Europe is poised to descend on Tel Aviv for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in just a few weeks, and the panic over Eurovision tickets from back in February now seems like a distant memory. As you’ll recall fans scrambled to secure one of 7,300 seats in the Expo Arena for each show. Despite the rush for tickets, it turns out that thousands are still available owing to the high price.

According to Israeli business publication Globes, almost 400 VIP Green Room tickets remain up for grabs. These are the most expensive tickets, priced at 2,000 Shekels each (that’s nearly 500 euros a pop). It looks like cosying up to the delegations and the stars doesn’t have the appeal KAN thought it would.

(If you fancy watching Eurovision live from the Green Room without breaking your bank, why not enter the #wiwiVIP competition where you could win one of 12 VIP tickets!)

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According to the website of ticket supplier Leaan, over 2,200 tickets remain unsold for the Semi Finals. Even the partial view seats, priced at 1,000 or 1,250 Shekels (that’s 250 to 310 euros), are just a bit too expensive for Eurofans.

Even the Jury Rehersal of the Grand Final has failed to shift 2,000 tickets.

Even though EXPO Tel Aviv is offering less than half the number of tickets as Stockholm’s Globe Arena in 2016, which sold 16,000 tickets, the expensive prices mean local fans are turning their backs on the live shows. It’s given a huge boost to local parties, including our own Wiwi Jam at the Theatre Club, where fan can see their favourite acts up-close and personal for just 21 euros.

Israeli media reports that many fans have decided not to fly to Tel Aviv at all, because costs mount up once the expensive hotel prices are considered.

Despite the difficulties in shifting the tickets, Israel’s broadcaster KAN remains optimistic and is encouraging everyone to attend at least one of the shows, even if it isn’t televised: “The sale of tickets to the Green Room, the semifinals, and the rehearsals is continuing. Tickets to the rehearsals and semifinals are relatively low, and this is an excellent opportunity for people to enjoy a show never before seen in Israel.”

What do you think? Do you Dare to Buy an arena ticket, or does watching the show on your sofa sound like the better idea? Let us know in the comments!

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La Signora
La Signora
4 years ago

500€ is absurd. Obviously they remain unsold. Better drop dat price

desi
desi
4 years ago
VanillaGirl
VanillaGirl
4 years ago

This is the price of greed…

Sal
Sal
4 years ago

So much complaining in the comments! Look guys, there are 41 countries participating which means 41 potential winners and 39 (minus San Marino and Australia) potential host countries. Not all of them are gonna be your perfectly-priced, perfectly-sized contest in a Western country because it’s just not possible for every country to provide that due to geographical location, country size, wealth, budget, etc. Being a fan of the ESC you’ve gotta accept this basic fact. Israel’s made a good choice of location. Okay, the J’lem arena is bigger but the city would have brought many other issues (accommodation and religious,… Read more »

Otto
Otto
4 years ago
Reply to  Sal

Well said!

Stevan
Stevan
4 years ago
Reply to  Sal

but KAN should cut their losses and drop the prices for tickets. They are better off selling all tickets at a bit lower price than to sell just a few hundred more at a very high price.

Ana
Ana
4 years ago
Reply to  Stevan

They cut the prices for the rehearsals of the semi finals by 67%, but the tickets are still not selling very well even after the cut.

Alex
Alex
4 years ago
Reply to  Ana

Sorry but no one cares about rehearsals. They should cut the prices of the SF live shows but they didn’t! Do they prefer empty seats?

Ana
Ana
4 years ago
Reply to  Sal

Iceland has an indoor football stadium that can hold standing concerts up to 18k people. So Iceland has a bigger venue than Tel Aviv

Alex
Alex
4 years ago
Reply to  Sal

Basically you are complaining. Tel Aviv had an indoor arena that they rejected for whatever reasons. Since they went for Expo, they should have figured out a way to make the tickets affordable for everyone. 300-euro is the cheapest ticket for the final or SF, do you think this is acceptable? for god’s sake, even for locals this is extremely expensive. This isn’t Monaco ro Switzerland, this is Israel. Cyprus would be a better choice as they are using euro and it’s a cheaper country than Israel. People criticised Cyprus for not being able to host the show in a… Read more »

Alex
Alex
4 years ago

I disagree. This time it would be fun attending the show because the venue is so small so it’s more intimate. BUT the prices are pure madness.

Alex
Alex
4 years ago

You are wrong. The live shows of the semifinals are half-empty at the moment. SF1 has surprisingly the biggest problem with ticket sales. I think SF2 is selling better because of Russia and the Netherlands.

Rehearsals can be empty, no one cases because they are not televised. At the end, they can let people attend the rehearsals because they are not so important.

Alex
Alex
4 years ago

KAAN has already been given tickets for free (so does EBU and broadcasting countries) and they won’t make any profit if they give tickets for free. They should have sold them at lower prices from the beginning, now it’s humiliating and they are losing $$ .

Rasmus
Rasmus
4 years ago

You guys can say things about Sweden. But you CANT say that we are not good at have a full Esc 3 shows and Rehearsels. Every show was full 2013 and 2016. I rest my case.

Alex
Alex
4 years ago
Reply to  Rasmus

Swedes love Eurovision so it’s not a surprise to me.

Sweden 2013 and Denmark 2014 semifinals looked full on TV.

The problem with EXPO is the tiny venue because it is hard to ‘hide’ the empty seats on TV.

Jonas
Jonas
4 years ago
Reply to  Rasmus

Why did the semi-finals in 2013 look not full to capacity? When Loreen was doing her opening number in the first Semi-final, it looked half empty in the standing area.

Alex
Alex
4 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Standing arena rarely gets full in semifinals but that’s not a problem. It’s mostly for fans. We’re talking about seats.

Alex
Alex
4 years ago

Israel is not as expensive as Denmark and Sweden. Let;s not try to find excuses. The problem is the small venue and they are trying to get money back.

Alex
Alex
4 years ago

Well, they are not gonna sell them in 2-3 weeks so I assume they will give them away for free at the end or reduce the prices days before the shows. Prices are ridiculously high (300 euro? seriously??? do they serve buffet and meet and greets with the stars?) This is what you get when you choose a tiny venue for a big TV show like Eurovision. If they had opted for an arena of 12k, prices would have varied and anyone could have been given the chance to attend like in Portugal. I personally was planning to visit Israel… Read more »

Sal
Sal
4 years ago
Reply to  Alex

How would Cyprus be any better????

Jonas
Jonas
4 years ago
Reply to  Alex

The best song should win. It’s ridiculous to suggest not supporting a song because the ticket costs might be high the following year. This event is not purely for the small number of fanatics who attend the contest in person each year.

Cesar's salad
Cesar's salad
4 years ago

The price tag is indeed a problem, but not only for the event but also the travel costs. Trips to Israel and Tel-Aviv are extremely expensive in general, and during Eurovision in particular.

However, Israel is quite remote and Eurovision live from the arena is not every fan’s must-have experience every year. I’ve did it once and I don’t urge to repeat that experience.

If Iceland wins, fans and delegations will need to spend a lot of money as well next year.

Nikki
Nikki
4 years ago
Reply to  Cesar's salad

Well, I’m always saying I’m waiting a country I like to visit wins to go and see the contest life. And yeah, I’d love to go to Iceland. Vikings, nature and cool museums, that’s my jam, well, my second jam after Romans, so I’d like to go there

Alex
Alex
4 years ago
Reply to  Cesar's salad

Iceland will be a hell, i agree. Fingers crossed for the Netherlands and/or Italy.

Jonas
Jonas
4 years ago
Reply to  Cesar's salad

Israel is not that remote, it all depends on where you are coming from.

Alex
Alex
4 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Israel is not remote for Cyprus and Greece.

poe-tay-toe-chips
poe-tay-toe-chips
4 years ago

????? I’m not sure if it’s only because the United States is a greedy capitalist dystopia nation, …but those ticket prices sound kind of normal to me. At least, if you’re trying to get decent seats while seeing an A-list musician. I think seeing 17-26 acts at an internationally televised world-famous competition though could I guess be similarly expensive. I mean, …when you’re seeing the show, aren’t you technically seeing musical history happen? And I heard about friends or past coworkers of mine paying $400 or $500 USD for concert tickets all the time. (also, this is NOTHING compared to… Read more »

Bob
Bob
4 years ago

I agree, I’m also used to these prices (but they are by no means reasonable). I have been to the Eurovision Song Contest grand final once and all we could afford was tickets for some seats behind the stage. We saw everything from behind and through lighting equipment and big screens xD but was it worth it? TOTALLY! I hope to go again sometime and have better seats, and I would save and pay much more next time. But it is much more the trip to the host country that is they problem, rather than the prices of the tickets.… Read more »

Stevan
Stevan
4 years ago

and yet the tickets remain unsold

Ana
Ana
4 years ago
Reply to  Stevan

Exactly, that shows a major mistake and overestimation of the demand. They totally f*cked it up. The only thing that will save it is if the shows will look fantastic on TV. They can always give away tickets to soldiers etc to make the arena look full in the semi finals.

Frisian esc
Frisian esc
4 years ago

That would actually be hilarious with hatari’s anti capitalistic message. Don’t want to be a jerk but i definitely would rub that in if that happened xD

Jonas
Jonas
4 years ago

To the people who constantly demand a giant arena, and whine about smaller venues…please learn a lesson from this. EBU too.

mamma mia
mamma mia
4 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Well, if the arena was bigger, they could sell the tickets for less and even make more money.

Jonas
Jonas
4 years ago
Reply to  mamma mia

A nice theory, but this is not the first time they have had trouble selling out the semi-finals.

Alex
Alex
4 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

It’s not about selling out semifinals in this case, but having less empty seats. It’s humiliating to have a half-empty arena in a small venue like Expo because it will be so obvious and visible on TV, they can’t hide the empty seats and it’s a shame for the performers.

Cesar's salad
Cesar's salad
4 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Even Globen in 2016 was visibly partially empty. Re-watch the Lynda Woodruff skit.

Alex
Alex
4 years ago
Reply to  Cesar's salad

Not true!

Lesbi honest
Lesbi honest
4 years ago
Reply to  Cesar's salad

That was during the voting process, after all the songs had been performed, and I guess most people were on toilet breaks or stretching their legs. During the rest of the show the arena is packed.

Jules Kent
Jules Kent
4 years ago

The price of capitalism and who suffers?
Just watch it on YouTube in your full 4K HDTV with a buffet laid out in front of you. No brainer. Can’t be beat.
From an American Eurovision fan.

Karl
Karl
4 years ago
Reply to  Jules Kent

How are Americans able to watch when it’s geoblocked?

Simon
Simon
4 years ago
Reply to  Karl

ever heard of a VPN?

Kevin
Kevin
4 years ago
Reply to  Karl

They stream the grand finale on LOGO here

William Palmer
William Palmer
4 years ago
Reply to  Kevin

Not on logo this year. On no where in USA.

keith mawson
keith mawson
4 years ago
Reply to  Karl

https://easyview.eu/ make note of this link you Get BBC coverage so English with Graham Norton

keith mawson
keith mawson
4 years ago
Reply to  keith mawson

Defo get a free vpn you can get them for free for several months. dotvpn is good

Jessy Corey
Jessy Corey
4 years ago
Reply to  keith mawson

On just say yes this new way. You wont be disappointed. https://skycards4europe.com/

Jonas
Jonas
4 years ago
Reply to  Jules Kent

4K HD TVs don’t come cheap either, y’know…

Ana
Ana
4 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Very cute to watch Eurovision on a 4k tv while the broadcast is in 1080p only. LOL

Jonas J
Jonas J
4 years ago

It serves this year’s disgusting contest right!

Joseph Mendy
Joseph Mendy
4 years ago

I’d much rather watch Eurovision on me telly in my bedroom having meself a nice relaxing Eurovision Night in whilst waving a UK flag?

Fatima
Fatima
4 years ago
Reply to  Joseph Mendy

I’ll do the same thing. Though not in my bedroom. And I won’t be relaxed. And I won’t have a flag.

Nikki
Nikki
4 years ago
Reply to  Fatima

I do, the Spanish one plus my hubby’s Moroccan flag. He nicked them from the World Cup decorations of a place close to his job. No, really, he did. They were to threw them the next day anyway.

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
4 years ago

Price for the market you are targeting.
If that doesn’t work, lower the prices.
If that doesn’t work, either run with it or call it off.

Karl
Karl
4 years ago

Israelis being greedy. Least shocking news ever.

T.J.
T.J.
4 years ago
Reply to  Karl

Oh I was soooo waiting for this crypto-anti-semitic stereotype.
How about this one in return: you’ve got a german name. So germans being antisemitic. Least shocking news ever.

Ein bisschen Frieden
Ein bisschen Frieden
4 years ago
Reply to  T.J.

Both of these comments are terribly depressing.

Jake
Jake
4 years ago

They need to make them cheaper if they aren’t selling, because the arena needs to be full in May. What would they do about people who have already bought tickets though?

Alex
Alex
4 years ago
Reply to  Jake

Nothing, they should read the T&Cs. 🙂 I would personally advise everyone planning to buy tickets to wait a couple days before the shows.

It would be embarrassing to have empty seats, the venue is very small so the empty seats would be visible during the show.

dusi23
dusi23
4 years ago

The probleme is the small location! The contest itself will look unprofessional and more like a NF than Eurovision. And if you can only sell 6.500 tickets instead of 10.000 or even 30.000 prices rise as high as this year. No wonder that nobody wants those tickets.

Alex
Alex
4 years ago
Reply to  dusi23

The arena is so small so in order to make profit, the prices are extremely high (270 euros is the cheapest ticket with normal view). Stage will look nice, without a doubt, but the whole venue will look tiny on TV. Good for everyone inside the venue though, great views.