contest no. 64
Eurovision 2019: Tel Aviv
The 64th Eurovision Song Contest was held on Saturday, 18 May 2019 at Expo Tel Aviv (Pavilion 2) in Tel Aviv, Israel. 41 countries took part. The Netherlands won with “Arcade” by Duncan Laurence, on 498 points.
How would you have voted? Rank all 41 songs from 2019
- Final
- Saturday, 18 May 2019
- Semi-finals
- Tuesday, 14 May 2019 and Thursday, 16 May 2019
- Venue
- Expo Tel Aviv (Pavilion 2), Tel Aviv, Israel
- Host broadcaster
- Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan)
- Presenters
- Erez Tal, Bar Refaeli, Assi Azar, Lucy Ayoub
- Directors
- Amir Ukrainitz, Sivan Magazanik, Yuval Cohen
- For the EBU
- Jon Ola Sand
- Slogan
- Dare to Dream
- Entries
- 41 countries
- Absent
- Bulgaria, Ukraine
- Voting
- Each country awards two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points to ten songs.
The story
Tel Aviv: boycott calls, Madonna, and a result that had to be corrected
Israel’s win in Lisbon brought the contest to Tel Aviv, and a year of argument with it.
Calls for a boycott
Supporters of the movement to boycott Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians called on broadcasters to stay away. Politicians in several countries backed them. Protesters disrupted national selection shows; in France, intruders got onto the stage during a semi-final holding signs.
More than a hundred public figures signed a statement on the other side, arguing that a cultural boycott would do nothing for peace.
No broadcaster pulled out over it. Forty-one countries took part.
Ukraine’s winner says no
One country withdrew for reasons of its own.
Ukraine chose its singer, Maruv, in a televised final on 23 February. Its broadcaster then sent her a contract. It required her to cancel every appearance she had planned in Russia. It barred her from improvising on stage and from speaking to journalists without permission, and it set a fine of two million hryvnias for any breach.
She refused. So, in turn, did the acts that had finished second and third. On 27 February Ukraine withdrew.
Tickets
The seats were described as probably the most expensive the contest had ever sold. Sales were frozen for eleven days in March after irregularities were found, and 220 tickets for the final that had been improperly bought were cancelled and put back on sale.
Hacked
During the first semi-final the Israeli broadcaster’s online stream was hijacked. For a short time viewers saw a fake warning of a missile attack, telling them to take shelter.
Madonna, and Iceland
The star guest in the final was Madonna. Her singing was heavily criticised. And during one of her songs two dancers were seen holding each other, one with an Israeli flag on the back of their costume and the other with a Palestinian one. She said afterwards that it was a call for unity and peace, not a demonstration for one side.
There was a second gesture. While the public’s points were being read out, the cameras cut to Iceland’s band, Hatari, in the green room. They held up banners bearing the Palestinian flag. Iceland’s broadcaster was later fined.
The result
The Netherlands won, for the first time in 44 years. Duncan Laurence’s “Arcade” finished on 498 points, 26 ahead of Italy’s Mahmood.
Nobody could say it was the runaway favourite of either electorate. The juries put North Macedonia first and Sweden second. The public put Norway first. “Arcade” was third with one and second with the other, and that was enough.
The United Kingdom came last. The hosts were twenty-third.
The result, again
Four days after the final, the scoreboard changed.
Belarus’s jury had been dismissed during the week for revealing how it voted in its semi-final. For the final, a substitute result was calculated from the votes of countries with similar records. But somebody entered it upside down. The ten countries at the bottom of that list were given Belarus’s points, and the ten at the top got nothing.
A viewer spotted it. The EBU confirmed the mistake, blamed human error and issued corrected totals. The winner was unchanged, but places moved: Sweden went up to fifth, and Norway dropped to sixth.
Three individual jurors, it also turned out, had filled in their rankings back to front in the semi-finals.
Sources: Wikipedia, “Eurovision Song Contest 2019”, and the EBU statements and press reports it cites.
The shows, night by night
What opened each show, and what filled the interval while the votes came in.
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Tuesday, 14 May 2019
First semi-final
17 songs, 10 went through to the final
- opened by
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- Netta last year’s winner, “Toy”
- in the interval
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- Dana International “Just the Way You Are”
Every song and who went through ↓ Every vote, country by country →
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Thursday, 16 May 2019
Second semi-final
18 songs, 10 went through to the final
- in the interval
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- Shalva Band “A Million Dreams”
- Lior Suchard the mentalist
Every song and who went through ↓ Every vote, country by country →
-
Saturday, 18 May 2019
Final
26 songs
- opened by
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- Dana International “Tel Aviv” and “Diva”
- Ilanit “Ey Sham”
- Nadav Guedj “Golden Boy”
- in the interval
-
- Netta “Nana Banana”
- Conchita Wurst, Måns Zelmerlöw, Eleni Foureira and Verka Serduchka each sang one of the others’ songs, then “Hallelujah” together with Gali Atari
- Idan Raichel “Bo’ee”, with 24 musicians
- Madonna “Like a Prayer” and, with Quavo, “Future”
The final
| Place | Country | Artist | Song | Points | Sang | Semi-final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands | Duncan Laurence winner! | “Arcade” English · Wouter Hardy, Will Knox, Duncan Laurence, Joel Sjöö | 498 | 12 | SF2 · 1st 280 pts |
| 2 | Italy | Mahmood | “Soldi” Italian · Charlie Charles, Dardust, Mahmood | 472 | 22 | Straight to the final |
| 3 | Russia | Sergey Lazarev | “Scream” English · Dimitris Kontopoulos, Sharon Vaughn | 370 | 5 | SF2 · 6th 217 pts |
| 4 | Switzerland | Luca Hänni | “She Got Me” English · Laurell Barker, Jon Hällgren, Lukas Hällgren, Luca Hänni, Mac Frazer | 364 | 24 | SF2 · 4th 232 pts |
| 5 | Sweden | John Lundvik | “Too Late for Love” English · John Lundvik, Andreas Stone Johansson, Anderz Wrethov | 334 | 9 | SF2 · 3rd 238 pts |
| 6 | Norway | Keiino | “Spirit in the Sky” English, Northern Sámi · Fred Buljo, Tom Hugo, Alexander Olsson, Alexandra Rotan, Rüdiger Schramm, Henrik Tala | 331 | 15 | SF2 · 7th 210 pts |
| 7 | North Macedonia | Tamara Todevska | “Proud” English · Robert Bilbilov, Lazar Cvetkoski, Darko Dimitrov, Kosta Petrov, Sanja Popovska | 305 | 8 | SF2 · 2nd 239 pts |
| 8 | Azerbaijan | Chingiz | “Truth” English · Bo J, Trey Campbell, Chingiz, Pablo Dinero, Hostess, Borislav Milanov | 302 | 20 | SF2 · 5th 224 pts |
| 9 | Australia | Kate Miller-Heidke | “Zero Gravity” English · Julian Hamilton, Kate Miller-Heidke, Keir Nuttall | 284 | 25 | SF1 · 1st 261 pts |
| 10 | Iceland | Hatari | “Hatrið mun sigra” Icelandic · Hatari | 232 | 17 | SF1 · 3rd 221 pts |
| 11 | Czech Republic | Lake Malawi | “Friend of a Friend” English · Albert Černý, Jan Steinsdoerfer, Mikołaj Maciej Trybulec | 157 | 3 | SF1 · 2nd 242 pts |
| 12 | Denmark | Leonora | “Love Is Forever” English, French, Danish · Lise Cabble, Emil Lei, Melanie Wehbe | 120 | 6 | SF2 · 10th 94 pts |
| 13 | Cyprus | Tamta | “Replay” English · Kristoffer Fogelmark, Albin Nedler, Alex Papaconstantinou, Teddy Sky, Viktor Svensson | 109 | 11 | SF1 · 9th 149 pts |
| 14 | Malta | Michela | “Chameleon” English · Johan Alkenäs, Borislav Milanov, Joacim Persson, Paula Winger | 107 | 1 | SF2 · 8th 157 pts |
| 15 | Slovenia | Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl | “Sebi” Slovene · Zala Kralj, Gašper Šantl | 105 | 10 | SF1 · 6th 167 pts |
| 16 | France | Bilal Hassani | “Roi” French, English · Bilal Hassani, Madame Monsieur | 105 | 21 | Straight to the final |
| 17 | Albania | Jonida Maliqi | “Ktheju tokës” Albanian · Eriona Rushiti | 90 | 2 | SF2 · 9th 96 pts |
| 18 | Serbia | Nevena Božović | “Kruna (Круна)” Serbian · Nevena Božović, Darko Dimitrov | 89 | 23 | SF1 · 7th 156 pts |
| 19 | San Marino | Serhat | “Say Na Na Na” English · Mary Susan Applegate, Serhat | 77 | 7 | SF1 · 8th 150 pts |
| 20 | Estonia | Victor Crone | “Storm” English · Victor Crone, Vallo Kikas, Fred Krieger, Sebastian Lestapier, Stig Rästa | 76 | 18 | SF1 · 4th 198 pts |
| 21 | Greece | Katerine Duska | “Better Love” English · Phil Cook, Katerine Duska, Leon of Athens, David Sneddon | 74 | 13 | SF1 · 5th 185 pts |
| 22 | Spain | Miki | “La venda” Spanish · Adrià Salas | 54 | 26 | Straight to the final |
| 23 | Israel | Kobi Marimi | “Home” English · Ohad Shragai, Inbar Wizman | 35 | 14 | Straight to the final |
| 24 | Belarus | Zena | “Like It” English · Victor Drobysh, Yuliya Kireyeva | 31 | 19 | SF1 · 10th 122 pts |
| 25 | Germany | Sisters | “Sister” English · Laurell Barker, Marine Kaltenbacher, Tom Oehler, Thomas Stengaard | 24 | 4 | Straight to the final |
| 26 | United Kingdom | Michael Rice | “Bigger than Us” English · Laurell Barker, Anna-Klara Folin, John Lundvik, Jonas Thander | 11 | 16 | Straight to the final |
The semi-finals
Every song in each semi-final, in finishing order. 15 songs didn’t reach the final.
First semi-final Tuesday, 14 May 2019 · 17 songs, 10 went through
| Place | Country | Artist | Song | Points | Sang | Then |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | Kate Miller-Heidke | “Zero Gravity” English · Julian Hamilton, Kate Miller-Heidke, Keir Nuttall | 261 | 12 | Through: 9th in the final |
| 2 | Czech Republic | Lake Malawi | “Friend of a Friend” English · Albert Černý, Jan Steinsdoerfer, Mikołaj Maciej Trybulec | 242 | 6 | Through: 11th in the final |
| 3 | Iceland | Hatari | “Hatrið mun sigra” Icelandic · Hatari | 221 | 13 | Through: 10th in the final |
| 4 | Estonia | Victor Crone | “Storm” English · Victor Crone, Vallo Kikas, Fred Krieger, Sebastian Lestapier, Stig Rästa | 198 | 14 | Through: 20th in the final |
| 5 | Greece | Katerine Duska | “Better Love” English · Phil Cook, Katerine Duska, Leon of Athens, David Sneddon | 185 | 16 | Through: 21st in the final |
| 6 | Slovenia | Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl | “Sebi” Slovene · Zala Kralj, Gašper Šantl | 167 | 5 | Through: 15th in the final |
| 7 | Serbia | Nevena Božović | “Kruna (Круна)” Serbian · Nevena Božović, Darko Dimitrov | 156 | 9 | Through: 18th in the final |
| 8 | San Marino | Serhat | “Say Na Na Na” English · Mary Susan Applegate, Serhat | 150 | 17 | Through: 19th in the final |
| 9 | Cyprus | Tamta | “Replay” English · Kristoffer Fogelmark, Albin Nedler, Alex Papaconstantinou, Teddy Sky, Viktor Svensson | 149 | 1 | Through: 13th in the final |
| 10 | Belarus | Zena | “Like It” English · Victor Drobysh, Yuliya Kireyeva | 122 | 8 | Through: 24th in the final |
| 11 | Poland | Tulia | “Fire of Love (Pali się)” Polish, English · Nadia Dalin, Jude Friedman, Sonia Krasny, Allan Rich | 120 | 4 | Out |
| 12 | Hungary | Joci Pápai | “Az én apám” Hungarian · Ferenc Molnár, Joci Pápai | 97 | 7 | Out |
| 13 | Belgium | Eliot | “Wake Up” English · Pierre Dumoulin, Eliot Vassamillet | 70 | 10 | Out |
| 14 | Georgia | Oto Nemsadze | “Keep On Going” Georgian · Diana Giorgadze, Roma Giorgadze | 62 | 11 | Out |
| 15 | Portugal | Conan Osíris | “Telemóveis” Portuguese · Conan Osíris | 51 | 15 | Out |
| 16 | Montenegro | D mol | “Heaven” English · Dejan Božović, Adis Eminić | 46 | 2 | Out |
| 17 | Finland | Darude Sebastian Rejman | “Look Away” English · Sebastian Rejman, Ville Virtanen | 23 | 3 | Out |
Second semi-final Thursday, 16 May 2019 · 18 songs, 10 went through
| Place | Country | Artist | Song | Points | Sang | Then |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands | Duncan Laurence | “Arcade” English · Wouter Hardy, Will Knox, Duncan Laurence, Joel Sjöö | 280 | 16 | Through: 1st in the final |
| 2 | North Macedonia | Tamara Todevska | “Proud” English · Robert Bilbilov, Lazar Cvetkoski, Darko Dimitrov, Kosta Petrov, Sanja Popovska | 239 | 17 | Through: 7th in the final |
| 3 | Sweden | John Lundvik | “Too Late for Love” English · John Lundvik, Andreas Stone Johansson, Anderz Wrethov | 238 | 8 | Through: 5th in the final |
| 4 | Switzerland | Luca Hänni | “She Got Me” English · Laurell Barker, Jon Hällgren, Lukas Hällgren, Luca Hänni, Mac Frazer | 232 | 4 | Through: 4th in the final |
| 5 | Azerbaijan | Chingiz | “Truth” English · Bo J, Trey Campbell, Chingiz, Pablo Dinero, Hostess, Borislav Milanov | 224 | 18 | Through: 8th in the final |
| 6 | Russia | Sergey Lazarev | “Scream” English · Dimitris Kontopoulos, Sharon Vaughn | 217 | 13 | Through: 3rd in the final |
| 7 | Norway | Keiino | “Spirit in the Sky” English, Northern Sámi · Fred Buljo, Tom Hugo, Alexander Olsson, Alexandra Rotan, Rüdiger Schramm, Henrik Tala | 210 | 15 | Through: 6th in the final |
| 8 | Malta | Michela | “Chameleon” English · Johan Alkenäs, Borislav Milanov, Joacim Persson, Paula Winger | 157 | 11 | Through: 14th in the final |
| 9 | Albania | Jonida Maliqi | “Ktheju tokës” Albanian · Eriona Rushiti | 96 | 14 | Through: 17th in the final |
| 10 | Denmark | Leonora | “Love Is Forever” English, French, Danish · Lise Cabble, Emil Lei, Melanie Wehbe | 94 | 7 | Through: 12th in the final |
| 11 | Lithuania | Jurij Veklenko | “Run with the Lions” English · Ashley Hicklin, Pele Loriano, Eric Lumiere | 93 | 12 | Out |
| 12 | Moldova | Anna Odobescu | “Stay” English · Maria Broberg, Georgios Kalpakidis, Jeppe Reil, Thomas Reil | 85 | 3 | Out |
| 13 | Romania | Ester Peony | “On a Sunday” English · Ioana Victoria Badea, Ester Alexandra Creţu, Alexandru Şerbu | 71 | 6 | Out |
| 14 | Croatia | Roko | “The Dream” English, Croatian · Andrea Čubrić, Jacques Houdek, Charlie Mason | 64 | 10 | Out |
| 15 | Latvia | Carousel | “That Night” English · Mārcis Vasiļevskis, Sabīne Žuga | 50 | 5 | Out |
| 16 | Armenia | Srbuk | “Walking Out” English · Lost Capital, Garik Papoyan, Tokionine | 49 | 1 | Out |
| 17 | Austria | Paenda | “Limits” English · Paenda | 21 | 9 | Out |
| 18 | Ireland | Sarah McTernan | “22” English · Janieck van de Polder, Roel Rats, Marcia Sondeijker | 16 | 2 | Out |
Who showed it, and who talked over it
The channels that carried the contest in 47 countries, with the commentator where our source names one.
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Albania
- RTSH, RTSH Muzikë, Radio Tirana Andri Xhahu
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Armenia
- Armenia 1, Public Radio of Armenia Aram Mp3 and Avet Barseghyan
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Australia
- SBS Myf Warhurst and Joel Creasey
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Austria
- ORF 1 Andi Knoll
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Azerbaijan
- İTV Murad Arif
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Belarus
- Belarus-1, Belarus 24 Evgeny Perlin
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Belgium
- La Une Jean-Louis Lahaye and Maureen Louys
- één (semi-final 1 and final) Peter Van de Veire
- Ketnet (semi-final 2) Peter Van de Veire
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Croatia
- HRT 1, HR 2 Duško Ćurlić
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Cyprus
- CyBC Evridiki and Tasos Tryfonos
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Czech Republic
- ČT2 (semi-finals) Libor Bouček
- ČT1 (final) Libor Bouček
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Denmark
- DR1 Ole Tøpholm
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Estonia
- ETV Marko Reikop
- ETV+ Aleksandr Hobotov and Julia Kalenda
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Finland
- Yle TV2 Finnish: Mikko Silvennoinen and Krista Siegfrids, Swedish: Eva Frantz and Johan Lindroos
- Yle Radio Suomi (semi-finals) Sanna Pirkkalainen and Toni Laaksonen
- Yle Radio Suomi (final) Sanna Pirkkalainen and Sami Sykkö
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France
- France 4 (semi-finals) André Manoukian and Sandy Heribert
- France 2 (final) Stéphane Bern and André Manoukian
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Georgia
- 1TV (semi-finals) Helen Kalandadze and Gaga Abashidze
- 1TV (final) Helen Kalandadze, Gaga Abashidze and Nodiko Tatishvili
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Germany
- One (semi-finals) Peter Urban
- One, Das Erste, Deutsche Welle (final) Peter Urban
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Greece
- ERT2, ERT Sports HD Giorgos Kapoutzidis and Maria Kozakou
- Voice of Greece (semi-final 1 and final) Giorgos Kapoutzidis and Maria Kozakou
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Hungary
- Duna Krisztina Rátonyi and Freddie
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Iceland
- RÚV Gísli Marteinn Baldursson
- RÚV 2 (semi-finals) Alex Elliott
- RÚV.is (final) Alex Elliott
-
Ireland
- RTÉ2 (semi-finals) Marty Whelan
- RTÉ One (final) Marty Whelan
- RTÉ Radio 1 (semi-final 2) Neil Doherty and Zbyszek Zalinski
- RTÉ 2fm (final) Neil Doherty and Zbyszek Zalinski
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Israel
- Kan 11, Kan 88 Sharon Taicher and Eran Zarachowicz
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Italy
- Rai 4, Rai Radio 2 (semi-finals) Federico Russo and Ema Stokholma
- Rai 1 (final) Federico Russo and Flavio Insinna
- Rai Radio 2 (final) Ema Stokholma and Gino Castaldo
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Latvia
- LTV1 Toms Grēviņš and Ketija Šēnberga
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Lithuania
- LRT televizija, LRT Radijas Darius Užkuraitis and Gerūta Griniūtė
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Malta
- PBS (semi-final 2 and final)
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Moldova
- Moldova 1
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Montenegro
- TVCG 1, TVCG 2, TVCG Sat Dražen Bauković and Tijana Mišković
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Netherlands
- NPO 1 Jan Smit and Cornald Maas
- NPO Radio 2 (final) Wouter van der Goes and Frank van 't Hof
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North Macedonia
- MRT 1 Toni Cifrovski
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Norway
- NRK1 Olav Viksmo-Slettan
- NRK3 (final) Ronny Brede Aase, Silje Nordnes and Markus Neby
- NRK P1 (final) Ole-Christian Øen
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Poland
- TVP1, TVP Polonia Artur Orzech
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Portugal
- RTP1, RTP Internacional José Carlos Malato and Nuno Galopim
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Romania
- TVR 1, TVR HD, TVRi Liana Stanciu and Bogdan Stănescu
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Russia
- Russia-1, Russia HD Dmitry Guberniev and Olga Shelest
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San Marino
- San Marino RTV, Radio San Marino Lia Fiorio and Gigi Restivo
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Serbia
- RTS1, RTS HD, RTS Svet (semi-final 1 and final) Duška Vučinić
- RTS1, RTS HD, RTS Svet (semi-final 2) Tamara Petković and Katarina Epstein
- Radio Belgrade 1 (final) Nikoleta Dojčinović and Katarina Epstein
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Slovenia
- TV SLO 2 (semi-finals) Andrej Hofer
- TV SLO 1 (final) Andrej Hofer
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Spain
- La 2 (semi-finals) Tony Aguilar and Julia Varela
- La 1 (final) Tony Aguilar and Julia Varela
- Radio Nacional, Radio 5, Radio Exterior (final) Daniel Galindo
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Sweden
- SVT1 Charlotte Perrelli and Edward af Sillén
- SR P4 Carolina Norén and Björn Kjellman
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Switzerland
- SRF zwei (semi-finals) Sven Epiney
- SRF 1 (final) Sven Epiney
- RTS Deux (semi-finals) Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Tanner
- RTS Un (final) Jean-Marc Richard, Nicolas Tanner and Bastian Baker
- RSI La 2 (semi-final 2) Clarissa Tami and Sebalter
- RSI La 1 (final) Clarissa Tami and Sebalter
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United Kingdom
- BBC Four (semi-finals) Scott Mills and Rylan Clark-Neal
- BBC One (final) Graham Norton
- BBC Radio 2 (final) Ken Bruce
Also shown in
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Canada
- Omni Television
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Kazakhstan
- Khabar TV Kaldybek Zhaysanbay and Mahabbat Esen
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Kosovo
- RTK Alma Bektashi and Agron Krasniqi
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Slovakia
- Rádio FM (final) Daniel Baláž, Pavol Hubinák and Juraj Malíček
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Ukraine
- UA:First Timur Miroshnychenko
- STB Serhiy Prytula
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United States
- WJFD-FM (final) Ewan Spence, Samantha Ross and Bernardo Pereira
- Netflix
Results as published by the European Broadcasting Union. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it.