Madonna to perform at Eurovision Song Contest in Israel

[April 09, 2019]  (Reuters) - Pop superstar Madonna will make a guest appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest in Israel next month, her representatives said on Monday.

Concert promoters Live Nation Israel and the singer's U.S. representatives confirmed reports in Israeli media that Madonna will perform two songs in Tel Aviv during the three-day Eurovsion competition in May, which features musicians from more than 40 nations.

Israel was chosen to host the contest after local singer Netta Barzilai won last year in Portugal with "Toy", propelling her to international stardom. The winning country customarily hosts the following year.

The Israeli venue has already prompted calls for a boycott by pro-Palestinian activists who are campaigning for companies, performers and governments to disengage from Israel.

In January some 50 British celebrities, including singers Roger Waters and Peter Gabriel, wrote a letter calling on the BBC to press for the 2019 Eurovision contest to be relocated.

Madonna took her world tours to Israel in 2009 and 2012 and has been a follower of the mystical form of Judaism called Kabbalah.

She has been working on an untitled new album for the last several months.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant in Los Angeles; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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