Eurovision week is now officially in full swing. And while all the acts are busy spending their days rehearsing their entries and polishing their performances, they’re keeping just as active after dark with appearances all across Tel Aviv.
On Saturday night, the Hungarian Ambassador to Israel hosted a party at the Art Club in Tel Aviv in honour of Joci Pápai’s 2019 entry, “Az én apám“. Joci performed his 2019 Eurovision entry but he wasn’t the only one. Four more countries took to the stage — Albania, Latvia, Montenegro, and Poland each performed their songs as well.
Hungary:
Being the main event of the evening, Joci Pápai performed not one but two songs for the Hungarian Eurovision Party. He started off with his 2017 Eurovision entry, “Origo”, which placed a respectable eighth in the grand final in Kyiv. He then performed his 2019 entry “Az én apám”, complete with live guitar and plenty of accompanying vocals from the audience.
Albania:
Jonida Maliqi took to the stage with her three backing vocalists to sing “Ktheju tokës”, Albania’s entry for 2019. But this was no ordinary performance as Jonida decided to shake things up and perform an acoustic version of “Ktheju tokës” with her backing vocalist Tiri on guitar.
Latvia:
Latvia’s Carousel performed an acoustic version of “That Night” with two guitarists and a box player accompanying lead vocalist, Sabīne. The sleepy track didn’t exactly get the crowd jumping but the meditative moment was certainly a welcome break from the noise of the Hungarian Eurovision Party.
Montenegro:
After the calm of Carousel, Montenegro’s energetic group D Mol woke up the crowd with their enthusiastic performance of their 2019 entry, “Heaven”. They served sass and attitude the house down and took full advantage of the opportunity to each showcase their vocal ability.
Poland:
#Tulia showed up at the Hungarian party in #TelAviv in folklore couture and with harmonies to boot! Love them! #DareToDream #Eurovision2019 pic.twitter.com/1P0IizcLi0
— wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) May 11, 2019
Poland’s Tulia decided to perform their track “Pali Się (Fire of Love)” a capella — a bold choice which allowed the crowd to get an authentic taste of the group’s vocals. Their performance was short but endearing and they seemed happy enough to just be on stage with each other.
The Hungarian Eurovision Party also included a performance by the Israeli Eurovision tribute group, Eurofalsh. The group performed “What About My Dreams” by Hungary’s 2011 entrant Kati Wolf, as well as “Opa”, “Slavic Girls”, and plenty of other Eurovision classics. Art Club is one of Eurofalsh’s home venues, but they will also be performing at the Wiwi Jam on Wednesday 15th May at the Theatre Club in Tel Aviv, so grab your tickets before we run out!
What do you think? Which was your favourite performance of the evening? Let us know in the comments below.
Albania
Camon Albania Georgia Hungary Serbia San Marino Belgium Poland Zcech Rep