A Eurovision executive has cast doubt over Madonna's performance by revealing she has yet to sign a contract for the show on Saturday (18May19).
The Material Girl hitmaker announced she was performing two songs during the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel back in April (19), and she is scheduled to arrive in the city on Wednesday to prepare for her set.
However, during a press conference in Tel Aviv on Monday evening, Jon Ola Sand, Eurovision's executive supervisor, cast doubt on the performance by stating that executives of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which produces the show, never confirmed her appearance.
"The European Broadcasting Union has never confirmed Madonna as an act," Sand said. "We don't have a signed contract with her team, and if we do not have a signed contract she cannot perform on our stage."
Sand insisted that they were still negotiating with Madonna over her appearance.
"We have an artist who would like to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, and who we would love to welcome on that stage. But for that we need to have the framework secured," he continued. "We are negotiating now, in the final stage of that - but if there is no signed contract this week, she will not be on the stage."
Madonna, who is said to be performing a song from her new album Madame X and one of her older hits, has received backlash for performing in Israel, with rocker Roger Waters urging her to abandon her plans to protest the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians living in the occupied territories.
Madonna defended her decision to perform in the country in a statement to Reuters on Tuesday.
"I'll never stop playing music to suit someone's political agenda nor will I stop speaking out against violations of human rights wherever in the world they may be," she stated. "My heart breaks every time I hear about the innocent lives that are lost in this region and the violence that is so often perpetuated to suit the political goals of people who benefit from this ancient conflict. I hope and pray that we will soon break free from this terrible cycle of destruction and create a new path towards peace."
