The Netherlands is the winner of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, held this year in Tel Aviv, Israel. Italy finished second, followed by Russia, Switzerland and Norway.
Duncan Laurence’s doleful piano ballad “Arcade” was tapped as an early front-runner before Saturday’s Grand Final. But it had to rely on the fan vote to secure the country’s fifth win in the competition.
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Some 200 million people around the world were expected to watch the annual campy contest with 26 nations battling to be crowned Europe’s best pop act.
Madonna was the special guest at the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv where 26 nations were battling. Israel earned the right to host the show after Netta Barzilai carried off last year’s prize with her spunky pop anthem “Toy.”
Madonna had faced calls to boycott the event by a Palestinian-led campaign. But she rejected them, saying she will “never stop playing music to suit someone’s political agenda.”
Madonna performed her hit song, “Like a Prayer,” marking 30 years to its release, and a new song “Future” from her forthcoming album “Madame X.”
