Eurovision 2019

Israel's Kobi Marimi performs the song "Home" during the Grand Final of the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 at Expo Tel Aviv on May 18, 2019. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)

May 23, 2019, 4:05 am

Israel loses its Eurovision ‘douze points,’ retains rank

EBU announces error led host country to receive 12 points from Belarus jury; Kobi Marimi’s ‘Home’ remains in 23rd place with 35 televote points

By TOI staff

Women who took their tops off at a protest by ultra-Orthodox men in Jerusalem on May 18, 2019. (screenshot)

May 21, 2019, 3:22 pm

Jerusalem Haredi protesters flee after women strip down to bras

Ultra-Orthodox males demonstrating against Eurovision Shabbat ‘desecration’ leave scene rather than look at immodestly clad females

By TOI staff

Madonna performs at the 2019 Eurovision song contest (Screencapture/YouTube)

May 21, 2019, 3:24 am

Madonna posts edited video of her off-key Eurovision performance

After being criticized for quality of vocals, the pop star uploads a clip of her appearance fixed to be the way it was intended to sound; critics post comparisons between the two

By TOI staff

Illustrative: Travelers at Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv in 2018. (Moshe Shai/Flash90/File)

May 20, 2019, 7:25 pm

Eurovision official says he was mistreated at airport: ‘Never want to come back’

Member of Estonian delegation says he’s also heard of another guest who went through extensive questioning; Israel Airports Authority says laptop produced ‘suspicious finding’

By TOI staff

Police sappers armed with anti-drone guns guard the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds during the Eurovision Song Contest on May 18, 2019. (screen capture: Channel 12)

May 20, 2019, 12:47 am

Cops on Tel Aviv roofs for Eurovision forced down 80 drones; none were attacking

Bomb squad chief says sappers with anti-drone guns neutralized but did not shoot the UAVs, which were flying near competition venues despite skies having been declared off limits

By TOI staff

Matthías Tryggvi Haraldsson, of Iceland's Hatari, sings at the May 18 finale of Eurovision 2019, while a sign language interpreter gives a spirited translation of his vocals. (Courtesy Twitter screen grab)

May 19, 2019, 11:20 pm

Clip of Eurovision sign language interpreter rocking out goes viral

Enthusiastic rendition of Iceland techno band Hatari’s ‘Hate Will Prevail’ at Saturday night’s final show has fans cheering for translator

By Jessica Steinberg

Madonna and Quavo sing "Future" at the Eurovision Song Contest as two dancers walk arm-in-arm with Israeli and Palestinian flags on their backs, May 18, 2019 (YouTube screenshot)

May 19, 2019, 4:08 pm

Israel’s Eurovision chief: Madonna slipped Israeli, Palestinian flags into show

Meital Cohen says organizers did not notice pop stars’ backup dancers wore political symbols banned by contest; Culture Minister Regev condemns ‘inappropriate’ display

By Stuart Winer and TOI staff

Bilal Hassani of France, right, performs the song "Roi" during the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest grand final in Tel Aviv, May 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

May 19, 2019, 1:45 pm

Puttin’ on the glitz: 7 things to know for May 19

Israel’s hosting of the Eurovision is heralded locally as a success. The same cannot be said of Iceland or Madonna’s attempts at bringing a political message to the show

By Joshua Davidovich

Iceland's Hatari holds up Palestinian flags during Eurovision in Tel Aviv, May 19, 2019. (YouTube screenshot)

May 19, 2019, 6:19 am

BDS rejects Icelandic group’s pro-Palestinian Eurovision protest

Boycott movement calls Hatari’s defiant display of Palestinian flags at contest finals a ‘fig-leaf gesture,’ chides group for performing in Israel

By TOI staff

Spectators watch the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest grand final in Tel Aviv, May 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

May 19, 2019, 4:58 am

Politics (mostly) kept off center stage as Israel hosts Eurovision mega-event

As expected, Netherlands wins contest and hometown crooner Kobi Marimi finishes close to last, but fears of pro-Palestinian protests taking over largely fail to materialize

By Joshua Davidovich

Kobi Marimi of Israel performs the song "Home" during the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest grand final in Tel Aviv, May 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

May 19, 2019, 4:21 am

Israel’s Eurovision entry celebrates performance, despite disappointing finish

An upbeat Kobi Marimi says he is happy, proud to represent his country following contest, even though he placed 23rd

By TOI staff

May 19, 2019, 3:08 am

Fans sing along to most pro-LGBT Eurovision, though winning song isn’t kitschy

Audience love France for embracing difference, Iceland for counterculture message, Russia for putting its singer in a shower, and Azerbaijan for hooking up to a heart machine

By Jessica Steinberg

Duncan Laurence of the Netherlands celebrates winning the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Arcade" in Tel Aviv, May 18, 2019. Behind him is 2018's winner, Israeli singer Netta Barzilai. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

May 19, 2019, 2:43 am

Netherlands wins Eurovision Song Contest as Tel Aviv pulls off major event

Heavy favorite Duncan Laurence brings show to Holland for first time in decades; Israel finishes in fourth-to-last place; Madonna in trouble for Israeli-Palestinian flag display

By TOI staff and Agencies

May 19, 2019, 2:18 am

Madonna politicizes Eurovision with 2 dancers wearing Israeli, Palestinian flags

Singer, whose song ‘Future’ featured a call to make peace, rapped by European Broadcasting Union; other critics slam her singing

By TOI staff

Illustrative: This picture taken on October 19, 2018 in Nahal Oz, from the Israeli side of the border with the northeast of the Gaza Strip, shows balloons carrying an incendiary device launched by Palestinians. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)

May 18, 2019, 10:52 pm

Suspected incendiary device tied to balloon cluster lands in IDF base

Police sappers detonate device that fell in open area of military compound; no injuries or damage caused

By TOI staff