Singing icon Madonna will perform at the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final in Tel Aviv this year.

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Sadly she won’t be representing the UK: the Queen of Pop will instead be performing at the half time show on Saturday 18th May.

The Like a Prayer star is expected to perform two songs, one old and one from her upcoming album, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Exactly which songs Madonna will choose is unknown, but it’s worth noting that her hit Hung Up has a strong connection to Eurovision. The 2005 single prominently features a sample from song Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! by Swedish Eurovision winner ABBA.

Madonna wouldn’t be the first major American star to perform at the contest, with Justin Timberlake singing two songs during the interval of the 2016 competition.

As well as watching representatives from 26 competing countries (including the UK’s Michael Rice), Eurovision fans can expect to see last year’s champion Israeli Netta Barzilai performing her winning track Toy during the 2019 final.

Also set to take to the stage is “supernatural entertainer” Lior Suchard, Israel’s answer to Derren Brown. Because who doesn’t love a random magician alongside a huge dose of Euro pop?

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The Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final takes place in Tel Aviv, Israel, on 18th May 2019


Meet the acts competing in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019

Authors

Thomas LingDigital editor, BBC Science Focus

Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.

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