Israel | Eurovision Semi-Final Allocation Draw To Take Place On January 28th
Media reports in Israel suggest that the semi- final allocation draws for next years Eurovision will take place on January 28th 2019, according to Channel 10.
The report suggests that this will take place in the Beit Ha'lr in Tel Aviv, and will also see the Host City Insignia Handover Ceremony also take place on the same day.
The events will mark the preparations for the up and coming contest. This will show that the preparations will be in full swing, and from this stage, proceeding will advance, at a quickened pace. The ceremony mimics the Olympics in that the previous city (Lisbon) will handover a symbolic set of insignia to Tel Aviv, in a mark of friendship.
The semi final draw will see the Big 5, which consist of France, Italy, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, and Israel all allocated their semi finals, that they must broadcast, and gives that country a chance to vote for whom they would like to see in the grand final.
The second part of this process, will see the remainder of the countries split into six pots, in which countries that have a strong voting pattern of voting for one another will be split into separate semi finals. This gives other countries a fairer chance to qualify, and makes diaspora voting less prominent.
This morning, 42 countries were announced to be participating in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. This will mean that there will be 36 countries competing for the 20 places in the Grand Final (18 in each semi final).
Tickets for the contest are traditionally released in December, but as many fans will know you will have to be quick in able to acquire them.
This year the competition will be held in Tel Aviv Israel, after Netta won the contest back in May with her song "Toy". The semi finals will take place on Tuesday 14th May, and Thursday 16th May, with the Grand Final to be held on the Saturday 18th May.
Are you excited for the contest yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
