Eurovision Week kicks off in Tel Aviv with pomp and glamor – Israel News

The festivities of Eurovision officially began on Sunday night during the official inauguration of the "orange carpet" in Tel Aviv.

The 41 competitors followed the orange carpet on Habima Square in the heart of Tel Aviv, posing for photos and greeting fans and local and international media.

"It's amazing – Tel Aviv. It's incredible! Exclaims Kobi Marimi, Israel's candidate for 2019, after climbing the orange carpet. "Thank you for coming, we've been waiting for 20 years for Eurovision to come here in Tel Aviv, Israel, and I'm so happy to be part of it."

One by one, competitors from all over Europe – and even Australia – marched on the carpet to crack their fans and hundreds of media around the world.

All the traditional glitz and glamor of Eurovision were in the spotlight, including long ball gowns – for men and women – with sequins, heels, feathers and, in the case Icelandic Hatari, a lot of leather.

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai also walked on the orange carpet with his wife, Yael, in a dark, more elegant suit.

"We are very happy to have [the Eurovision] here, "said Huldai to host Noa Tishby. "And everyone is happy, is not it?" He asked, pointing to the jubilant crowd.

Tamta, of Cyprus, was the first candidate to jump on the carpet. She told the interviewers that she was "so excited and happy to be here.

Frenchman Bilal Hassani said the message of his song was important for all the people of the world.

"King" is a song about self-love, about self-acceptance. This is a very important message for me, "he said. "When the song came out, we realized that the message was much broader than me, it exceeded me and many people around the world were very touched. And that has become very important to me.

Finland's Sebastian Rejman said: "It's a fantastic week. [here in Israel]and now we're getting closer to the competition – so I'm excited to go on stage and do what we came here to do. "

The Italian Mahmood said that he adored the weather in Tel Aviv and hoped Monday that he was going to "Jerusalem or the Dead Sea".

The Dutchman Duncan Laurence, who is the favorite to win the contest, said he found the city of Tel Aviv "so beautiful". Asked about the pressure on him as a favorite, he said, "I see it as a great compliment. This is the biggest compliment you can receive when you play Eurovision. "

The 41 competitors were not the only ones to appear on the starry orange carpet outside the Habima Theater.

The evening began with a performance of Orna and Moshe Datz, who represented Israel on Eurovision in 1991. They sang an interpretation of their Eurovision song "Kan" and were joined by singer and dancer Stéphane Legar , with a crew of rescue dancers.

Eleni Foureira, who represented Cyprus last year and was Barzilai's biggest first-prize contest, also showed up on the orange carpet. She will perform under a musical number during the grand finale of Saturday night.

The four hosts of Eurovision, Erez Tal, Refaeli Bar, Assi Azar and Lucy Ayoub, appeared in the late evening.

And the winner of the Eurovision 2018, Netta Barzilai, also paraded on the orange carpet, with three assistants holding the long tail of her white dress. Barzilai listened to his latest single, "Nana Banana", released on Friday.

"It's overwhelming, I did not understand it before now," Barzilai told Tishby as he watched the crowd and the media. "It's crazy, everyone is here, we brought everyone here!

The first semi-final will be held live on Tuesday night at Expo Tel Aviv, when 17 countries will perform on stage. The first dress rehearsal will take place on Monday night. This is the first event of the week that KAN sold tickets for. Sunday afternoon, at least 2,000 seats were available.

The grand finale – tickets sold in a few hours – will be held in Tel Aviv on Saturday.

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