There has probably never been a Eurovision Song Contest in which the question of a particular country’s participation created so many headlines, ups and downs and political upheavals, such as the question of Israel’s participation in this year’s European Song Contest. Although the song was almost disqualified twice, and after several times it seemed that Israel would give up its participation, or be disqualified by the European Broadcasting Corporation, tonight it is happening: Eden Golan, the representative of Israel, will perform in front of the European audience in Malmo with the chosen song, ‘Hurricane’.
Let’s recall the rules of the format – there are two semi-finals, of which 20 countries go to the final – together with the host country (Sweden), and the five founders of the competition – that is, 26 participants in the final, which will take place on Saturday night (the first semi-final took place yesterday). In the semi-final, 10 of 16 countries are moving forward. In fact, there is already an Israeli representative in the final stage – since the representative of Luxembourg in this year’s competition, which promised last night its ascent to the final stage, is Israeli born Tali Golergant.
What are the chances of success in the contest? Well, the score in the competition depends on both official judges of each country, and also on the vote of the general European audience – that is, there is probably room for political opinions and feelings, and not just musical considerations and taste. This has been evident in the success the Ukraine has found in the competition since the beginning of the war. After 7/10, many gambled that Israel would win the competition, but the chances declined in light of the rise of international criticism of Israel’s actions. The gambling sites are currently targeting 6-8th place (approximately the location of Noa Kirill last year – which finished in the third place). But there is an important point that helps Israel – it is easy to vote for a state, but it is impossible to vote against it in an organized manner, so that any supporter of Israel will be expressed more strongly than any opposer of it. But, of course, it also depends on Golan’s performance – and we wish her all luck tonight.
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