This is the end of a long series.
After many twists and turns regarding the participation or not of Israel in the famous European singing competition, the organizers of Eurovision have just validated the song presented by the Hebrew State after a modification of the lyrics then considered too political.
“The EBU, the European Broadcasting Union, today informed the Israeli Broadcasting Company KAN that the song “Hurricane”, performed by Eden Golan, has been approved and that Israel will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest as planned,” the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) said in a statement on Thursday.
“The decision was taken by the Eurovision Song Contest Supervisory Committee, after discussing the lyrics of the song (…) and after listening to its performance,” added the public group which will present the song during a special broadcast on Sunday.
After initially threatening to withdraw if its song was not accepted as is, the public group said on Sunday that it was going to have the lyricists “readapt the texts”.
After two first refusals
The new song "Hurricane", whose lyrics have not been released, covers the music of "October Rain", according to KAN.
“October Rain,” the song Israel initially chose, did not explicitly mention the bloody Hamas attack on October 7, but its lyrics left no room for doubt, observers said. .
“Dancing in the storm;
We have nothing to hide ;
Take me home;
And leave the world behind;
And I promise you it will never happen again;
I'm still wet from this October rain;
October rain,” said a verse of the song.
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The second proposed song, "Dance Forever", was also rejected for its lyrics alluding to the Hamas attack, with lyrics referring to the Nova Music festival where 364 people were killed.
“I am drowning in the dawn;
My heart is so cold, but my soul burns;
Someone is calling me from heaven;
Hope never ceases, it simply spreads its wings,” we could hear in the words relayed by the Israeli media.
Call to ban Israel
Two first refusals which left doubt as to Israel's participation in the next Eurovision.
In addition, several countries had called for Israel to be banned from Eurovision to protest the heavy toll of the war in Gaza, triggered after the Hamas attack which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,160 people, according to a count by AFP produced from official Israeli data.
It is the 20-year-old Israeli-Russian singer, Eden Golan, who will represent Israel next May in Malmö (Sweden). Israel was in 1973 the first non-European country to be authorized to participate in the Eurovision contest, and won it four times, including with transgender singer Dana International in 1998.