A funding spat that could have resulted in Israel losing the right to host the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest was resolved with just hours to spare before the deadline Tuesday.
Eurovision is organized by the European Broadcasting Union, an alliance of public service broadcasters. At this year's event, held in Lisbon, Israeli singer Netta Barzilai defeated a strong field of contestants with her catchy techno-dance tune "Toy," granting Israel the right to host the 2019 competition.
Under European Broadcasting Union rules, Israel had until Aug. 1 to provide a bank guarantee worth €12 million ($13.7 million) to the EBU to show it has the ability to host next year's conwwww. With the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation unable to do so, the EBU agreed to extend the deadline until Tuesday.
Under a last-minute compromise agreement announced on Channel 10 News on Tuesday morning, the Finance Ministry and the IPBC decided that a special loan would be taken out to provide the EBU guarantee. The loan will not be funded with taxpayer money, but through a private body that has not been identified, Channel 10 reported.
The Finance Ministry agreed that it would serve as a guarantor for the loan. It also vowed to compensate the public broadcaster if the contest is canceled due to unforeseen circumstances.
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon had previously refused to provide the funds, saying the IPBC should be able to cover it with its annual budget.
"I think the IPBC is making a big mistake. It should operate like the government agency that it is. It is wrong to turn this into a political issue," he said Monday. "If they really wanted to, they could find the necessary funds in no time. By not doing so, they are violating proper protocol."
IPBC Chairman Gil Omer told Army Radio on Monday, "If we don't get supplemental funding, we won't have any other choice but to forfeit the rights to host the Eurovision. Every penny in our original budget is already earmarked for specific purposes. A day after Israel won the contest, I heard the prime minister and other politicians say over and over again that they will find the proper funding. We have no legal way to divert funds from our own productions."
The IPBC also issued a statement Monday, saying that "having the IPBC funds pay for the [entire] Eurovision means that hundreds of workers will be laid off and Israeli productions will be canceled in violation of our legal requirements."
Former Coalition Chairman David Bitan said on Monday, "It seems this is not going to end well, and they [the IPBC] are unwilling to take out a loan."
He said that having the government provide the funds is legally complicated.
"The IPBC budget is set in law, and if we want supplemental funding, the law needs to be amended," he said.
He noted that convening the Knesset for a special session during recess "is a problem."
The IPBC also said, "Host governments always provide some of the funding for the contest, and this always generates windfall profits from the tourism industry and the global exposure. The tough rhetoric against the IPBC is making a solution that much harder."
