The Scoop

Delegations on ships? Local media reveals Eilat’s plans for Eurovision 2019 bid

Eilat is thinking outside the box for their Eurovision hosting bid

With just weeks to go before the scheduled announcement of the host city for the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, the bidding cities are finalising their plans of how they would host the contest. Today, the deadline for the Eilat, Haifa, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to send their documents to host broadcaster KAN passes and Eilat are first to showcase their hand. 


Two potential venues

Yesterday, Israel Hayom obtained documents outlined Eilat’s plans for hosting next year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Two potential venues are included in their proposal. The first, located in the Port of Eilat, is based around two existing hangers. The temporary construction would hold a capacity of 10,000 spectators. Furthermore, the entire complex would consist of two halls on either side of the main venue. One hall would house the green room, meaning the green room wouldn’t be inside the main arena for the first time since 2013, whilst the other hall would contain the press centre and backstage area.
On the other hand, the city’s second option is to host the contest in the Ice Mall. Following the installation of seating and other required venues, such as the press centre, the Ice Mall could hold up to 7,500 spectators. For full diagrams of the plans, check out the original article over at israelhayom.co.il.

What about the thousands of visitors?

Of course, one of the main challenges for any host city is to have enough hotels and a strong enough infrastructure to welcome thousands of fans, journalists and delegates. This is a significant challenge for Eilat, a city with just 50,000 inhabitants. Nevertheless, the plans outline a number of potential solutions.
The municipality intends to highlight the attractive tourist spots of the city with an emphasis of Eilat’s “national treasure”: the Red Sea. One suggestion is to host delegations on a number of ships in Eilat Marina, who will then be able to travel directly by water to the Port of Eilat, the location of proposed venue number one. In addition, another suggestion is to hold the red carpet on the seafront, with the carpet beginning at the edge of the Red Sea.
Finally, Eilat proposes to hold the various events that take place in the lead up to Eurovision, such as Eurovision Village and Euroclub, on the beach!

Taking inspiration from Lisbon

According to the Israel Hayom, Eilat’s plans take inspiration from the hosting of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in the Portuguese capital city of Lisbon. The decision not to use LED screens (a subject ESCXTRA.com has been debating this week) meant that all delegations were as creative as possible. Now when you think you’ve seen it all, “Eilat plans to do it differently”.
With Eilat’s brand new international airport scheduled to open at the beginning of 2019, perhaps everything is in place for Eurovision to visit the Red Sea?


What do you make of Eilat’s proposals? Do you think they are good enough to beat Haifa, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv? Let us know in the comments below!
 

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