On May 18, 2019, the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest took place in Tel Aviv. The show featured not only representatives of 26 countries claiming the main prize, but also guest stars. Who is this year's winner? And where will Eurovision 2020 take place?
The 64th International Eurovision Song Contest 2019, which took place in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, will surely be remembered for the excellent performances of the contestants and the bright, bold show.
While the voting was taking place and the results were being counted, such famous performers as Conchita Wurst with the song "Heroes", Verka Serduchka with the song "Toy", Mons Sermelyev, who performed the song "Fuego", Eleni Fureira with the track " Dancing Lasha Tumbai ". Last year's Eurovision winner Netta Brasilai presented her new song "Nana Banana" in Tel Aviv. Among the invited stars were also: Dana International, Idan Raikhel, Gal Gadot, Gali Atari. And Madonna herself became the headliner of the show this year. The legendary singer sang two compositions in Israel: a new track "Future" and a favorite song "Like a Prayer" by many.
After the entertainment program, the most nervous and intriguing time has come: who will be the winner of the music competition, which country will Eurovision go to next year. It is worth recalling that in recent years a new voting system has been operating at the competition. First, the points are given by the professional jury of each country, and then the results of the audience vote are announced. And, as it was noticeable in previous times, the audience rarely agrees with the professionals. Eurovision 2019 was no exception.
After the announcement of the voting results, the jury included the following five countries:
- Sweden - 239 points;
- North Macedonia - 237 points;
- Netherlands - 231 points;
- Italy - 212 points;
- Azerbaijan - 197 points.
However, everything changed literally radically after it became known how ordinary viewers voted. And here it was not without an incident: Germany, for which the female duet "S! Sters" performed, did not receive a single vote from the audience. In addition, groups from Norway and Iceland received quite strong public support, which the professional jury practically did not single out. And only thanks to the voices of viewers and fans of the show, Russia, represented by Sergey Lazarev at the song contest, managed to break through the standings.
According to the total amount of votes from the jury and viewers, the top 5 performers of Eurovision 2019 are as follows:
- Duncan Lawrence, Netherlands - 492 points;
- Mahmoud, Italy - 465 points;
- Sergey Lazarev, Russia - 369 points;
- Luca Henny, Switzerland - 360 points;
- KEiiNO Group, Norway - 338 points.
Thus, Eurovision 2020 will be held in the Netherlands. The 2019 show's winner is singer and musician Duncan Lawrence. He performed his song "Arcade" for the third time on stage in Tel Aviv after all the results were announced.
Unfortunately, Sergei Lazarev, performing from Russia for the second time at this international song competition, could not break through to the first line. Its result is exactly the same as in 2016, when Eurovision was held in Stockholm. The singer himself said that if there is an opportunity, he is ready to go to the competition for the third time.
