Noa Kirel will participate tonight in the first semi-final of Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool, performing the song "Unicorn". Barring any extraordinary drama, she is expected to easily advance to the final of the competition on Saturday night.
Her mother, Ilana Kirel, who is accompanying her daughter, told Israel Hayom, "Regardless of her success, I am proud of Noa. She's talented, hardworking and ambitious, and I know it's very important for her to represent our country with dignity – that's all that guides her, and that's what I'm most proud of. All of us here are excited together with her and make sure to do everything so that she will be ready for the big moment, and smile heartily when she goes on stage at the moment of truth. And no less important – enjoy the journey."
Noa Kirel Back to Eurovision
The competition will begin at 22:00 (Israel time), and when song number nine is announced, Kirel will take the stage and in front of millions of viewers she will sing "I am not like everyone else, in front of the whole world", in the words of the chorus written for her by Doron Medley, May Safdie and Yinon Yahel. At the end of the evening, the ten countries that will qualify for the finals will be announced, while the five countries that will be left out and for which the competition has ended.
Yesterday at 13:30 p.m. London time, Kyrell appeared at the general rehearsal open to journalists, the first of two held yesterday. The return was marked as a success and Kyrell in general is attracting interest. "I'm enjoying myself on stage, it's a crazy experience," she said at the end of the rehearsal, "There's more to work on, but for that there are rehearsals and we're satisfied."
Every vote counts
At the end of the second rehearsal last night, Medley told Israel Hayom: "We are delighted by the amazed and enthusiastic reactions of everyone who sees Noa's performance for the first time. Israel is about to be moved to tears tonight, I promise you."
"The first time Noa and the dancers met an audience in the hall, and it was a very moving occasion. At the first rehearsal we had some sound problems, but the Eurovision team fixed them for us for tonight."
"The responses are amazed and enthusiastic." Kirel and Medley, yesterday, photo: Eran Levy courtesy here
Since rankings in the semifinals are determined only by viewers at home, Kyrell and Medley ask "anyone who has friends and family abroad to do everything possible to promote voting. You can vote at Eurovision this year and every vote counts. Let's win Eurovision together."
It is believed that this will be the "easy" night for Kyrell, who is ranked fourth in the semi-final betting tables, and her bigger challenge will be in the final on Saturday.
As of last night, Kyrell is only seventh in the finals betting, ahead of Norway (6), Spain (5), Ukraine (4), France (3) and Finland (2). In first place is Sweden, by a large margin of all.
Noa: "We are satisfied." General return, photo: AP
Lorin, Sweden's representative and the leading contender for victory, already knows what it feels like to win a crushing victory: in 2012 she won the competition, with a record number of dos fois – a title she still holds today. Tonight she will compete in the semi-finals with the song "Tattoo", and on Saturday there is a good chance that she will be crowned the second winner in history to win twice (alongside Johnny Logan who represented Ireland and won in 1980 and 1987).
Aim for first place
The Israeli delegation hopes for a very high ranking in the final competition and even a victory, but if the estimates and betting tables are to be believed, Eurovision 2024 will probably not take place in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. Even according to Kirel's future plans in Israel, like the Festigal, she doesn't seem to be counting on victory – but her efforts are focused on trying to reach the highest place in the competition.
Ilana Kirel: "We all make sure Noa is ready for the big moment",
Tonight's performance has another meaning – it's a performance that will also affect her final ranking: a good performance tonight could bump Kyrell up a few places, and at best make her a candidate who can rank in the top three.
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