FEATURE
GOING FOR
Philip Stevens notes the scale of preparations for the world’s biggest music show PICTURED ABOVE: The all-important Green Room where contestants awaittheir scores Photo credit: KAN - the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation
T
20 | TVBEUROPE MAY 2019
his year’s Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) will take place in Tel Aviv between 14th and 18th May. It is the third time Israel will host the contest, having previously staged the event in 1979 and 1999. The host broadcaster is KAN, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. The first ESC was held on 24th May 1956, when just seven nations took part. This year, 41 countries from Europe and beyond will participate at the Expo Tel
Aviv site located in the north of the city. The main show will take inside Pavilion 2, which occupies an area of 50,000 square metres and rises to a height of 20 metres. The Green Room – the key broadcast area after the stage – will be located in Pavilion 1. For head of production Ola Melzig, this will be his 15th ECS and his other credits include The Commonwealth Games and Nobel Prize awards.