First time in the 2019 press centre and it all works - amazeballs!!!
Bring on the rehearsals

So congratulations, I have arrived
I'm Silvia Night and I'm shining so bright
Eurovision nation, your dream's coming true
You've been waiting and waiting for me to save you
Wham bam boom

Oh my God…

Well we came, we saw and we decided that maybe it was really a good idea if we went to bed. Been on the go since 2.30 a.m. and the words, CRASH and BURN don’t really seem to cover it - so NO! there is not gonna be a welcome video this year, NO! we do not plan on having a few drinks tonight like we’d normal do and NO! Nothing is open. Well apart from the local rip off supermarket - £60 for a few bars of chocolate and some bread and cheese and milk - oh and eggs, and (ffs) £5 for a packet of Tim-Tams - really Daniel, really?????

Before we go some very brief notes on Accreditation collection, as I’ve had about 5 billion messages already on the subject…

First the good news, it was a totally pain free experience - they did not even have to take a picture this year - Ukraine could learn a lot here!!
The slightly bad news is that the whole ESC bubble area is quite a way from downtown Tel Aviv - but a taxi from the airport - four persons plus luggage - with wait and drop us back to apartments was around £40, which I’m happy with….
As for when you get there, ask the driver (or whoever) to get you to GATE 1, then follow the road straight up for about 200m, then a left turn towards Pavilion 11 and bingo you’re at the accreditation tent. They had beer too….I asked where could I get some from but just got strange looks.

All in the four of us had our passes in under 10 minutes

More information is on the ESCKAZ.com event page http://esckaz.com/2019/event.htm

We have safe and well and experienced no issues so far. On my way through Kyiv I met lovely ZENA and her team, and we told her that the one whom we meet first or last usually wins. Now let's see who is the last.

Accreditation center is pretty conveniently located and easy to find, but they give nothing but accreditation badges. There is a mobile app with schedules and shuttle bus etc info, but for now, nobody knows how one can get passwords for it. We have not seen any Rav-Kav distribution points for press and other guests as announced earlier. Delegations in the airport are invited to use new VIP lounge, but for press it is much quicker to use the usual way.

And welcome to The Manor - which will be our home for the next days. It is a lovely restaurant/loft which we will be staying in. Apparently, it's quite fashionable and looks exotic. Feel free to visit it on non-Eurovision days.

Check it's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/The-Manor-%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%A8-88603…
And the Time Out article at https://timeout.co.il/החיים-היפים/עיצוב-אדריכלות/תבלין-הבית-אופיר

So while we are all waiting for Saturday morning to get here, why not check out some of the Promo Party clips from the last month

Is your favourite there? Did you get a shock at some of the singing? Who went up, who went down?

Riga
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUj9YGQtlfgF4e24X8HzJLHzsPaNEGwpU

London
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUj9YGQtlfgHlpQ9B3Ry-I4E7T2sx8M0U

Madrid
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUj9YGQtlfgGpsM44cLbFxuvzTq2ieGhn

and Moscow
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUj9YGQtlfgGYCADDM8H2O3WWqeZ3GqzG

Let me show you Tel Aviv.....

Twas the night before Eurovision and all was quiet down Clapham way, until almost like a whisper Better Love started - Greece are back with a bang this year, despite what the nay sayers think….May is here, Eurovision is here and Tel Aviv here we come….

It’s been a long year since Netta won over Europe’s hearts with her Toy(s) and, even though it was, at times, in doubt, the gathering perfect storm that is the Eurovision circus two weeks in Tel Aviv is almost upon us. Less than 12 hours before most of the ESCKAZ.com team arrive there and we’re sat at home, looking at the luggage and thinking just how the hell are we going to get all that on the EasyJet flight - opps

Tel Aviv has really stepped it up gear these last few weeks, with preparations in full swing in the Arena, The Press area, Euroclub, Eurovillage, Eurofancafe and around the rest of the city, for more information please visit the ESCKAZ.com event page here for the in depth coverage of all that side of the contest http://esckaz.com/2019/event.htm
This is not our first time in Israel, having spent some time there at the first Israel Calling Event in 2016, but this time we plan on trying to see a little more of the place, with a side trip to Jerusalem. We’ll bring you all the news from that, the tourist side of Eurovision, as we can…

So what are we expecting from Eurovision this year? Well aside from the big favourites from The Netherlands, Russia, Italy and Sweden, there are some really cracking songs this year - some standouts for me include Azerbaijan, Albania, Greece, Spain (!!!!), North Macedonia, and for all you Euroclub banger-freaks out there, Norway Cyprus and Finland should light you up, the BDSM crowd have Iceland, and for all the ballad lovers there’s a few to choose from too. Like Latvia. No really!
On the down side there are some real turkeys too, Australia slipped up this year, Belarus should try a bit harder, and that infectious “I need this song to go away now” slab from San Marino….
All that said I am sure you all have the songs you love already, the ones you skip every time and the ones that you still, even now after 50 plays, cannot remember the name of, or who actually sings it, without checking.

Still Mr Handsome from Spain will make it all better :-)

Hi guys, it's Eran again, here's some info and tips for people visiting Tel-Aviv for Eurovision.

About Tel Aviv
Here’s some info about the real star, the host city of this year’s Eurovision, Tel Aviv, or officially Tel Aviv-Yafo. It’s a rather young city, only 110 years old, also known as “The First Hebrew City”, “The White City”, "The City That Never Sleeps" and “The Capital of Cool”. It’s the 2nd largest city in Israel after Jerusalem, and considered to be its younger more modern little sister.

What to see in Tel Aviv?
For those of you coming from Europe, you might think the city is too Americanized, and you won’t be so wrong about that. Tourists have said it remind them of Southern California. Unlike a big European city, you won’t come across historical monuments that often, we’re writing history right now. Every neighborhood in Tel Aviv offers a different vibe and atmosphere. If you want to walk through the old neighborhoods and explore some of the city’s history, you can start at Jaffa’s Old City and Port, and have a visit at the flea market, or tour the Neve Tzedek neighborhood. Check out Tel-Aviv beaches and the beach promenade if you’re looking for some fun in the sun. If you’re interested in art, you can pay a visit to the Tel Aviv Museum, Nahum Gutman Museum of Art or the Eretz Israel Museum. There’s also some great shopping in Tel Aviv, visit HaCarmel Market and Levinski Market for grocery shopping. Azrieli Mall and Dizingoff Center are both of Tel Aviv most popular shopping centers. For those looking for more luxury boutique items, TLV Fashion Mall boasts some of the hottest brands in fashion. If you’re rich - you can go straight to Kikar Hamedina (wink, wink). Two of the biggest parks around are Hayarkon Park or Gnei Yehoshua, where you can jog or just lay in the sun.
For more information on current events and other recommendations, please visit Secret Tel Aviv (https://www.secrettelaviv.com/).

Welcome to Israel guys, my name is Eran, I’m 37 years old (quite old, I know), from Israel.
I’ll be joining the ESCKAZ team this year for the coverage of the 64th Eurovision Song Contest in Tel-Aviv, Israel.

About me:
So you know my age, what else do you want to know? My Eurovision background is it? I’ve been watching the contest since 1989, when Gili and Galit went out of tune on the stage in Lausanne. I’ve been watching the show every year since then, with some exception of puberty years in which I thought I was too cool for Eurovision (I wasn’t). I attended two contests so far: 2008 in Belgrade and 2018 in Lisbon, where the excitement was real for me as an Israeli.
Nowadays I’m one of the managers of the Israeli fan Facebook group EurovisionIL and having my own blog for the past 3 years now called “EurovisionMadrich” (in full Hebrew).
I love Eurovision since I see it as an escapist entity, which we’re guaranteed once a year. Every Eurovision that you go and re-watch is like a time capsule and it’s fascinating to see how music, style and fashion have changed. I’m old school, so you’d catch me watching some old 60’s Eurovisions every now and then. Also love statistics and the voting gives us some more of these every year.
I think this year is one of the best years of the decade, songs quality wise. The diversity is amazing and I feel the contest has opened up to new musical concepts and up-to-date musical styles. I have a few favorites this year: Portugal has brought an amazing eclectic piece. "Telemóveis" by Conan Osíris blends a lot of genres, from Portuguese folk to Mediterranean vibes and elctro and techno sounds. The Icelandic entry, "Hatrið mun sigra" by Hatari is a “in your face” type of song, angry Industrial Metal, with angelic chorus, that keeps you wonder are they real or are they trolling? Slovenia is sending one of my favorite Slovenian contemporary artists, the duo Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl. “Sebi” is an enchanting ambient-pop track with superb sad, yet optimistic lyrics. Then there’s also Austria, The Netherlands, Georgia (yes!), Hungary, Armenia, Italy and Spain. Love them all for different reasons. My least favorite song this year is the song from Croatia. I’m afraid “The Dream” by Roko is not really my style, a bit old-fashioned and probably too dramatic for me. Nonetheless, he’s a very good performer. I would mention also the songs from Germany, Moldova and Montenegro as songs I would not put on my playlist, no offense.

We're heading toward a really interesting and exciting event, and I wish all of you who are coming a great stay and a wonderful Eurovision experience. For all of you that will be watching the show from home, I hope the Eurovision vibes and excitement will shine through the screen.
Watch out for my next post, coming up in a few days, with some tips for visitors.

See you soon :)

That is the end of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. That was quite an ordinary year with no special highlights or achievements. Israel victory is something opposite to Portugal victory last year, and confirms once again how unpredictable Eurovision is. Hopefully they will build organization-wise on the big success of Israel Calling event.

A few words about organization of this year - there were numerous unhappy posts from my colleagues - I think Portugal coped well for their first opportunity to host a big event like this. A massive downgrade was of course the lack of free transportation cards - I realize this is something we all were taking as a must, when it was not - but then this should have been communicated properly before the Euroweek. To be honest a few of us are leaving country with less than 10 Euros in pockets. Then - a massive security, which was very uncomfortable at times - especially Eurovillage, come on, this is a regular square event for the country and was open every year before Kyiv. Then the list of items that could not be brought in to the press center - umbrellas? drugs without prescription of doctor? (a lot of us got a cold due to changing weather) selfie sticks? I'm amased how in the years with the most tight secutiry surrounding the contest, we still get stage intruders.

And then AGAIN - no interview lists and nobody knew how to handle the interviews properly. Throwing Heads of Delegations out of interview area because they can't give interviews there without booking a room, and they can not book one because all rooms are booked and even can't use chairs in corridor? Really? Sorry, have to mention in a negative way a guy called Pedro who was responsible for the interview rooms. Never in past year we had a problem accessing interview room whenever we wanted it. That's not how the things should be run, sorry man. Little knowing people with power is a problem at many Eurovisions though.

On the positive side - we had loads of free water, coffee and tea, and press-center itself operated in a quite convenient way. I almost saw no volunteers which is a good sign, the best volunteer is the one that is not interfering in the work of press. The Lisboa card was a good addition, but it could have been explained it is not a transport ticket and is in fact valid for 24h. I liked Euroclub a lot - finally back to the real club athmosphere - small, but quite nice. Night transportation was quite convenient if you keep on to schedule. Eurovillage was packed with people and was a success too, Red carpet was quite long but organized good so all those side events worked well. My colleagues especially enjoyed press tour of AMP associates. Oh, and the app. Finally an app which is fully functional and informative. Great job on this.

Lisbon is a great city to visit with excellent music stage - I've attended 4 concerts - 2 of which were of local artists, 1 from US and 1 from Sweden. Amazing time. We also had some great travels around the city. The city itself is a best point of interest - all the museums and other venues with paid entries are mostly done to attract tourists though, so may well be skipped. The best way to explore is just to walk around the city, or get on the public transport (tram or bus) and enjoy views from the window. There are also amazing surroundings so if you're here, don't spend all of your time in Lisbon itself.

It was an OK year for #TeamKAZ. We had a 1.5 mln Youtube views during Euroweek (not counting last two days which statistically should bring even bigger figures), so that was quite successful, considering new rules regarding rehearsals filming.

First Semi-Final
1. Israel (283 points)
2. Cyprus (262 points)
3. Czech Republic (232 points)
4. Austria (231 points)
5. Estonia (201 points)
6. Ireland (179 points)
7. Bulgaria (177 points)
8. Albania (162 points)
9. Lithuania (119 points)
10. Finland (108 points)
11. Azerbaijan (94 points)
12. Belgium (91 points)
13. Switzerland (86 points)
14. Greece (81 points)
15. Armenia (79 points)
16. Belarus (65 points)
17. Croatia (63 points)
18. F.Y.R. Macedonia (24 points)
19. Iceland (15 points)

Second Semi-Final
1. Norway (266 points)
2. Sweden (254 points)
3. Moldova (235 points)
4. Australia (212 points)
5. Denmark (204 points)
6. Ukraine (179 points)
7. The Netherlands (174 points)
8. Slovenia (132 points)
9. Serbia (117 points)
10. Hungary (111 points)
11. Romania (107 points)
12. Latvia (106 points)
13. Malta (101 points)
14. Poland (81 points)
15. Russia (65 points)
16. Montenegro (40 points)
17. San Marino (28 points)
18. Georgia (24 points)