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Pop superstar Madonna was said to have been briefly prevented from entering the venue for the Eurovision Song Contest Thursday morning, where she was to rehearse her planned performance during the weekend final, because she has yet to sign the contract for her appearance.

Eurovision’s executive supervisor Jon Ola Sand initially ordered that the singer not be granted access due to the unsigned paperwork, Channel 12 television news reported.

However, an understanding was later reached with the European Broadcasting Union, which runs the contest, and Madonna was granted entry to the Expo Tel Aviv venue, the report said.

The contract has reportedly not been signed due to complications over the broadcast rights for one of the songs she intends to perform, her 1989 hit single “‘Like a prayer.”

On Wednesday, Sand had similarly instructed that Madonna not be granted access  to the Eurovision site in Tel Aviv but relented after the singer’s team threatened that she would cancel her performance, the report said. The singer eventually spent two hours rehearsing her act, which is expected to feature three songs.

“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,” the singer said in the statement carried by US media.

Madonna’s participation unleashed a storm of protests from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which has for years been pushing for investors and artists to shun Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians.

Tel Aviv was designated the host city after Israeli singer Netta Barzilai won in Portugal last year.

The semifinals of the contest kicked off on Tuesday, with more qualifiers scheduled for Thursday this week and the Grand Finale on Saturday.

More at The Times of Israel

Madonna is currently rehearsing for her Eurovision performance this Saturday. Rumoured tracks include ‘Like a Prayer’, ‘Future’ (with Quavo) and ‘Dark Ballet’. 

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Pop superstar Madonna on Tuesday explained her decision to perform at the Eurovision Song Contest in Israel this week, saying that she will always speak up to defend human rights and hopes to see “a new path toward peace.”

Madonna will make a guest appearance on Saturday during the Eurovision finals in Tel Aviv. The venue has prompted calls for a boycott by pro-Palestinian activists who want companies, performers and governments to disengage from Israel.

The popular Eurovision competition features musicians from more than 40 nations and was watched last year by some 189 million viewers in around 50 European countries.

In her first comment on her decision to sing at the event, Madonna said she was a supporter of all human rights.

“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,” the singer said in a statement to Reuters.

“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,” she added.

Israel is hosting the Eurovision contest after local singer Netta Barzilai won last year. The winning country customarily hosts the following year.

Madonna, 60, is expected to perform two songs in Tel Aviv, one from her upcoming “Madame X” album to be released in June. She had taken her world tours to Israel in 2009 and 2012, and is a follower of the mystical form of Judaism called Kabbalah.

The singer’s Ray of Light foundation, which promotes social justice and women’s empowerment worldwide, supports a number of Palestinian projects.

They include funding teachers’ salaries at schools in the Gaza Strip through the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency UNRWA and micro loans to female farmers through the Palestine Fair Trade Association. The foundation also supports Americans for Peace Now, which campaigns for a diplomatic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel has launched a PR campaign to counter calls for a boycott of the Eurovision contest by the international Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. Security has been tight in Tel Aviv amid fears that activists may seek to disrupt the competition.

Equipment is already here and pop star to fly in with huge entourage on Wednesday, but negotiations still ongoing over broadcast rights

Pop superstar Madonna will land in Israel on Wednesday morning, accompanied by an entourage of 135 people, ahead of her planned performance during the Eurovision finals on Saturday night.

But on Monday, Eurovision executive producer Jon Ola Sand said her performance was not yet confirmed, since the European Broadcasting Union does not have a signed contract with her team.

Disagreements apparently remained regarding the EBU’s broadcasting rights for the performance, as the union is demanding all member networks be granted full rights to the materials.

“If we don’t have a signed contract, she can’t perform on that stage,” Sand said at a Monday night press conference at the Tel Aviv Expo. “We’re negotiating that now.”