Madonna knows how to keep us on our toes, but it’s official – she will be gracing the Eurovision stage this Saturday.
The press room at Expo Tel Aviv has been told that Madonna will be performing as the interval act at the Eurovision Song Contest, confirming the long-held rumours.
She will be performing her brand new song Future, featuring Quavo, as well as her classic hit Like A Prayer.
The Like A Virgin star’s appearance at Eurovision was first rumoured back in April, with reports claiming she would be paid $1 million (£764,000) for playing two songs at the final.
However, just days ago, her performance was still up in the air.
Eurovision executive organiser Jon Ola Sand said on Monday: ‘The European Broadcasting Union has never confirmed Madonna as an act. If we do not have a signed contract she cannot perform on our stage.’
He continued: ‘We have an artist who would like to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, and who we would love to welcome on that stage. But for that we need to have the framework secured.
‘We are negotiating now, in the final stage of that – but if there is no signed contract this week, she will not be on the stage.’
Sand admitted that the organisers were in a ‘strange situation’.
However, Madonna arrived in Tel Aviv late on Tuesday night, and shared pictures and videos of rehearsals to Instagram, saying she was planning something ‘special’ for her fans – although she never confirmed it was for Eurovision.
Earlier, she seemed to reject calls for her to boycott Eurovision due to controversy over the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, saying in a statement: ‘I’ll never stop playing music to suit someone’s political agenda nor will I stop speaking out against violations of human rights wherever in the world they may be.
‘My heart breaks every time I hear about the innocent lives that are lost in this region and the violence that is so often perpetuated to suit the political goals of people who benefit from this ancient conflict.
‘I hope and pray that we will soon break free from this terrible cycle of destruction and create a new path towards peace.’
She will be performing at the interval of the final, after the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Israel, Cyprus, Iceland, Australia, San Marino, Slovenia, Belarus, Serbia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece and 10 other nations to be decided in the second semi-final try their best to be named Eurovision champ 2019.
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