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Israel: Eden Golan disguised in Malmo!

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Two months after Eurovision, Eden Golan reveals with a social media post, one more unknown aspect of the very different song contest we all experienced in Malmö. The Israeli representative had to disguise herself to get out of the hotel where she was staying in Sweden, revealing the complicated reality of being Israel’s representative in the contest this year.

In an emotional post on social media, Eden Golan revealed the dark side of her Eurovision experience in Malmö, Sweden. The singer, who took fifth place in this year’s competition, uploaded a photo where no one can recognize her at first glance and explains the reasons why she had to disguise herself every time she left the hotel:

I thought a lot about which photo to share and chose a moment that seemed strange and funny at first but no less scary and dangerous. Many people know that we were surrounded by the best security guards to protect our delegation, but they don’t know about those times when I had to disguise myself to avoid being harmed when we went out.

 

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη EDEN GOLAN (@golaneden)

Eden Golan expressed her concern about the strong anti-Semitism that is growing worldwide, but also her hope for a better future.

It is sad that we are back to the time when a Jewish woman had to hide to avoid being hurt…I know better days will come. I pray every day that they will come!

Eden Golan after her victory in Hakokhav Haba, represented Israel at Eurovision 2025 with the song Hurricane, taking fifth place in the final with 375 points, almost all from televoting, where she finished second.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Eden Golan plays secret gig in London

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Her controversial performance at Eurovision in Malmo earlier this year prompted enormous protests and mean-spirited boos and jeers.

But last week spectators in London had nothing but applause for Israeli Eurovision star Eden Golan, 20, as she was joined on stage in a private performance in London by scores of celebrities including Countdown’s Rachel Riley MBE, Fauda’s Rona-Lee Shimon and Emmerdale’s Louisa Clein.

The secret event – which took place at a theatre in the West End and included performances from an ensemble of A-List stars – raised more than £1 million that will be used to rebuild nurseries that had been destroyed on October 7 in Kibbutz Be’eri.

It was one of the worst affected villages of Hamas’s bloodthirsty attack on Israel – with 120 of its residents being murdered and a further 26 taken hostage during the terrorist group’s murderous rampage.

Titled Letters, Light and Love, the one-time show included performances from world-class British, American and Israeli entertainers including Olivier award-winning actress Dame Maureen Lipman, Will & Grace star Debra Messing, supermodel Bar Refaeli, Israeli artist Michael Aloni, and Booker-winning novelist Howard Jacobson.

The event’s existence, as well as the time and location of the show were kept completely secret due to significant security fears – with just under 1,000 people being personally invited to the performance.

You can watch Eden’s performance HERE

Israel: The head of delegation’s response to everything that happened at Eurovision 2024!

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For everything that happened behind the scenes of Eurovision 2024, Yoav Tsafir, head of the Israeli delegation to the contest, gave his own answers.

Yoav Tsafir, who has a lot of experience with the competition, having accompanied Israeli delegations for at least eight years, argued that the source of the tension and all the drama that unfolded behind the scenes of this year’s contest was Israel’s rise to second place in the betting and the possibility of Eden Golan winning Eurovision 2024.

He first described how the members of the Israeli delegation were wearing tracking bracelets so that the security accompanying them knew where they were at all times. The hosts had prohibited them from traveling outside the hotel.

Some of the delegations of the other countries demanded not to be filmed with Eden Golan, while journalists from Israel were not allowed to photograph them either.

Relations between the Israeli delegation and some other delegations deteriorated rapidly immediately after the end of the semi-final, when Hurricane moved into second place in the betting.

Suddenly they started a competition, who will be more aggressive against Israel.

Also according to his words, several judges who are members of the national juries were instructed to rate Israel low, which is proven by the difference in the score of the juries and the television audience.

Finally, when on the day of the final the organizers decided to remove the Israeli delegation from the rest and put it in a dressing room away from the rest, Yoav Tsafir replied:

The last time they seperated the Jews in Europe like this was in 1939.

The above is the Israeli version of what happened behind the scenes of this year’s contest, which stigmatized it in the worst way.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

 

Israel: What percentage of Europeans believe that the country should not participate at Eurovision 2024?

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Truth be told, there is a great number of Europeans who firmly believe that Israel should not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, mainly because of their geographical position.

However, the situation in Gaza remains fraught and this has made a plethora of people call for Israel’s excusion from this year’s Contest.

Eurotrack recently conducted a survey asking respondents if Israel should be allowed to participate at Eurovision this year. The exctracted result showcased that many stand by Israel’s exclusion for geographical reasons and not political. What is also interesting is that, among those who intend to watch the show, the percentage of the viewers who claim that Israel should not participate, is significantly smaller compared to the general population.

In each of the seven countries that were taken into account for the survey, 40-59% support that Israel should be banned from entering the Contest, whereas 23-37% claim the opposite.

Despite this, as it was abovementioned, the viewers who are going to watch the show this year present a higher possibility of considering Israel’s participation and being more amenable towards it. Especially the majority of German viewers believe in Israel remaining as a participating country.

Why do Europeans want to see Israel banned from Eurovision?

Of course, Israel is at the center of current affairs with the conflict in Gaza still in progress, and this matter stands as the principal factor for many people across Europe to wish upon the country’s exclusion from the Contest. Is that what motivates the public opinion though?

Yes, to a certain extent. When the respondents of Eurotrack’s survey were asked the reason behind their stance to ban Israel from Eurovision, somewhat between 38% and 65% in each country base their answers on the Middle East conflict. Among those who truly are planning to watch the Contest and think that Israel must be excluded, this argument is supported by 47-69%.

Despite this data, it is still common for people to believe that Israel should not be a part of Eurovision because of where it i geographically located.

In reality, according to the survey, the percentage of people who want Israel to be excluded solely because of the tense in Gaza is around 21-36% and when it comes to Eurovision viewers, 12-20%.

With great polarisation around the matter, we shall see how these percentages will be translated on Israel’s votes in the Contest, especially the televote.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the updates!

Source: yougov

 

 

Israel: Eden Golan honoured the Holocaust Memorial Day in Malmö!

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Even though 36 out of the 37 participants of this year’s Eurovision, were present in the Turquoise Carpet, namely the opening ceremony of the contest, Eden Golan, the Israeli representative took part in a ceremony about the Holocaust Memorial Day, alongside the Jewish community in Malmö.

Eden Golan lighted a candle in the memory of the 6.ooo.ooo Jews that lost their lives in World War II in the hands of the Nazis, while wearing a yellow ribbon, representing the return of those abducted by Hamas, in October 2023.

“Today, on the eve of Holocaust Day, we will light a candle in thw  memory of the six million members of our people who were murdered. Indeed, in this year, which is perhaps the most emotionally charged we have ever known regarding Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, it is important to remember the victims of the Holocaust and the essence of the founding of the state, to remember the need to protect our people and to fight anti-Semitism at all costs.”

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Israeli participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, in Malmö!

Source: Euromix

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Eurovision 2024: Which rehearsal has the most views on TikTok?

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Two days ago, the first rehearsals for all 37 entries officially concluded, and today the second rehearsals are expected to be completed, with the Big 5 and the host country Sweden taking the stage at the Malmö Arena for the second time! This means that we are getting closer to the Eurovision week, with the Dress and Jury Rehearsals for the first semi-final starting on Monday.

However, as we know on TikTok, all the first rehearsals are uploaded. Apart from their performances, we’ll also get a sneak peek backstage before they take the stage for the first time in a video of about one minute.

One of the many features of TikTok is the ability to add songs to each user’s video creation. However, the TikTok algorithm is usually able to detect the song used in the video, assign it to the correct track, and then include it in the total number of videos where that sound has been used. Based on this capability, the most popular songs before rehearsals were from the Netherlands and Italy. Will they receive the same promotion as before?

The ranking with all the entries (in brackets will be the day of the rehearsal) based on the increasing number of views after one week from the start of the first rehearsals on TikTok is as follows:

  1. Netherlands: Joost (fourth day) – Europapa – 3.2 milion views
  2. Greece: Marina Satti (third day) – ZARI – 2.7 million views
  3. Poland: LUNA (first day)– The Tower –1.5 million views
  4. Switzerland: Nemo (third day) – The Code – 1.2 million views
  5. Serbia: Teya Dora (first day) – Ramonda – 980.1 thousand views
  6. Ukraine: alyona alyona & Jerry Heil (first day) – Teressa & Maria – 971.2 thousand views
  7. Croatia: Baby Lasagna (first day) – Rim Tim Tagi Dim – 812.3 thousand views
  8. Georgia: Nutsa (fourth day) – FireFighter – 637.4 thousand views
  9. Israel: Eden Golan (fourth day) – Hurricane – 607.1 thousand views
  10. Belgium: Mustii (fourth day) – Before The Party Is Over – 585.7 thousand views
  11. United Kingdom: Olly Alexander (sixth day) – Dizzy – 567.4 thousand views
  12. Armenia: LADANIVA (third day)  – Jako – 528.6 thousand views
  13. Sweden: Marcus & Martinus (sixth day) – Unforgettable – 515.6 thousand views
  14. Spain: Nebulossa (sixth day)– Zorra – 448.5 thousand views
  15. Albania: Besa (third day) – TiTan – 413.5 thousand views
  16. France: Slimane (sixth day) – Mon Amour – 412.5 thousand views
  17. Ireland: Bambie Thug (first day) – Doomsday Blue – 388.2 thousand views
  18. Latvia: Dons (fourth day) – Hollow – 383.2 thousand viewsc
  19. Austria: Kaleen (third day)  – We Will Rave – 366.2 thousand views
  20. Azerbaijan: FAHREE feat. Ilkin Dovlatov (second day) – Özünlə Apar – 363.5 thousand views
  21. Cyrpus: Silia Kapsis (first day) – Liar – 324.8 thousand views
  22. Lithuania: Silvester Belt (first day) – Luktelk – 306.2 thousand views
  23. Luxembourg: TALI (second day) – Fighter – 304.3 thousand views
  24. Estonia: 5MIINUST x Puuluup (fourth day) – (Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi – 292.0 thousand views
  25. Malta: Sarah Bonnici (third day) – Loop –  291.7 thousand views
  26. Czechia: Aiko (third day) – Pedestal – 284.9 thousand views
  27. Denmark: SABA (third day) – SAND – 262.0 thousand views
  28. Norway: Gåte (fourth day) – Ulveham – 255.4 thousand views
  29. San Marino: Megara (fourth day) – 11:11 – 238.2 thousand views
  30. Australia: Electric Fields (sexond day) – One Milkali (One Blood) – 229.9 thousand views
  31. Moldova: Natalia Barbu (second day) – In The Middle – 211.0 thousand views
  32. Germany: Isaak (sixth day) – Always On The Run – 210.2 thousand views
  33. Portugal: iolanda (second day) – Grito – 192.3 thousand views
  34. Italy: Angelina Mango (sixth day)– La Noia – 186.0 thousand views
  35. Iceland: Hera Bjork (second day) – Scared of Heights –  180.3 thousand views
  36. Finland: Windows95man (second day) – No Rules – 172.2 thousand views
  37. Slovenia: Raiven (second day) – Veronika – 162.4 thousand views

The views were counted at 17:45 CET.

Based on the views from the first semi-final, the following countries will qualify (in ascending order): Poland, Serbia, Ukraine, Croatia, Ireland, Azerbaijan, Cyprus (seventh), Lithuania, Luxembourg, and Australia.

Similarly, from the second semi-final, the following countries will qualify: Netherlands, Greece, Switzerland, Georgia, Israel, Belgium, Armenia, Albania, Latvia, and Austria.

TikTok has played a significant role in the success of Eurovision songs in recent years. For example, Duncan Laurence’s winning entry “Arcade” became a global hit a year after winning the competition when it was used in over a million videos on TikTok. One of the earliest TikTok successes from Eurovision was Getter Jaani’s “Rockefeller Street”, which went viral on the platform in 2018 and has since been used in over two million videos. Let’s not forget that Armenia’s entry in 2022 by Rosa Linn with “Snap” gained over a billion views on the platform. Finally, Norway’s entry last year gained significant worldwide publicity months before the competition week, where it secured fifth place.

Follow us on all social media, so you do not miss a moment of what will happen in Malmö:

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for all the latest developments regarding Eurovision 2024!

Eurovision 2024: Israel’s Second Rehearsal

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Next up on the stage of Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is Israel. Eden Golan with her song “Hurricane” is ready for her second rehearsal on the stage of Malmö Arena!

Who is Eden Golan?

Born in Israel and raised in Israel and Russia, Eden’s talents span singing, songwriting, composing, musical production and dancing.

Starting at the age of 9 years old, she garnered recognition by participating in competitions and winning numerous awards.

The young singer was the lead vocalist in a girl group for two years, captivating audiences on various stages, festivals and TV shows, before joining label and publishing house Session42 at the age of 18. She has tried to represent Russia in Junior Eurovision in 2015 and she was also a finalist on The Voice Kids in 2018.

Eden Golan won HaKokhav HaBa, an Israeli talent show via which the country’s act for Eurovision 2024 was selected. Her song “Hurricane” was selected at a later stage.

The Rehearsal

On stage Israel has a big circular prop – it’s the same style as Latvia’s, but smaller, lit up with neon and featuring a built-in wind machine. It’s also has ladders each side, so it can be used as a support for five dancers – three male, two female – who take their complex contemporary dance routine from around the circle to the front of the stage.

Israel’s Second Rehearsal – Sarah Louise Bennett

The dancers’ costumes are off-white and grey, to complement Eden’s long flowing dress. The whole performance has the same aesthetic as the official video – and as you’d expect for a song called Hurricane, the LED wall features lots of swirling colour. Our second big ballad of the day, with huge vocals to match.

Israel’s Second Rehearsal – Sarah Louise Bennett

After today’s second rehearsals a recap video will be published on the official Youtube channel! Stay tuned!

The Dress Rehearsal for Israel and the rest of Semi Final 2 is scheduled for Wednesday the 8th of May!

Source: eurovision.tv

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the updates around the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest!

Eurovision 2024: Which rehearsal had the most views on the fourth day?

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Yesterday, first rehearsals continued dynamically, with the Malmö Arena hosting the last eight countries of the second semifinal! Be sure to also read our article from yesterday regarding the views of the eight countries that completed their rehearsals on Monday.

However, as we know on TikTok, all the first rehearsals are uploaded. Apart from their performances, we’ll also get a sneak peek backstage before they take the stage for the first time in a video of about one minute.

One of the many features of TikTok is the ability to add songs to each user’s video creation. However, the TikTok algorithm is usually able to detect the song used in the video, assign it to the correct track, and then include it in the total number of videos where that sound has been used. Based on this capability, the most popular songs before rehearsals were from the Netherlands and Italy. Will they receive the same promotion as before?

In less than 24 hours (May 1, 2024, time 16:35 CET), since the first clip from the rehearsals was uploaded, we have a indicative sample of which rehearsal was favored by the audience (here it should be noted that the videos were uploaded one after the other with a one and a half hour interval and there was a significant delay in their publication).

The rehearsals that had the most views are:

  1. Netherlands: Joost – Europapa – 1.8 million views
  2. Belgium: Mustii – Before The Party Is Over – 450 thousand views
  3. Georgia: Nutsa – FireFighter – 426 thousand views
  4. Israel: Eden Golan – Hurricane – 415.9 thousand views
  5. Latvia: Dons – Hollow – 297 thousand views
  6. Estonia: 5MIINUST x Puuluup – (Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi – 206 thousand views
  7. San Marino: Megara – 11:11 – 183.5 thousand views
  8. Norway: Gåte – Ulveham – 178.2 thousand views

With this small sample, we can infer that:

  • The Netherlands is indeed one of the major contenders for victory, hence rightfully gathering so many views. As it has made a huge leap, leaving Belgium behind by four times in views. Joost is expected to soon surpass Greece in views, but for now Marina Satti holds the lead.
  • There is a significant gap between the fourth and fifth positions, indicating that the last four countries did not impress much with their stage presence.
  • It’s surprising that Norway ranks last in views, considering it has the most unique song and vocals of the competition. There is a possibility of a recovery in views since their rehearsal was delayed in being published.

The top five countries with the most views from the four days are as follows:

  1. Greece: Marina Satti – ZARI – 2.3 million views
  2. Netherlands: Joost – Europapa – 1.8 million views
  3. Poland: LUNA – The Tower –1.3 million views
  4. Serbia: Teya Dora – Ramonda – 929.1 thousand views
  5. Ukraine: alyona alyona & Jerry Heil – Teressa & Maria – 876.6 thousand views

TikTok has played a significant role in the success of Eurovision songs in recent years. For example, Duncan Laurence’s winning entry “Arcade” became a global hit a year after winning the competition when it was used in over a million videos on TikTok. One of the earliest TikTok successes from Eurovision was Getter Jaani’s “Rockefeller Street”, which went viral on the platform in 2018 and has since been used in over two million videos. Let’s not forget that Armenia’s entry in 2022 by Rosa Linn with “Snap” gained over a billion views on the platform. Finally, Norway’s entry last year gained significant worldwide publicity months before the competition week, where it secured fifth place.

For detailed information about the rehearsals, you can check out our related articles:

Follow us on all social media, so you do not miss a moment of what will happen in Malmö:

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for all the latest developments regarding Eurovision 2024!

Eurovision 2024: Israel’s First Rehearsal!

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Next up on the stage of Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is Israel. Eden Golan with her song “Hurricane” is ready for her first rehearsal on the stage of Malmö Arena!

Who is Eden Golan?

Born in Israel and raised in Israel and Russia, Eden’s talents span singing, songwriting, composing, musical production and dancing.

Starting at the age of 9 years old, she garnered recognition by participating in competitions and winning numerous awards.

The young singer was the lead vocalist in a girl group for two years, captivating audiences on various stages, festivals and TV shows, before joining label and publishing house Session42 at the age of 18. She has tried to represent Russia in Junior Eurovision in 2015 and she was also a finalist on The Voice Kids in 2018.

Eden Golan won HaKokhav HaBa, an Israeli talent show via which the country’s act for Eurovision 2024 was selected. Her song “Hurricane” was selected at a later stage.

The Rehearsal

Next up in the Semi-Final running order will be Italy’s Angelina Mango, who isn’t rehearsing until Thursday. So instead we’re skipping straight to 20-year-old Eden Golan from Israel, singing her power-ballad Hurricane.

Eden isn’t just a talented singer – she’s also a songwriter, composer, producer and dancer. She won Israel’s biggest talent show HaKokhav HaBa (‘The Next Star’) back in February, along with the chance to represent Israel at Eurovision.

On stage we have our second big circular prop of the day – it’s the same style as Latvia’s, but smaller, lit up with neon and featuring a built-in wind machine. It’s also has ladders each side, so it can be used as a support for five dancers – three male, two female – who take their complex contemporary dance routine from around the circle to the front of the stage.

The dancers’ costumes are off-white and grey, to complement Eden’s long flowing dress. The whole performance has the same aesthetic as the official video – and as you’d expect for a song called Hurricane, the LED wall features lots of swirling colour. Our second big ballad of the day, with huge vocals to match. Photos soon!

Israel First Rehearsal Eurovision 2024 Credits: Sarah Louise Bennet / EBU

Israel’s second rehearsal is scheduled for Friday, 3/5. A TV snippet of Eden’s performance will provide a clearer picture of what to expect on the Eurovision stage.

You can watch a small clip from Israel’s first rehearsal from TikTok:

@eurovision @EDEN GOLAN has had her very first run-through of Hurricane as rehearsals continue in Malmö #Eurovision2024 ♬ original sound – Eurovision

 

Source: eurovision.tv

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Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Israeli participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, in Malmö!

Israel: Eden Golan reveals more information about her staging!

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Eden Golan, the Israeli representative in this year’s Eurovision, gave an interview to Israel Hayom, and revealed more information, regarding her staging in Malmö. Read more