Israel, like the rest of the world, is fighting the spread of coronavirus. Thousands of people have been put in isolation and the government has shuttered schools and universities. It was recently announced that all foreigners must prove they can self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival if they want to enter the country.
Against this backdrop, the organisers of Israel Calling have announced that they are cancelling their event, which was scheduled for early April. In the statement below, they explain their position.
Israel Calling 2020: Official Statement
It is with a heavy heart that we must cancel the 2020 edition of Israel Calling.In recent months the team at Israel…
Posted by Israel Calling on Friday, March 13, 2020
Eurovision 2020 and Coronavirus
Earlier on Friday, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) confirmed that plans for Eurovision 2020 are continuing. In a statement, the organisation said that it is too early to make any final decisions regarding the contest. Shortly afterwards, the organisers of the Eurovision PrePartyES 2020 announced that they were cancelling their event, which was set for April 10 and 11.
There are currently two other dates on the Eurovision preview party calendar. The London Eurovision Party and Amsterdam’s Eurovision in Concert. Neither event has made any public comment on the pandemic.
The Netherlands has imposed a ban on gatherings of over 100 people until 31 March — Eurovision in Concert is due to take place on 4 April in the 6,000 seater AFAS Live Arena.
Meanwhile, London Eurovision Party is set for 29 March. While the UK has not yet implemented nationwide bans on events and gatherings, all elite sporting fixures have been suspended. Scotland is advising that events of over 500 people should be cancelled.
Oh bummer…. Israel Calling is literally the best pre party…… I really hope Covid19 dies soon so Eurovision can happen without any trouble
This year’s eurovision is going up in flames. Ik dreading the day I see the post ‘Eurovision 2020 has been cancelled’ it can’t happen.
ALL pre parties should be canceled. I’m not into all this panic fiesco, but jesus you dont see what happened in Europe? Show so responability.
I didn’t even know Israel Calling was back.
I am really sorry all of these pre-party events are being cancelled. They are a part of this wonderful journey. I do understand why and I agree – safety first.
Amid this crisis, I would wish if local broadcasters, especially those representing an internally chosen act, would organize some form of live performance, so fans would know how it sounds like in live before ESC.
Why is that important knowledge before the live broadcast?
It helps provide more accurate pre-ESC reviews. For example, this website does its own fun “Jury” reviews in April, which some of us here also like to have fun with. One important criteria of the reviews is the live examples at the pre-parties, if that makes sense. But if won’t effect the ESC as a whole.
But was Israel calling even annouced? They didn’t even have contestants confirmed.
I thought that it won’t happen anyway
Yeah, I truly had no idea they were bringing it back. The only artist who confirmed participation that I was aware of was Lesley Roy.
The event is set for early April. The organizers deliberately did not announce the pre-party two months ago, so as not to wake up the anti-Semitism seeking to boycott Israel.
🙁