AHEAD OF EUROVISION, EXPO TEL AVIV PREPARES TO HOST WORLD'S BIGGEST SONG CONTEST

01/03/19

Expo Tel Aviv International Convention Center is preparing to host the biggest music competition in the world, Eurovision 2019. The contest, taking place May 13th-18th, will be held in Tel Aviv for the first time ever. The mega event will be produced by 'KAN', the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation union – a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Expo Tel Aviv, the leading conference and fair center in Israel, is preparing for the competition, expected to be watched by nearly 200 million television viewers, making it the second most watched TV program in the world – bigger than the Super Bowl and second only to the World Cup final.

Iris Mazel, CMO of Expo Tel Aviv, says: “We are excited to host and welcome the 2019 Eurovision. We have many years of experience attracting, hosting and producing international conventions, including music events, however this is a first for us to be hosting one of this scope and size.”  Six out of a total of eight existing pavilions have been reserved for the production. Semifinals and finals will take place in Pavilion 2, which is reserved from mid-March for two and a half months. The remaining pavilions will be reserved from one month ahead of the contest. The production team will have the ability to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week leading up to the event.

Accessibility is an important aspect of the venue's preparations. Signs are being written in three languages – English, Hebrew and Arabic. The venue is completely wheelchair-accessible and accessible parking spots have been allocated. Transmitters have been installed that will connect to an accessibility app that will assist visually impaired guests to navigate independently to different parts of the venue.

Expo Tel Aviv employees took part in C40 – a sustainability workshop dealing with how to ensure environmental preservation during major events. Tel Aviv-Yafo aims to host the most sustainable and climate-friendly Eurovision to date. Actions are being taken in order to ensure the green nature of the competition, such as recycling water expelled from the air-conditioning to water the grass and gardens across the venue. Additionally, the catering services will use paper and bamboo plates and utensils instead of plastic, and will pre-calculate food amounts in order to prevent food waste, thereby reducing the city’s carbon footprint and mitigating the city's overall environmental impact from the event.

Eurovision Avenue is a new avenue being built on the grounds to be used as an outdoor, shaded mingling space, which will include benches and greenery.

ABOUT EXPO TEL AVIV

Expo Tel Aviv is Israel's most advanced venue, located in the heart of Tel Aviv. The convention center attracts the attention of associations worldwide as a distinctive business events destination, thanks to the efforts of Expo Tel Aviv International Convention Center, the Tel Aviv Municipality and the Tel Aviv Hotels Association. Expo Tel Aviv is the largest and most advanced convention venue in Israel and gradually emerging as a venue of choice for conferences in a non-stop city. Expo Tel Aviv is a partner of Tel Aviv Convention Bureau. Efforts to position the city, and specifically, Expo Tel Aviv, on the international meetings map have been recognized by the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA): Expo Tel Aviv is instrumental in bringing in leads, working together with national representatives both in North America and Europe, and participates in international trade fairs and shows. The ultimate goal is to introduce Tel Aviv as the city emerging as the hottest new location for major international events, conventions and meetings on the world’s stage. Expo Tel Aviv is growing in its international attendance and appeal: in 2018 it hosted various events and conferences, including: HLS (Homeland Security), CyberTech, IMTM (Israel's largest tourism trade fair and conference) and Agritech conferences.

 With a wealth of experience hosting a wide variety of concerts, exhibitions and stage performances of international magnitude, the 8 pavilions and 20 meeting halls of Expo Tel Aviv are suitable for any type of event. The facility has 25,000 square meters of roofed exhibition grounds in total, with the biggest pavilion hosting up to 7,000 people. An additional 20,000 square meters of grass lawns is allocated for open display.

Facts about Expo Tel Aviv

  • Located in the city center
  • Strong sustainable practices
  • +/- 25,000 sqm of space spread over 8 pavilions
  • Full fiber-optic infrastructure and an internet traffic capacity of 10G
  • Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) only 20 minutes away
  • 5,700 monthly incoming flights to Tel Aviv
  • Large variety of accommodation options at reasonable prices
  • About 10,500 available rooms spread over the city

 TECHNOLOGY

Expo Tel Aviv boasts one of the most advanced communication and broadcast layouts in Israel at the moment: all equipment is backed up with full redundancy and can connect to any communication and broadcast companies with full multi-line back-up capabilities.

RENOVATION

An upgrade of the venue plan is currently underway. As part of the renovations, Pavilion 2, which was opened in 2015, will see the construction of a new business lounge and three new conference halls. A business hotel will also be

inaugurated in 2025 within the premises. Additionally, a two story dining area will be built that will span 2,500-2,800 square meters. The total cost will be NIS 20-25 million.

Tours of the grounds and interviews can be arranged with Tamir Dayan, CEO of Expo Tel Aviv and Iris Mazel, CMO, regarding hosting the Eurovision. To coordinate, please contact Sarah Vanunu

[email protected], (972)54-5474-306  www.expotelaviv.co.il

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