Netta Barzilai performs at Eurovision 2018. Image by JACK GUEZ/Getty Images

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation, and not the government of Israel, will conduct negotiations with officials from the Eurovision song contest.

The decision was announced Sunday by the Ministry of Communications, following a meeting between Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation CEO Eldad Koblenz and Communications Ministry Director General Nati Cohen.

The Israeli business daily Globes reported on Monday that the total cost to Israel of hosting Eurovision will run between $41 million and $53 million.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The Israeli officials reportedly will present four cities as possible hosts for the contest, identified in local reports as Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Eilat. The cities will have to submit detailed bids in order to be considered.

Israel won the right to host the 2019 Eurovision after singer Netta Barzilai won last month’s competition with the song “Toy.” At the time of her victory, Barzilai proclaimed that the competition would be held in Jerusalem, which was echoed by Israel’s Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev.

Contact Alyssa Fisher at [email protected] or on Twitter, @alyssalfisher

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount