Today, following a further suggestion of confirmed dates and host city for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, the EBU has released a statement reminding fans not to book flights or hotels until the details are confirmed by them.
Rumoured for a late May contest
Earlier this week, an Israeli tourism publication was brought to the attention of ESCXTRA. This outlet had published that the dates of next year’s Eurovision Song Contest were 21st, 23rd and 25th May to be held in Jerusalem.
The EBU has gone some distance in making it clear that nothing has been confirmed or made official in regards to next year’s competition.
They published this statement on the official Eurovision Twitter and Facebook profiles earlier today, urging fans to resist temptation to book their trips until official confirmation is made.
Are you already looking forward to next year’s #Eurovision? Us too! But don’t go booking your flights just yet, for official updates on where and when it’ll take place, keep an eye out for announcements on our official channels.
📷: Thomas Hanses pic.twitter.com/O2sp3WOXvJ— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) May 22, 2018
The tourist information outlet has since redacted its claim that the dates and host city had been confirmed.
Is there more to this than meets the eye?
Eurovision has had its fair share of hosting headaches in recent years, most notably the Ukrainian bidding process for 2017. Yet, at that time the EBU made no comment to fans who were looking to secure their places.
Instead, for 2019 it seems that the EBU are acting early.
However, French-language Israeli journalist Julien Bahloul reported on this tweet, suggesting that the message could also indicate that the contest is not yet officially confirmed as Israel’s to host.
He also went on to state that “the organisers of Eurovision have expressed concern that the contest is politicised […] by the Israeli government”
Médias israéliens: il s'agirait d'un détail technique, la ville hôte n'a pas encore été officiellement choisie. Les organisateurs de l'#Eurovision ont fait part de leur inquiétude de voir le concours politisé et récupéré par le gouvernement israélien –@fabrandanne @Mister12points
— Julien Bahloul (@julienbahloul) May 22, 2018
Early days, nothing unusual for Eurovision
At this stage, it is rare for the EBU and the Eurovision Song Contest to be ready to confirm any details about the following event. First and foremost, it is only assumed that the winning nation will host the following the contest. This must still be awarded by the EBU.
Following this, the host city bidding processes usually take several months to run and it can be early Autumn before we know where the next Eurovision Song Contest will officially take place.
What do you think about the statement released today by the EBU? Are they hinting at something more than “no official confirmation”? Let us know in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA.
