Participating countries must be mem-
bers of the European Broadcasting
Union. Though the organization is
mostly made up of European countries,
it’
s not limited to the continent. The
Israel Broadcasting Authority was a
member from 1957 to 2017, when it
shut down and was replaced as a mem-
ber by the Israeli Public Broadcasting
Corp. Cyprus, Armenia, Morocco and
Australia are among the other non-Eu-
ropean competitors.
Since joining the contest in 1973,
Israel has won four times, placing it in
a fourth-place tie with the Netherlands
for the most wins. (Ireland is in first
with seven.) The Jewish state took home
its first gold in 1978 with Izhar Cohen’
s
version of “
A-Ba-Ni-Bi,” a song about
childhood love sung in Hebrew pig
Latin, then followed up the following
year with the sunny “Hallelujah,” which
went on to become a Jewish classic.
Israel won again in 1998 with “Diva,” a
poppy ode to female beauty sung by the
transgender star Dana International.
Last year, it snagged the top prize
with Netta Barzilai performing “Toy,”
a quirky pop hit that features clucking
chicken noises over looped vocals and
English lyrics.
Where is the contest being held?
The 64th edition of Eurovision will
be held at Expo Tel Aviv, in the city’
s
north.
This will be the country’
s third
time hosting. Israel declined after the
1979 victory, citing financial con-
straints. Israelis were overjoyed with
Barzilai’
s win last year, as it ended a
20-year drought.
The Israeli government had insist-
ed initially on holding the contest in
Jerusalem — the host country typically
has the event in its capital city — but
relented eventually following the
controversy over the U.S. recognition in
2017 of Jerusalem as Israel’
s capital and
a subsequent fear of boycotts. Tel Aviv
is also Israel’
s secular cultural capital.
This year, singer Kobi Marimi will
represent Israel with the song “Home,” a
heartfelt ballad about self-discovery and
homecoming.
What’
s the controversy?
Europe’
s pro-Palestinian left has made
it a priority to boycott Israel. Only days
after Israel won, two Irish EU represen-
tatives called for boycotting the Jewish
state. In Iceland, more than 27,000
people signed a petition calling for a
boycott of the event, but the country’
s
national broadcaster said it would still
participate. A group of 50 British artists,
including Peter Gabriel and Pink Floyd’
s
Roger Waters, also signed a letter to the
BBC urging the broadcaster to ask that
the contest be held elsewhere.
But Israel has its share of defend-
ers, too, among them the pop queen
Madonna, who will be performing
at the contest. Last week, more than
100 artists — among them Sharon
Osbourne, Gene Simmons and
Stephen Fry — denounced the calls
to boycott. And earlier this year,
France’
s contestant said even death
threats would not deter him from
performing in the Jewish state.
There was conflict, too, over what
day to hold the competition. The
Shalva Band had to drop out of the
competition to represent Israel because
some of its members are Sabbath
observant and thus would not be able
to participate in the contest’
s final dress
rehearsals on Friday night and Saturday
day. The finale is held Saturday evening.
And there are security issues. Hamas
and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired
hundreds of rockets into Israel the first
weekend in May, and the Israeli army
retaliated with airstrikes in Gaza. By
Monday morning, May 6, however, a
cease-fire was in place and it appeared
that the situation had largely returned
to normal.
Despite the various issues, Israelis are
excited about the Eurovision festivities.
“In terms of excitement, the level
is only second to Mount Sinai,” joked
Eytan Schwartz, CEO of the tourism
initiative Tel Aviv Global.
How can I watch it?
Viacom’
s Logo channel aired the finals
last year in the U.S. and brought in
74,000 viewers, but the company isn’
t
broadcasting it this year. However,
American fans need not despair:
Eurovision will be livestreaming the
contest on its official YouTube channel.
The finals will be held May 18 at
10 p.m. Israel time or 3 p.m. in
Michigan. ■
28 May 16 • 2019
jn
JOSEFIN DOLSTEN JTA
eretz
Eurovision 101
Tel Aviv is hosting the song contest,
with the fi
nale May 18.
FACEBOOK
Singer Kobi Marimi will represent Israel with the
song “Home,” a heartfelt ballad about self-
discovery and homecoming. His video is
available on YouTube.