Back in September, Israeli broadcaster IPBC launched a call for entries for their national final to select Eden’s entry for Eurovision 2021. 10 songs will proceed to an online selection, rather than the original 16-show televised selection that was originally planned.
According to EuroMix, the broadcaster has changed its selection format for Eden’s Eurovision 2021 entry. Originally, 16 songs would be long listed for a multi-stage televised selection show. Instead, 10 songs will progress to a public selection round, which will now take place online.
These entries, not performed by Eden, will be uploaded to an online platform, where the Israeli public will vote. Three of these songs will then be shortlisted for the televised selection special. These will consist of the top two of the public vote and a song selected by a jury.
Then, a televised selection show titled ‘Our Song for Eurovision’ will take place in either late January or early February 2021. In this show, the public will hear Eden perform the songs, one of which will be her entry for Rotterdam.
Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest
Israel has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 41 times since making its debut in 1973. The country has won the contest four times. (1978, 1979, 1998, 2018), and has hosted the contest three times (1979, 1999 and 2019).
Since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, Israel has failed to reach the final six times. In 2005, Shiri Maimon gave the country its tenth top five result with “HaSheket SheNish’ar”, finishing fourth. Having failed to qualify for the final for four consecutive years (2011–2014), Israel reached the final with Nadav Guedj’s “Golden Boy” in 2015. Since Nadav’s ninth-place finish, Israel has qualified for every Grand Final.
In 2020, Eden Alene was selected to represent Israel at Rotterdam. Another national final took place, which saw ‘Feker Libi’ chosen as their entry. Despite the cancellation of the 2020 contest, it’s been confirmed that Eden will represent Israel at the 2021 contest.
Are you excited to hear these songs? And what kind of entry would you like to see Eden perform in Rotterdam? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to see our reactions to the over the coming months.
