The EBU and KAN may not have published the official dates for Eurovision 2019 ticket sales. But Tel Aviv municipality is rolling on with other news for you to chew on. It’s doing all that it can to promote the contest and to make sure that the party in Tel Aviv will be an unforgettable one.
As we previously reported, Tel Aviv has big plans to keep all of you entertained. They will stage a series of “white night” events with parties and food markets on the night of the second semi-final (16 May). They’ll erect Eurovision Village by the seashore at Charles Clore Park and will stage performances from past and present stars of the competition. They’ll also screen the semifinals and final in public, build stages throughout the city for the 42 delegations and provide luxurious camping options at Hayarkon Park close to the venue of the contest — the EXPO Tel Aviv.
Of course, you’ve got to get to all of these places — and lord knows you won’t always want to take a taxi. Normally you can’t take public transportation on Shabbat — that’s sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. But for Eurovision visitors are in luck.
Srugim, a website for the religious community, reports that Tel Aviv intends to operate a Eurovision Bus during the Eurovision weekend (17-18 May) which will include tours around the city’s sites. For those of you who aren’t quite familiar with Israeli tradition, public transportation in Israel is very limited during the Jewish weekend (Shabbat) and it is only allowed in cities such as Haifa in which the population is considered mixed (Jews, Christians and Arabs). As Tel Aviv is not considered a mixed city under Israeli law, a specific local law must be enacted to allow public transportation during Shabbat.
Fortunately, the Tel Aviv mayor, Mr Ron Huldai, is very enthusiastic about Eurovision. This was perhaps best demonstrated during the insignia ceremony in which he played the Eurovision anthem with a flute! As a huge fan who wants other fans to enjoy the party, it looks as if he is going to use his authority to make sure that commuting during Shabbat will be allowed. This initiative is important because otherwise the only way to travel in Tel Aviv on Shabbat of the Eurovision will be via taxis, cars or bikes.
The bus will be branded as the Eurovision Bus and will feature the Eurovision slogan “Dare to Dream” along with the logo of My Heritage — he official sponsor of this year’s contest. It will travel between the city sites (and, hopefully, the Eurovision sites as well).
The Eurovision Bus will be launched next week during the International Tourist Exhibition (IMTM) that will take place at Expo Tel Aviv, the venue of the Eurovision.
For more information about the planned events in the host city during the contest, please visit Time Out Israel.
Let’s roll! @TelAviv has its #Eurovision branded bus on display at an exhibition today and we are in love ?? This bus will show you Tel Aviv ??#DareToDream pic.twitter.com/NHyPyJKmt4
— wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) February 12, 2019
Even though there isn’t public transportation at Shabbat, it’s great they are coming up with solutions such as this cool bus. Also there is the get taxi app, it’s very easy to use and reliable for getting to any place
And let Måns and Petra be the drivers xD
The bus looks comfy, though.
This worries me about the graphic design.
Plus, they still used the 2018 thumbnail design on Youtube. It’s still appropriate yet feels like they’re not putting effort to do an elaborate design this year.
I don’t think we should take it too seriously, though I think stars kinda match this year’s slogan and logo. And in years 2015-2016 and the beginning of 2018 we also had one format of thumbnails.
The star is fine, so is the lower thirds and semifinal allocation draws. The thumbnail part is because it’s already mid-season and they haven’t put out a design for it.
The moving logo was used during the allocation draw. Those animations are ready, If the EBU chose not to put them in the youtube videos it’s their fault.
So cool!! cant wait for it
Bike on Shabbat is fun fun fun !! It’s the best way to travel to places in the city and the greenest way as well. By bike, you can get into more places. Tel Aviv is a bike-friendly city. USE THE PUBLIC BIKE SYSTEM AND HAVE FUN
That’s pretty nice, but have you heard the songs from Serbia yet?
Moja bol, Nema suza & Kruna sound amazing. There are a lot of good songs in Beo this year!
Kruna is amaaaazing