Israel hosted the Grand Final of the 64th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, with Madonna set to showcase Europe's annual music extravaganza.
Some 200 million people around the world were expected to be watching as 26 countries competed to be crowned as Europe's top pop act and follow in the footsteps of past winners such as Swedish icons ABBA and Celine Dion, who once represented Switzerland.
The Eurovision competition debuted in the wake of World War II to heal a divided continent. Over the years, the earnest show of European unity has ballooned into a campy, over-the-top, LGBTQ-friendly spectacle that brings together acts from 41 countries, including those with little or no connection to Europe, such as Australia.
Israel earned the right to host the show after Netta Barzilai won last year's competition with her catchy pop anthem "Toy."
The ostensibly non-political affair has tried to avoid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has so far succeeded, despite swirling threats of controversy. Calls for performers to boycott the show over Israeli policies toward Palestinians have failed to generate much momentum.
A small protest took place outside Tel Aviv's Expo Center before the show, following another one from musicians in Gaza earlier last week. A recent round of rocket fire toward Israel from Gaza also failed to temper excitement.
Madonna faced calls from a Palestinian-led campaign to avoid performing at the event in Israel. But the Queen of Pop rejected the boycott motions, saying she will "never stop playing music to suit someone's political agenda."
