09 May Dare to Dream…about a green Eurovision Song Contest?
Let us ignore the fact that mingling with our fellow European countries is probably going to be a little bit awkward this year, and focus instead on the steps that the host city will be taking to reduce the environmental impact of the event.
The City of Tel Aviv is the second largest city in Israel and a major centre for culture and entertainment. From 14 – 18 May 2019, Tel Aviv will host the biggest music competition in the world, the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest.
Tel Aviv wishes to host the most sustainable and climate friendly Eurovision event to date, by using the event as a testbed for future large scale events held in the city. This vision is being supported by the national government of Israel and the organisation behind Eurovision, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
Eurovision will take place alongside the annual EAT Tel Aviv Festival, a 3 day celebration of food, bringing together Tel Aviv’s best gourmet chefs managing street food stands, local music bands playing during the magical hours of sunset and various farmers’ markets selling their freshest produce. The festival will take place in Charles Clore Park, a city park overlooking the Mediterranean coast which will also host the main spectator screens for those watching the Eurovision Song Contest.
The C40 City Solutions Platform workshop was held in “The Library” urban innovation space in Tel Aviv in January 2019 and comprised two days of co-creation activities to develop sustainable event solutions. The workshop was preceded by a site visit on to the Eurovision concert venue (The Expo), the Ganei Yehoshua Park and the Charles Clore Park. The city is particularly interested in solutions that will enable them to host the event with a focus on zero waste and sustainable food, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of large public events and mitigating the city’s overall environmental impact.
The workshop was facilitated by Legacy and Arup and brought more than 50 local and international experts together for two intense days of co-creation activities. Participants included experts in the sustainable food and waste business sector, academics and NGOs, as well as senior government figures involved in planning the event.
On the final day, pitches were delivered by 5 diverse groups, comprising concepts such as creating a ‘Green Guide to Eurovision’, a practical plan for waste separation at source and diverting it from landfill, training a sustainable cohort of event volunteers and creating a low carbon standard for food vendors.
We look forward to the unveiling of the sustainable solutions and supporting Tel Aviv-Yafo on implementing these solutions for future city events.
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