For the first time in eight years, Israel did not qualify for the final stage of the Eurovision Song Contest, as the team was eliminated from the semifinals.
Israel’s representative for Eurovision’s 2022 was Michael Ben David, who entered his song “I.M” into the contest.
Israeli artists have won the contest four times since Israel’s first Eurovision debut in 1973. Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta won the 1978 Eurovision contest with their song “A-Ba-Ni-Bi.” Israel’s Milk and Honey won the 1979 contest – the first to be hosted in Israel. The contest winner’s nation typically hosts the next Eurovision contest. The group won for their performance of “Hallelujah.”
Nearly 20 years later, Dana International became Israel’s third winner – and the first transgender performer to win the Eurovision – in 1998 for her song “Diva.” Netta Barzilai became Israel’s fourth and most recent champion with her song “Toy” in 2018.
Israel’s four wins are the seventh-most accumulated throughout the history of the contest: Ireland has a record seven Eurovision wins, Sweden has six, and France, the UK, the Netherlands and Luxembourg have five winners each.
The Eurovision final will take place on Saturday and feature representatives from 25 countries, such as Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Britain, Belgium and more.
Ukrainian contestants “Kalush Orchestra,” who performed their song “Stefania” while wearing traditional folk costumes, made the cut in the semifinal round and are considered one of the contenders to win it all at the final round on Saturday night.
