| |
Candidate Cities:
 Successful application,
.png) Unsuccessful applicant cities |
On July 10, 2018, Israeli television presented a list of requirements for the potential host city:
- The arena hosting the event should have room for 8,000 to 12,000 spectators.
- At least 3,000 hotel rooms must be available in the vicinity of the venue for the duration of the event.
- A press centre for at least 1,500 journalists should be available on the site.
- The venue must be available between March and May 2019.
Following Israel's victory on May 12, 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on his official Instagram account that the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest would be held in Jerusalem. However, this information was not officially confirmed by the hosting broadcaster IPBC (KAN) or the EBU. Nevertheless, Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kachlon announced in an interview that Jerusalem would be the venue and that the event would cost 120 million shekels (about 24 million euros). In addition, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said that the Pais Arena Jerusalem as well as the Teddy Stadium could be possible venues. However, it has already been confirmed by the Jerusalem Municipality that the event will definitely not take place in the venue of the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 and 1999, the International Convention Center Jerusalem.
On May 13, 2018, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai announced that he ruled out hosting his city and the Menora Mivtachim Arena. However, this decision was revised on 11 June 2018.
On May 16, 2018, the mayor of the city of Petach Tikva announced that it too would like to host the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. Even though the city does not have a suitable arena, the mayor argued that Azerbaijan had managed to build an entire arena in five months. Accordingly, Petah Tikva should be able to do the same.
During a meeting of the EBU with the organizing television company KAN, Israel was confirmed as the official host country, after there had been rumors beforehand about a change of venue to Austria. In addition to the EBU, three former host countries (Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom) and the Portuguese broadcaster RTP were present. A debriefing of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 took place with them, organised by RTP.
KAN opened the official venue application process on June 24, 2018.
July 24, 2018 was the deadline for potential venues to apply. Eilat, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv submitted an application. In addition, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv published more specific details about their application. For example, Jerusalem is applying with the Pais Arena rather than the favored Teddy Stadium. Tel Aviv selected Pavilion 2, a convention center on the grounds of the Tel Aviv Convention Center, as a potential venue. The city thus decided against the Menora Mivtachim Arena, which resembled the venues of past Eurovision Song Contests. Contrary to all expectations, the cities of Haifa and Masada did not submit official bids.
After the publication of the criteria for a potential venue, Tel Aviv was considered the favored venue. Ultra-Orthodox parties announced they would vote against rehearsals taking place in Jerusalem during the Sabbath. However, the EBU's official rules require two rehearsals on the Friday before the final. Tel Aviv announced it would allow rehearsals during the Sabbath.
KAN, the broadcaster hosting the event, had to deposit a guarantee of 12 million euros with the EBU by 14 August 2018. According to the broadcaster, it was unable to raise the required sum on its own and had to rely on payments from the Israeli government. Benjamin Netanyahu was most recently convinced that the broadcaster could pay the amount itself from the 750 million euros at its disposal. If no agreement had been reached, up to 200 positions at KAN would have had to be eliminated or the station's own programming would have had to be cut. The EBU reserved the right to withdraw the hosting rights from the broadcaster and to entrust another broadcaster with the hosting. On 14 August 2018, KAN finally paid the requested amount of 12 million euros, thus securing the broadcast in Israel.
At the end of August 2018, Executive Supervisor Jon Ola Sand visited the cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem together with the EBU to get an impression of the conditions there. The city of Eilat presented its application during the visit. However, the EBU had to turn down the city's application because the planned venue did not meet the EBU's requirements. Thus, the decision was made for the venue between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
On 13 September 2018, the EBU and Kan announced the Tel Aviv Convention Center as the venue. With 7,500 seats, the venue is the smallest since Israel last hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 1999.
| City | Venue | Maximum capacity
(for concerts) | Comments |
| Official applications |
| Jerusalemירושלים | Pais Arena Jerusalem | 15.654 | The semi-finals and the Grand Final will take place at the Tel Aviv Convention Center. |
| Tel Avivתל
אביב-יפו | Tel Aviv Convention Center, Pavilion 2 | 7.500 |
| Eliminated applications |
| Be'er Shevaבאר
שבע | Turner Stadium | 16.126 | The venues would have had to be covered with a temporary roof if the bid had been accepted. |
| Haifaחיפה | Sammy Ofer Stadium | 30.870 |
| Jerusalemירושלים | Teddy Stadium | 31.733 |
| Eilatאילת | The cities do not have a suitable venue. If the respective city had won the bid to host the event, a new building or at least a temporary building would have been necessary. |
| Masadaמצדה |
| Petach Tikvaפתח
תקווה |
| Tel Avivתל
אביב-יפו | Menorah Mivtachim Arena | 11.200 | - – |
Eurovision Village
The Eurovision Village is located in Tel Aviv's Charles Clore Park and is the official Eurovision song contest fan and sponsor area during the event. In addition to free admission, all visitors can watch various artists and the ESC live there. Besides concerts, DJs, sports, yoga and Israeli food, souvenirs will also be available there. In total, the village will last for nine days.
.svg.png){kind=small}
