Madonna has been confirmed as a special guest at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest next month.
The contest will be held in Tel Aviv, Israel this year and Madonna’s team have confirmed that the singer will perform as an interval act after months of rumours.
Live Nation Israel said the singer will perform two songs as a guest artist during the finals: a well-known favourite and a new single from her upcoming album.
The cost of bringing Madonna to Tel Aviv is reportedly $US1.3 million, with the fee reportedly being covered by Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams.
Adams said in a statement he was “excited and proud to host Madonna in Israel and to bring her to the Eurovision in Tel Aviv.”
“I believe that the performance [will] make a significant contribution to the success of the event,” he said.
Israeli singer Netta won last year’s contest with her song “Toy” and this year will be Australia’s fifth appearance at the competition. Australia’s 2018 contender, Jessica Mauboy, finished 20th.
But the planning of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest has been marred by controversy over funding and calls for a boycott over the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In February, Australia voted to send Kate Miller Heidke to Israel to compete against the 40 other countries in the competition.
The Brisbane-born singer-songwriter beat nine other Aussie acts to win our first selection competition, which was held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.
That same month, SBS announced that Australia would be participating in the Eurovision Song Contest until at least 2023.
This year’s Eurovision semi-finals will be held on May 14 and 16, ahead of the final decider on May 18.
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