Now that 2018 is officially over, people all over the world are waiting in anticipation for what the coming year will hold for them. But lucky for us, we Eurovision fans already have a pretty good idea of some of the most exciting moments 2019 will bring. Here are ten things that Eurofans all ever the globe are looking forward to in the coming year.
1. Eurovision in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv has never hosted Eurovision before, but being a city famous for its soft sand beaches, eclectic cuisine, and vibrant nightlife, Eurovision fans have been begging Eurovision to show them Tel Aviv for years. And with plans in place for a Eurovision Avenue, an all-inclusive Eurovision cruise, an all-night festival featuring live music on 42 different stages throughout the city, and a beachfront Eurovision village with seven different themed zones, Eurovision 2019 is set to be one of the most extravagant contests in recent memory. When Israel dares to dream, they dream big!
2. Australia’s new national final
Following Australia’s fourth consecutive successful qualification to the Eurovision Grand Final, SBS announced that Australia will be hosting its first ever national final, Eurovision – Australia Decides, on the 9th of February in Gold Coast. And if this news didn’t have Eurovision fans excited enough, SBS has since announced some of the acts that will be competing, which include some very well-known names like Sheppard and Courtney Act.
3. A more intimate stage show
While Tel Aviv has shown us that the city is ready to pull out all the stops to make Eurovision 2019 as big as it can be, they’ve also demonstrated that they know bigger isn’t always better. Eurovision fans received an early New Year’s present with some shots of what the Tel Aviv stage is set to look like. And while the arena will be smaller than it has been in recent years, Israeli broadcaster KAN and stage designer Florian Wieder are making the most of the space by providing a stunning stage design and an intimate crowd environment. Israel is after all, the smallest country to host Eurovision since Luxembourg hosted the contest 35 years ago.
4. Can Cyprus maintain its momentum?
After Eurovision 2018 introduced us to the fiery diva Eleni Foureira and her European pop sensation, “Fuego”, which reached second place at Eurovision, Cyprus’ highest ever placing, all eyes moved to the small island nation to see if they can turn it out again in Tel Aviv. We’ve since learned that Cyprus will be represented in 2019 by Georgian-Greek star Tamta with another Alex P. song titled, “Replay“. But will Tamta be able to recreate Cyprus’ 2018 success? We’ll have to wait and see!
5. The EBU meeting to discuss Kosovo’s potential membership
Rumors have been circulating for years surrounding Kosovo’s candidacy as a potential EBU member. Now according to an EBU spokesperson, it seems that the EBU will be voting in June on whether or not to grant membership to Kosovo. If granted, Kosovo may become eligible to participate in Eurovision. Is it possible that we’ll see Kosovo’s debut in 2020?
6. The United Kingdom’s restructured national final
Despite having one of the largest music industries in the world, the United Kingdom hasn’t exactly earned the reputation of being a strong competitive force at Eurovision. But perhaps taking some inspiration from SuRie, the BBC has announced that they’re holding their head up and won’t give up just yet. They’ve unveiled a new format to the United Kingdom’s national final, Eurovision: You Decide, which will feature only three songs, each sung in two different styles by a total of six artists. This structure blends elements from the national finals of Germany 2017 and Finland 2018 and will hopefully prove more successful for the UK in Tel Aviv.
7. Netta’s guest performance at Eurovision 2019
Though nothing has been confirmed just yet regarding opening and interval acts at Eurovision 2019, many Eurofans are hopeful that current Queen of Europe Netta will stage an epic performance at the Tel Aviv contest. It is after all, standard practice for the reigning Eurovision winner to reprise their past year’s winning song at Eurovision. And with Netta’s extensive and unique background in remixing and DJ’ing, it’s safe to assume that she will put on a show like we’ve never seen before. Some fans are hoping for Netta to use her vocal looper to remix some of Israel’s biggest Eurovision hits, while others are crossing their fingers for 2018 runner up Eleni Foureira to perform her pre-Eurovision hit Sto Theo Me Pai, a Greek version of Israel’s 2015 Eurovision entry Golden Boy, with the iconic line “Let me show you Tel Aviv”.
8. A Battle of the Bronzes
Italy’s Sanremo music festival was the inspiration for the Eurovision Song Contest and it’s now one of the most closely followed national finals of the Eurovision season. So far, we have twelve confirmed acts for Sanremo 2019, and many Eurovision fans were delighted to hear that Eurovision 2015 runner-ups Il Volo will be competing. But they may not be the only recent Eurovision bronze medalists to compete in Tel Aviv – many of our readers have been yearning for a comeback by Russia’s 2016 competitor, Sergey Lazarev. If Russia ends up sending Sergey to Tel Aviv, Eurofans will be treated to a legendary rematch of two of Eurovision fans’ most loved acts from recent years.
9. Another year of Spanish Eurodrama
With OT 2018 in the books, all eyes are set on Spain to unveil the seventeen competing entries for Eurovision. And in true dramatic Spanish fashion, RTVE has tantalized us all with sixty second snippets of each of the songs. Tensions are already beginning to buzz as opinions start to emerge and we can only assume that more tabloid-worthy news will occur in the coming months. So grab the popcorn!
10. The winner of Eurovision 2019
While it’s still very early in the 2019 Eurovision season, we are no doubt well underway in our search for the next Eurovision winner. And although we still have 41 entries yet to be revealed, we already have some pretty big names confirmed. Could Armenia’s Srbuk or Cyprus’ Tamta earn their country’s first ever Eurovision win? Or will the first confirmed entry of 2019, “Ktheju Tokës” by Jonida Maliqi, bring us to Tirana in 2020? The song has already drawn quite a bit of attention, and nothing is out of the question this early in the year.
What do you think? What are you most excited for in 2019? Do you think you already know where we’ll be headed in 2020? Sound off in the comments below.
One thing we do know is that Albania won’t be winning, it’s a good song but it’s not gonna win.
As far as the national finals are concerned, I’m most excited about Italy and France.
As for the actual contest, I’m really looking forward to seeing if Cyprus maintains its momentum.
I’d also love the idea of Il Volo and Sergey lazarev both competing at Eurovision,. However, I’m afraid the one will cross out the other and I don’t want that because I love both entries.
And of course everyone is eager to know who the winner of 2019 will be!
Would love to see Christmas Island (I know it’s impossible) on Eurovision Asia.
As’ad Motawh, Joel Adams, and Joyce Chu would be the ideal candidates for the small island territory.
1.Yes
2.Yes
3.No
4.Yes
5.No
6.No
7.Maybe
8.No
9.No
10.Yes
Russia will win, you will see. Russian broadcaster is preparing something big.
After last years political and stage fiasco, I can believe that. Russia will do all it can to win this year
I wouldn’t forget Sweden. They got burnt by the televote past year. I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to pull up a gear this year
Sweden and Australia will be both influx by EBU televoting mafia, in order to prevent an russian victory!
If Cyprus wins, it will be quite some time that the runner up of the preceding year winning. Trivia question for you: when was the last time that happened?
Well, it happened 5 times: in 1957, 1968, 1975, 1976 and 1981. So yeah, it’s been 38 years since then.
One may consider adding France 1991 maybe.
Right, if they’d used today’s rules, Amina would have won , great song by the way.
You mean the years after right (like France, runner-up In 57, taking it in 58 etc)? 69 was interesting because not only did the runner-up win the next year, but so did the incumbent winner, the bronze, and one of the countries that finished last. (A classic 0-to-100 finish). Some more fun facts: four countries have won after finishing last the year before (Netherlands in 59 and 69, Luxembourg in 61, and Belgium in 86), four countries have won after not participating the year before (Israel in 98, Serbia in 07, Ukraine in 16, and Portugal in 17), and two… Read more »
Hang on, the UK weren’t second in 1980.
KOSOVO OUT OF EUROVISION! (Only fully independent countries please) greetings from the Netherlands
Agree with the below. Personally am really looking forward to Eurovision Asia if fingers crossed it goes ahead as planned
Are we here in Europe be able to watch Eurovision Asia (or is the live-stream geo-blocked like the ESC is for USA/Canada and some countries in South-America) ?
I think we’re going to be able to watch it since EBU also helps with the project…
11. Eurovision Asia
“in 2019”
Hoping a lot of good songs, a better level than 2016 (it’ll be difficult as it was the first edition that I really followed). Finally a top 10 (or even top 5, let’s be crazy) for my country (France), and Florina to represent us, with an amazing staging, revamp, and amazing vocals.
The only song you have of real quality this year is “Passio”.
Looking forward to the epic Sanremo, and Jon Henrik winning Melfest.
As an American, I’m basically a neutral party. All I care about right now is if San Marino chooses wisely or unwisely.
Joe – if San Marino brings that “plastic face Ken” Rodrigo Alves then everything is too late for that country. There are a lot of artists from outside the EBU area who want to compete in our Eurovision but are not allowed because they are not from a competing country. San Marino could be a really launching pad to get famous in Europe for those artists I guess.
I know that. The long term goal is to win Eurovision for San Marino. Somewhere down the pipeline. I have faith that he isn’t their pick, but I’m laying out the holy water and incense just in case.
11. Junior Eurovision in Poland, don’t forget that! After JESC 2018 I’m so excited to see how they will maqke the show even better.
Minsk was almost perfect – everything worked so good. The JESC 2018 quality was better than Ukraine 2017 and Lisbon 2018 in ESC. The 3 hosts made it really good, the 20 songs were great and the kids/teens put so much energy into their songs ……….and that beautiful stage ??? …..I will fly to Poland November 2019 to watch it.
Here in Romania we have the best semifinals in years maybe in history… so .. BUCHAREST 2020
Tamta for the win! #REPLAY #CYPRUS
Chill. We haven’t heard the song or the majority of the others yet.
BREAKING NEWS……….LUCA HÄNNI WINS ESC 2019….. the esc 2020 will take place in the stade de suisse/bern.
Ups, i dreamed that, but who knows? Go switzerland
By the way, if Tirana 2020 happens and RTSH chooses to host it in Pallati i Kongresseve, I am 100% sure people would start butchering Albania to pieces, just because of the venue size!
Sorry guys, but Albania will not win with that song. I doubt they will qualify to be honest.
Albania will qualify 100 % with that magic song.
Not 100%, but it has chances to qualify.
I am happy to bet that it will not qualify. I said the same thing about Greece 2018, and people were accusing me of being anti Hellenic. They are similar, too ethnic to reach the masses, to monotone to grab votes.
No I think last year’s Greek entry did not qualify because it did not reach the masses but because of its staging! If you understand what you see you do not need to understand what you hear!
But a renovated Piramida would be brilliant for Euroclub and other activities