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As we continue bringing you up to speed on all things Eurovision, let’s tackle the elephant in the room nice and early. Will Israeli TV enter a song into next year’s contest?
As of this moment, the answer is yes. Israel has confirmed they’re in for Eurovision 2025 in Basel, because why make things simple?
Talent show preselection
Once again, the artist will be selected through the reality show Hakohav Haba La’Eurovision—think X Factor with a Eurovision twist. This will mark the 8th year of Kan teaming up with Keshet 12 to find a Eurovision star. The new season is set to air around October/November 2024, giving Israeli viewers plenty of time to watch hopefuls belt their hearts out.
The song? We’re not sure yet. If history repeats itself, it’ll be revealed shortly after Hakohav Haba wraps up. Just don’t expect any subtlety—Israel doesn’t do Eurovision quietly.
No lessons learned?
In 2024, Eden Golan stormed Malmö with Hurricane, snagging 5th place with 375 points—Israel’s best result since Netta’s 2018 win with “Toy.” Despite all that, this year’s edition wasn’t without a whirlwind of controversy. Protests, rewritten lyrics, and enough political chatter to fill a press room were all part of Israel’s ride to Eurovision last year, with tensions flaring due to the ongoing conflict back home.
And that’s OK, is it?
There have likely been many meetings in Geneva, trying to dig Eurovision out of the hole it found itself in this time out. The EBU’s Deputy Director General, Jean Philip De Tender, released a statement confirming that as a member of the EBU, Israel’s broadcaster KAN is eligible to participate.
While the Eurovision Song Contest is meant to be a non-political event, De Tender acknowledged that the decision-making process could be better communicated: “I think we need to maybe clarify the decision-making with all the stakeholders better so that people fully understand what the event stands for and what the goal is.”
Protests remain likely
With Israeli actions allegedly leaving hundreds of civilians dead or seriously wounded in recent days, the EBU may find the security concerns that come with including Israel in the 2025 contest even harder to justify.