Israelis for Swedish Eurovision song

(Video) Two fans of European song contest shoot amusing tribute for Sweden's entry on Tel Aviv beach. Song's composer posts clip on Facebook

Reuters | Published: 04.29.11, 13:55

VIDEO - Israeli Eurovision fans have produced an amusing tribute clip to Sweden's 2011 European song contest entry, "Popular" by Eric Saade. The clip is gaining popularity on YouTube, including with the song's composer.

Ahead of the Eurovision, which will be held in mid May in the German city of Dusseldorf, the Web has been flooded with parodies of the different songs competing in the competition.

Taking part in this festival are Dekel Ben Avi and Bastien Venturi, two Eurovision fans who have decided to produce an amusing version of the Swedish entry, which will compete in the second semi-final against the Israeli song – "Ding Dong" by Dana International.

"Bastien and I really like the song, and its lyrics gave us amusing ideas which we combined in the clip," Ben Avi, one of the tribute video's initiators and producers, told Ynet. The clip took three days to prepare.

Watch Israeli tribute to Sweden's 2011 Eurovision song, 'Popular'

This isn't the first Eurovision parody clip Ben Avi and Venturi have produced. "The idea was born two years ago. We created an amusing clip for our friends, and last year we decided to produce another one as a tribute to Finland's song, which really amused us."

The clip they produced for the Finnish 2010 entry, "Työlki Ellää," was obtained by a Finnish journalist who posted it on Finland's leading news website. The clip then made its way to dozens of websites and TV channels across Scandinavia.

Ben Avi and Venturi were even invited to accompany the Finnish delegation during its rehearsal week in Oslo. The clip has reached nearly 200,000 views on YouTube.

It seems that the tribute to the Swedish song, which was shot on a Tel Aviv beach and posted on the Web on Monday, is about to become as popular. Within less than 24 hours, it gained about 10,000 views on YouTube and has already been broadcast on different news websites in Scandinavia and mentioned on several radio stations and television channels.

Even the song's composer, Fredrik Kempe, has expressed his enthusiasm over the tribute and posted it on his Facebook page.

Additional parodies are expected to hit the Web before the contest. In the meantime, it's safe to say that Ben Avi and Venturi will be producing a similar clip next year, with the aim of staying… popular.