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.

