Eden Golan will be representing Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 (Picture: Reuters/Getty)
It’s almost time for Eurovision 2024, and the controversy around Israel’s entry has fans of the contest wanting to know more about this year’s contestant, Eden Golan.
Israel is all set to compete in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest after changing a controversial lyric thought to reference the October Hamas attacks.
The war in Gaza has led to some opposition to Israel’s participation in this year’s contest, which became evident during last night’s Jury Show, which saw Israel’s act booed while performing on stage.
Videos posted on social media showed noisy disapproval and shouts of ‘Free Palestine’ coming from the crowd.
Despite this, Eden Golan has said in a statement that ‘nothing will deter’ her, as she prepares for tonight’s semi-final.
Who is Israel’s Eurovision entry?
Eden Golan is Israel’s Eurovision act for 2024.
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She is a 20-year-old Russian-Israeli singer who began her career at just nine years old, gaining recognition through participating in competitions and winning various awards.
Eden Golan will be performing in the second Eurovision semi-final on May 9 (Picture: REUTERS)
Previously, Eden was the lead singer of a girl group called Cosmos Girls, and had a string of hits – including Dopamine, Ghost Town, and Let Me Blow Ya Mind – after joining the Israeli record label Session 42 at 18 years old.
Earlier this year, she won the national talent competition HaKokhav HaBa (Rising Star).
In an interview with Eurovision, Eden revealed that Dana International is her Eurovision hero. The singer said: ‘She’s a powerful songstress who isn’t afraid to break barriers in pursuit of her dreams.’
Eden added that she also draws inspiration for her music from Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Jessie J, RAYE, Whitney Houston, and Justin Timberlake.
What is Israel’s Eurovision 2024 song?
Israel’s Eurovision song for 2024 is called Hurricane.
It is a rewritten version of October Rain, which sparked controversy because of lyrics including ‘There’s no air left to breathe,’ and ‘They were all good children, each one of them,’ which were seen as references to the victims of the Hamas attack.
The song also made reference to ‘flowers’, which according to the Israel Hayom newspaper is a military code for war fatalities.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs Eurovision, describes the contest as a non-political event, and can disqualify contestants who have breached that rule.
As a result, Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, agreed to amend the lyrics for their entry, at the request of the country’s president Isaac Herzog.
The piano ballad now tells the story of a young woman experiencing a personal crisis, and is among the favourites with bookmakers to win the competition.
The team behind Israel’s entry includes Stav Beger, who co-wrote and produced Toy – the song that led Israel to victory in 2018.
Last year, Israel came third in Eurovision, for the song Unicorn performed by Noa Kirel.
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Eden Golan will be singing Hurricane at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest (Picture: Jessica Gow/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)
After the song was revealed, Eden told the Times of Israel: ‘I ended up [competing] in a not simple year.
‘But on the other hand, I even more so want to represent the country this year, because of its meaning – it has a totally different significance.
‘And we can bring everything we’re feeling, and everything the country is going through, in those three minutes. To speak through the song to the world.’
With the news that Eurovision host country Sweden is bracing for anti-Israel protests around the event, it has also been reported by celebrity website Walla Celebs that Eden Golan has faced death threats.
In a statement, the EBU said: ‘While we strongly support freedom of speech and the right to express opinions in a democratic society, we firmly oppose any form of online abuse, hate speech, or harassment directed at our artists or any individuals associated with the contest.’
Following the Jury Show, Israeli public broadcaster Kan said that it has issued a complaint to the EBU and to SVT, Sweden’s public broadcaster, about the booing at the show as well as political incidents during the first semi-final on Tuesday night.
The broadcaster also said in a statement: ‘Eden stood on the stage during the dress rehearsal with pride and gave an incredible performance. They did not silence her and they will not silence us. See you tomorrow.’
Eden has said she is ‘proud to represent my country’ (Picture: Jessica Gow/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)
Eden Golan Eurovision odds
Most bookmakers put Israel as the eighth favourite to win Eurovision 2024, giving Eden Golan odds of around 2%.
Eden will have to get through the semi-final first, however. But with Eurovision World placing her as fifth most-likely to qualify, her chances of getting to perform on Saturday night are looking good.
Currently, Croatia is the favourite to win Eurovision, followed by Switzerland’s Nemo as well as Ukraine, Ireland, Italy, France and the Netherlands, which are all favoured over Israel’s entry.
After Eden Golan was booed during the Jury Show, she released a statement saying she is ‘proud to represent’ her country.
She added: ‘I am receiving support and love and I am determined to give my best performance tomorrow in the semifinal and nothing will deter me from that goal!’
Previously speaking to Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, Eden explained that she is happy just to be taking part in the contest.
‘I really want to succeed and believe that we will advance to the Grand Final, but our mere participation is an achievement.’
She added: ‘This year, it takes on a different and greater meaning, standing on that stage and showing that we are here. We went through a hurricane to get to this.’
On the controversies surrounding Israel’s entry, Eden said, ‘Some Eurovision fans probably don’t like us, and that’s something that really surprised me…After I found out, I didn’t think ‘Why me and why does it fall on me,’ but what can be done and how to fix it and make this Eurovision happen. There’s no point in dwelling on the ‘why,’ because that’s how it happened, and that’s what we have.’
The Eurovision Grand Final airs on Saturday 11 May.
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