Eurovision Song Contest 1999
| Eurovision Song Contest 1999 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Dates | |
| Final | 29 May 1999 |
| Host | |
| Venue | Ussishkin Auditorium at the International Convention Center, Jerusalem, Israel |
| Presenter(s) |
|
| Director | Hagai Mautner |
| Executive supervisor | Christine Marchal-Ortiz |
| Executive producer | Amnon Barkai |
| Host broadcaster | Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) |
| Interval act | "Free" performed by Dana International |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 23 |
| Debuting countries | None |
| Returning countries | |
| Withdrawing countries | |
|
|
| Vote | |
| Voting system | Each country awarded 12, 10, 8-1 points to their 10 favourite songs |
| Nul points | None |
| Winning song | |
The Eurovision Song Contest 1999 was the 44th Eurovision Song Contest, held on 29 May 1999 in Jerusalem, Israel after Dana International won the contest the previous year in the United Kingdom. The venue for the contest was the International Convention Center, the same place that hosted the 1979 contest. Television news anchor Yigal Ravid, singer and 1992 contestant Dafna Dekel and model/actress Sigal Shahamon were the show's hosts, and it was the first time that three presenters were used to host the Contest. Israel's two previous winners, Izhar Cohen, who won in 1978 with "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" and Milk and Honey's Gali Atari who won it the next year with "Hallelujah" attended as spectators. The winner of the Contest was Charlotte Nilsson, representing Sweden with "Take Me to Your Heaven", which scored 163 points. This was Sweden's fourth win in the Contest and the second in the 1990s (after Carola's win for Sweden in 1991).
In the run-up to the Contest, many speculated that it would not be held in Israel, but would be moved to either Malta or stay at the United Kingdom (the countries that completed the top 3 of the 1998 Contest). This came about after major concerns over funding for the event from the Israeli government arose, alongside the opposition from Orthodox Jews that they would attempt to stop the Contest from coming to Israel after Dana International won the previous year's Contest. This, however, provided no hindrance for IBA or to the organizing team of the event, and the Ussishkin Auditorium at International Convention Center in Jerusalem was selected as the venue for the 44th Contest.
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