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Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023

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Eurovision Song Contest 2023
Country Israel
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 10 August 2022
Song: 8 March 2023
Selected artist(s)Noa Kirel
Selected song"Unicorn"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (3rd, 127 points)
Final result3rd, 362 points
Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2022 • 2023 • 2024►

Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. The Israeli broadcaster Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan) internally selected Noa Kirel to represent the country with the song "Unicorn", which was written by Kirel along with Doron Medalie, May Sfadia, and Yinon Yahel. Kirel was announced as the Israeli representative on 10 August 2022, while the song, "Unicorn", was presented to the public on 8 March 2023.

Israel was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 9 May 2023. Performing during the show in position 9, "Unicorn" was announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 14 May. It was later revealed that Israel placed third out of the 15 participating countries in the semi-final with 127 points. In the final, Israel performed in position 23 and placed third out of the 26 participating countries, scoring 362 points.[1]

Background

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Main article: Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2023 contest, Israel has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-four times since its first entry in 1973.[2] Israel has won the contest on four occasions: in 1978 with the song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" performed by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta, in 1979 with the song "Hallelujah" performed by Milk and Honey, in 1998 with the song "Diva" performed by Dana International and in 2018 with the song "Toy" performed by Netta Barzilai. Since the introduction of semi-finals to the format of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004, Israel has, to this point, managed to qualify to the final eleven times, including three top ten results in 2005 with Shiri Maimon and "Hasheket Shenish'ar" placing fourth, in 2008 with Boaz and "The Fire In Your Eyes" placing ninth, and in 2015 with Nadav Guedj and "Golden Boy" placing ninth, in addition to the victory in 2018. In 2022, Michael Ben David with the song "I.M" failed to qualify for the final.

The Israeli national broadcaster, Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan), has been in charge of the nation's participation in the contest since 2018. Kan confirmed Israel's participation in the contest on 21 February 2021.[3] Between 2015 and 2020, the Israeli entry was selected through the reality singing competition HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion ("The Next Star for Eurovision") in collaboration with Keshet and Tedy Productions, while in 2022, Kan cooperated with Reshet to select the Israeli entry through the reality singing competition The X Factor Israel.[4][5] On 13 June 2022, Kan announced that they would not continue their cooperation with Reshet and would independently conduct an internal selection to select the artist that would represent Israel instead. This marked the first time since 2014 that Israel had used an internal selection, and the first time that Kan selected the Israeli entry without collaborating with other broadcasters.[6]

Before Eurovision

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Internal selection

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Noa Kirel was internally selected by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan) to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

The Israeli representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was internally selected by Kan.[7] A special committee consisting of members from Kan, music editors and external representatives each suggested two artists from 78 initially considered based on airplay on Gimel and Galgalatz, and nominees for Singer of the Year and Group of the Year awards in 2019, 2020 and 2021.[8][9] Among artists that were considered included Mergui, Ella-Lee Lahav, Noa Kirel, Static & Ben-El Tavori and Ran Danker.[10] The members of the committee were Ofri Gopher (Director of Kan Music Stations), Yuval Cohen (Creative Director and Deputy Executive Producer of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019), Kobi Nussbaum (Head of Production at Kan), Sharon Drix (culture and entertainment director of Kan), Tali Katz (Head of Delegation for Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest), Tal Argaman (DJ and music editor at Kan 88), Yossi Gispan (lyricist), Eden Darso (singer-songwriter), Avia Farchi (MTV Israel presenter) and Leon Feldman (music editor and presenter).[11] On 11 July 2022, Kan announced that Noa Kirel had topped the list with Mergui placing second.[11][12] Despite Kirel stating the following day that she and her team had yet to make a decision, Israeli television channel HaHadashot 12 reported in early August 2022 that the invitation had been accepted by the singer, which was later confirmed during a press conference held at the Hotel Carlton in Tel Aviv on 10 August 2022.[13][14][15]

Kirel was given artistic freedom from the Israeli broadcaster.[16] The singer was offered songwriters from other countries, but decided to stick with a local Israeli team for Eurovision, adding that her song will contain "all kinds of ethnic, Mediterranean and even Israeli directions".[16] In early September 2022, it was reported that the Israeli song would be created in a songwriting camp that would allow songwriters to work with each other to create their entry, with composers such as Doron Medalie, Ron Beaton, Jordi, Nitzan Kaykov, Itay Shimoni, and Eitan Peled all being rumoured to take part.[17] In late September 2022, the Israeli budget for the contest was revealed to be around US$900,000, with a majority being covered by Kirel's team, and the rest by Kan.[16]

On 17 January 2023, it was revealed that "Unicorn", written by Medalie, May Sfadia, Yinon Yahel and Kirel herself, was chosen to represent Israel from an initial pool of four songs.[18][19] On 8 March, "Unicorn" and its accompanying music video was premiered during a special televised broadcast titled HaShir Shelanu L'Eurovizion ("Our Song for Eurovision") on Kan 11, as well as online via kan.org.il.[20][21]

Promotion

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Noa Kirel (right), President Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal Herzog, demonstrate the "Unicorn" gesture during a honorary visit of hers at the President's House of the State of Israel in 2023

To promote the song, Kirel was featured with the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, along with the First Lady of Israel, Michal Herzog. In interviews, Kirel was stated that she would show "chutzpah" during her Eurovision performance.[22][23]

At Eurovision

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According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Israel has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[24]

Once all the competing songs for the 2023 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Israel was set to perform in position 9, following the entry from Switzerland and before the entry from Moldova.[25]

At the end of the show, Israel was announced as a qualifier for the final.

Voting

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Points awarded to Israel

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Points awarded by Israel

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Detailed voting results

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The following members comprised the Israeli jury:

  • Amir Ben-David
  • Ron Biton
  • Adi "Perry" Cohen
  • Tal Argaman Peleg
  • Yasmin Ishbi
Detailed voting results from Israel (Semi-final 1)[26]
Draw Country Televote
Rank Points
01  Norway 2 10
02  Malta 9 2
03  Serbia 13
04  Latvia 12
05  Portugal 8 3
06  Ireland 14
07  Croatia 6 5
08   Switzerland 7 4
09  Israel
10  Moldova 5 6
11  Sweden 4 7
12  Azerbaijan 10 1
13  Czech Republic 3 8
14  Netherlands 11
15  Finland 1 12
Detailed voting results from Israel (Final)[1]
Draw Country Jury Televote
Juror 1 Juror 2 Juror 3 Juror 4 Juror 5 Rank Points Rank Points
01  Austria 1 5 20 6 16 5 6 13
02  Portugal 23 20 24 21 21 25 18
03   Switzerland 10 6 5 19 10 12 15
04  Poland 2 16 10 7 22 9 2 14
05  Serbia 22 21 9 14 17 16 23
06  France 21 22 23 15 18 21 10 1
07  Cyprus 11 7 21 5 7 10 1 12
08  Spain 9 12 8 11 14 14 19
09  Sweden 3 1 1 3 1 1 12 7 4
10  Albania 24 17 22 16 13 20 24
11  Italy 12 11 11 13 9 15 4 7
12  Estonia 13 10 13 4 3 6 5 20
13  Finland 18 2 2 22 4 3 8 1 12
14  Czech Republic 4 9 12 10 5 7 4 9 2
15  Australia 17 14 18 17 20 19 11
16  Belgium 5 13 7 8 6 8 3 21
17  Armenia 8 24 6 12 15 13 8 3
18  Moldova 16 8 4 9 11 11 6 5
19  Ukraine 6 4 16 2 8 4 7 3 8
20  Norway 7 3 3 1 2 2 10 2 10
21  Germany 20 18 19 24 25 22 17
22  Lithuania 15 19 15 20 12 17 25
23  Israel
24  Slovenia 14 23 14 18 19 18 16
25  Croatia 25 15 25 25 24 24 5 6
26  United Kingdom 19 25 17 23 23 23 22

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Results of the Grand Final of Liverpool 2023". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union.
  2. ^ "Israel Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  3. ^ Granger, Anthony (21 February 2021). "Israel: Confirms Eurovision 2022 Participation & Opts For Externally Run Selection". Eurovoix. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  4. ^ Washak, James (6 April 2021). "Israel: X Factor to Determine 2022 Eurovision Representative". Eurovoix. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  5. ^ Boker, Ran (April 6, 2021). "Israel's X Factor to pick next Eurovision entry, with help from Simon Cowell". Ynetnews. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  6. ^ "Israel to select their entry internally for 2023". ESCXTRA.com. 2022-06-13. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  7. ^ Lahav, Doron (2022-06-12). "Israel: Eurovision 2023 Representative Will Be Chosen Internally". ESCBEAT. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  8. ^ Farren, Neil (12 June 2022). "Israel: Eurovision 2023 Entrant to Be Internally Selected". Eurovoix. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  9. ^ Farren, Neil (2022-07-11). "🇮🇱 Israel: Noa Kirel to Eurovision 2023". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  10. ^ Agam, Lauren (11 July 2022). "Noa Kirel: Israel's Eurovision 2023 singer is the country's biggest pop star". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  11. ^ a b Boker, Ran (2022-07-11). "נועה קירל נבחרה לייצג את ישראל באירוויזיון 2023" [Noa Kirel was chosen to represent Israel at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest]. Ynet. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  12. ^ Adams, William Lee (15 July 2022). ""I don't see myself in Eurovision" — Mergui appears to decline potential song contest offer from Israel". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  13. ^ Zaikaner, Avi (2022-07-12). "נועה קירל באירוויזיון 2023? "אולי"! - אירוויזיון 2023" [Noa Kirel at Eurovision 2023? "Maybe"]. EuroMix (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  14. ^ Cohen, Noam (2022-08-09). "נועה קירל צפויה להכריז על ייצוג ישראל באירוויזיון" [Noa Kirel is expected to be announced as the Israeli representative at Eurovision]. N12. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  15. ^ Boker, Ran (2022-08-10). ""יוצאת למשימה באמונה שלמה": נועה קירל מכריזה על ייצוג ישראל באירוויזיון" ["Going on a mission with complete faith": Noa Kirel announces the representation of Israel in Eurovision]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  16. ^ a b c Washak, James (2022-09-23). "🇮🇱 Israel: Noa Kirel Reveals Details of Her Eurovision 2023 Plans". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  17. ^ Washak, James (2022-09-01). "🇮🇱 Israel: Songwriting Camp To Be Held To Create Eurovision 2023 Entry". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
  18. ^ Boker, Ran (2023-01-17). "נבחר השיר של נועה קירל לאירוויזיון 2023: כל הפרטים" [Noa Kirel's song was selected for Eurovision 2023: all the details]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  19. ^ Argyriou, Giannis (2023-04-12). "Noa Kirel: "Tattoo is an excellent song but it'll be difficult for Loreen to achieve a second victory"". EurovisionFun. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  20. ^ "N12 - נועה קירל: "השיר לאירוויזיון כמעט מוכן, עדיין לא שמעו..." N12. 2023-01-16. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  21. ^ @ESCdiscord (February 14, 2023). "KAN has revealed that Noa Kirel's "UNICORN" will be released on Wednesday 8 March 2023, in a special broadcast "full of surprises" live on Kan 11" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  22. ^ Washak, James (2023-04-28). "🇮🇱 Israel: Noa Kirel Met the Israeli President Ahead of Departure to Eurovision". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  23. ^ "Noa Kirel tells Israel's president she will show 'hutzpa' at Eurovision 2023". I24NEWS. 2023-04-27. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  24. ^ Groot, Evert (2023-01-31). "Eurovision 2023: Allocation Draw results". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  25. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2023 Semi-Final running orders revealed!". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  26. ^ a b c "Results of the First Semi-Final of Liverpool 2023". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
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