It’s getting real now – Yuval Raphael, Israel’s representative at the Eurovision Song Contest, finished her second rehearsal ahead of the semi-finals on Friday in Basel, Switzerland, where the 2025 competition will take place next week.
The rehearsal concluded with pyrotechnics that will come at the end of the performance.
Yoav Tzafir, director of the Israeli delegation, said: “We feel ready for the general rehearsal before the semi-final and are deeply moved by the support, warmth, and love we’re receiving from back home.”
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) will release a 34-second clip from her performance soon on the official Eurovision website and on the EBU’s TikTok and Instagram channels.
Although countless pressures on the Israeli delegation have marked the runup to Eurovision – 70 former Eurovision participants called for Israel to be banned this week and Israel’s national security council issued an advisory for Israelis traveling to Switzerland for the event, warning them not to wear Jewish or Israeli symbols – the morale of the delegation is high, according to reports.
Just before Yuval Raphael stepped on stage, the delegation formed a group energy circle, an Israeli Eurovision tradition.
The first Eurovision competition was held in Switzerland 69 years ago, and one of the contest’s most famous winners, Celine Dion in 1988, was competing for Switzerland. Dion may make an appearance this year, according to rumors.
Martin Green, the director of Eurovision, wouldn’t confirm or deny the participation of Dion, who has suffered from health problems in recent years, in an interview with Deadline.com published on Friday. “You know, you always call everyone. It depends on who’s available and who’s free. Soon, you’ll know who picked up the phone and said yes,” he said, in response to a question about Dion.
Last year's Israeli Eurovision contestant
On Thursday, last year’s Eurovision contestant, Edan Golan, spoke in an interview with Walla about how she was scared she would be shot while she performed, because the hostility toward Israel was so great in Malmo, Sweden, where the competition took place.
This year, Raphael, a survivor of the massacre at the Nova Festival by Hamas on October 7, is traveling with other survivors, who are not part of the official delegation and who are not revealing their names for security reasons.
The semi-finals will be broadcast on Kan 11 on May 13 and 15. The grand final will air on May 17 at 22:00 on Kan 11, online, on digital platforms, and on Kan BOX.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.
