Saturday summary: This week’s Eurovision news headlines

Welcome to the latest edition of our news round-up series which takes a look back at the Eurovision news headlines from the past seven days. Here you’ll find all the important news! Whether you need to catch-up or to remind yourself what has happened in the Eurovision world, this is the article for you. Want to read more? You can access the full articles by clicking on them! Tel Aviv will host Eurovision 2019! We've been on tenterhooks for months but finally, we know when and where the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest will take place. Yes, next year's edition of the world's biggest entertainment show will take place in Tel Aviv, Israel's second most populous city. The Tel Aviv Convention Center will be at the centre, excuse the pun, of next year's Eurovision circus! Furthermore, the grand final of the contest will take place on May 18th. Of course, the two semi-finals will take place in the preceding days: May 14th and May 16th. http://escxtra.com/2018/09/13/official-tel-aviv-to-host-eurovision-2019-on-14-16-and-18-may/ Athena Manoukian makes surprise X Factor UK appearance We were already aware that Ireland's Brendan Murray, Malta's Gaia Cauchi and Romania's Cezar are already taking part in this year's edition of The X Factor UK. However, last Sunday, former Greek Junior Eurovision national finalist Athena Manoukian, who was also heavily rumoured to be part of Armenian Eurovision supergroup Genealogy in 2015, took on Beyoncé's Crazy In Love for the judges. Whilst she received a no from One Direction's Louis Tomlinson, yeses from Simon Cowell, Robbie Williams and Ayda Field ensure Athena progressed to the next stage of the competition in which she will join Brendan Murray. Will Gaia and Cezar also make it? We will find out in the coming weeks! http://escxtra.com/2018/09/09/x-factor-uk-welcomes-another-eurovision-act-tonight/ Glennis Grace reaches the final of America's Got Talent! It's not just The X Factor UK that finds itself in the midst of a Eurovision takeover! After months of competition, America's Got Talent has finally chosen its finalists. And yes, Glennis Grace is amongst them! The former Dutch Eurovision representative was awarded the Dunkin' Save in this week's semi-final which meant she received the most votes from the America's Got Talent app and website users. The grand final of the competition takes place next week, on September 18th. We wish Glennis the best of luck in achieving her Impossible Dream! http://escxtra.com/2018/09/13/nothing-is-impossible-glennis-grace-made-it-to-the-final-of-americas-got-talent/ Operación Triunfo to select Spain's 2019 Eurovision entry Also this week, the live launch of Operación Triunfo 2018 was held by Spanish broadcaster RTVE. During the launch, RTVE confirmed that the show will once again double up as Spain's Eurovision selection process. Over the coming months, a series of Galas will culminate in the Eurovisión Gala in which one, or more, contestants will become Spain's 2019 representative. In a change from last year, the show is expected to end in mid-December. Therefore, it is likely that Spain could become the first nation to hold their Eurovision national final! The 2019 Eurovision season is just around the corner, guys! http://escxtra.com/2018/09/14/operacion-triunfo-2018-confirmed-for-spains-eurovision-2019-selection/ Ela Mangion leads a trio of 2018 Junior Eurovision selections While there has been news aplenty regarding the next edition of the adult contest, the 2018 Junior Eurovision Song Contest draws ever closer. Last weekend, Ela Mangion was selected to represent Malta in Minsk with her mid-tempo ballad Marchin' On. Furthermore, Ukraine and Serbia also selected their representatives. Ukraine will be represented by Darina Krasnovetska with the song Say Love. Meanwhile, Serbia internally selected Bojana Radovanović as their artist for Minsk. Bojana's entry Svet will be unveiled in the coming weeks! http://escxtra.com/2018/09/09/ela-mangion-malta-jesc-2018/ More, more, more! While they are this week’s headlines, there’s still lots more Eurovision news and gossip to feast on! Iceland confirmed their participation in next year's contest despite demands to boycott from within the nation. Furthermore, the dates for both Melodifestivalen in Sweden and UMK in Finland were revealed! In the latest edition of our XTRA debate series, many of you got in touch on social media to showcase your opinions on whether the contest truly is celebrating diversity or instead perpetuating old stereotypes. Meanwhile, in the latest edition of our So you think you know… Eurovision trivia series, we headed over to the Czech Republic. Have a go at our quiz and let us know how you do! Did you score better than in our Croatia quiz from the previous week? Make sure you take a look at our homepage, with so many stories from the Eurovision world to feast your eyes on! The Eurovision universe never stops churning out news stories to keep us enticed, even during the off-season! Let us know your thoughts on the past week @ESCXTRA.

Saturday summary: This week’s Eurovision news headlines

Tel Aviv will host Eurovision 2019!

Ryan Cobb

Comments on Saturday summary: This week’s Eurovision news headlines

Tel Aviv will host Eurovision 2019!

Ryan Cobb

Comments on Saturday summary: This week’s Eurovision news headlines

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