We will sing again: Eden Golan triumphs in Eurovision semi-final

As swiftly as a hurricane, Israel’s Eurovision contestant, Eden Golan, shot up the betting tables from eighth place to the number two spot following her performance in the second semi-final at the 68th Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden on Thursday night, in which she secured a place in the Grand Final, which will take place on Saturday.

Although there were protests outside the arena and the 20-year-old Golan was booed by as she sang “Hurricane,” she also received thunderous applause, winning hearts around the world with her grace under pressure. Voters around the world enjoyed her performance enough to put her into the finals. The results of each country’s vote is meant to be secret, but RAI, the Italian broadcaster, briefly showed the detailed breakdown on screen which revealed that Golan had won 39.3% of its country’s votes.

RAI has since said that the results it released were "incomplete."

And here is a graphic of the televoting odds, showing Israel in first place: https://eurovisionworld.com/odds/eurovision-tele

Whether she will do as well in the Grand Final, in which the results will be determined by national juries from the participating countries as well as by fans from around the world, remains to be seen. Israel is now predicted to win the televote, with the oddsmakers giving Golan a 43% chance of a televote win. But she is predicted to come in fifth in the jury vote, which will mean that she will ultimately finish second to the favorite, Croatia's Baby Lasagna with the high-energy song, "Rim Tim Tagi Dim." 

But her performance Thursday and the resulting score were a triumph for Golan and for Israel. Each shout from the crowd seemed only to enhance the preternaturally poised Golan’s performance, as she hit every note and dance move perfectly.

Far more experienced performers might have cracked under the kind of pressure and distractions that Golan faced, but she tuned them out and did her best work to date. "I didn't hear the boos," she said in a press conference following the semi-final. "I was completely focused. I felt no apprehension and no fear."

Sometimes a song is just a song and Eurovision is just a fun song contest that Israel tends to do well in, which it has won four times in the past.

But not this year.

Israel's journey through Eurovision conflict

At first, it wasn’t even clear that Israel would send a contestant because of the war that started following the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7. It was decided that the best choice would be to participate, but to use the song and the platform to acknowledge the tragedy.

The shadow of the war hovered over the Next Star for Eurovision contest, as Shaul Greenglick, who appeared in early December, was killed in the fighting in the Gaza Strip. Greenglick, 26, from Ra’anana, an officer in the Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion, wore his uniform to perform and sang the song “Blind Bat” by Hanan Ben Ari. The judges were enthusiastic about his performance, and he would have advanced to the next round.

Golan, a polished and experienced performer, who was a child star in Russia, where she spent much of her childhood due to her father’s work, won the contest and Israeli Eurovision fans rejoiced. But even while Israelis were pleased with Golan, there were difficulties over the first song chosen by Israel, “October Rain,” because it contained references to the massacre, which the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), sponsors of the contest, found too overtly political. It was eventually replaced by “Hurricane,” which contains softer lyrics, but still seems to refer to recent events.

The music video released with the song seemed to show Golan and dancers in a field like where the Supernova Music Festival, where almost 400 concertgoers and staff were killed on October 7 and another 400 were kidnapped, took place.

The song by Avi Ohayon, Keren Peles, and Stav Berger, contains these lyrics in English, “Every day, I'm losin' my mind ... Dancin’ in the storm/I got nothing to hide/Take it all and leave the world behind/Baby promise me you’ll hold me again/I’m still broken from this hurricane,” with additional lyrics in Hebrew: “We don’t need big words, just prayers/Even if it’s hard to see/You always leave me one little light.”

The costumes are sand-colored strips of cloth, very different from the usual body-baring, flashy Eurovision look, and were designed by Alon Livne and styled by Itay Bezaleli, that look like torn clothes or bandages and the dancers moved in a loose-limbed but focused way that was reminiscent of Batsheva choreographer Ohad Naharin’s Gaga technique.

It isn’t a stretch to see the song as the words of a young woman who has lost the love of her life in the massacre looking back and honoring his memory.

But it wasn’t only Israel’s song choice that raised the stakes this year. Thousands of artists, mainly from Ireland and Scandinavia, called for Israel to be banned and for artists to boycott the event, although none did.

Malmo has a large Muslim population much of which, according to media reports, are particularly hostile to Israel. The Israeli government issued travel warnings for Israelis attending to the event and the head of the Shin Bet security agency, Ronen Bar, went to Malmo to personally supervise Golan’s security. Golan and her entourage were advised to stay in their hotel rooms at all times when not performing.

On Thursday, protesters including climate activist Greta Thunberg demonstrated near the arena, accusing Israel of committing genocide and being an apartheid state. Not many people outside Sweden know that Thunberg’s mother, Malena Ernman, is a professional singer who represented Sweden in Eurovision in 2009, finishing in 21st place.

That was the year that Israel sent Noa and Mira Awad, a Jew and a Christian Arab, to compete. The duo finished in 16th place with their song, “There Must Be Another Way,” which celebrates coexistence, although if her mother ever told her about that, Thunberg seemed to have forgotten on Thursday.

Golan and the Israeli delegation had security like a head of state, with a motorcade comprised of dozens of cars accompanying her from her hotel to the venue. But Golan said in numerous interviews that she had felt only “good vibes” from her fellow contestants, although there were signs that not everyone was so accepting of her presence.

During a press conference after she advanced to the final, a Polish journalist asked Golan, “Have you ever thought that by being here, you bring risk and danger for other participants?” Told she didn't have to answer the question, Golan responded, nonetheless, “I think we’re all here for one reason, and one reason only. And the EBU is taking all safety precautions to make this a safe and united place for everyone, so I think it’s safe for everyone.”

Rylan Clark, one of the BBC hosts of Eurovision coverage, has been doing interviews with contestants that he posts on TikTok, but he didn’t interview Golan in person, which won him praise from some, while others pointed out he did not personally interview every performer.

Belgium's representative, Mustii, had the word "peace" written on his arm during his performance at the semi-final. The Flemish Broadcasting Authority in Belgium opened the Eurovision broadcast on Thursday night with a protest slide against Israel that said, "We condemn Israel's violation of human rights, which also harms the freedom of the press. Ceasefire now."

The Finnish singer, Kaarija, who represented his country last year with the catchy, “Cha Cha Cha,” danced with Golan backstage as cameras rolled. The video was posted to social media by KAN, which sponsors and broadcasts Eurovision in Israel, and other places, but he later posted a disclaimer to Instagram that said, "I happened to meet Israel's Eurovision representative today, and a video was filmed of us. It was then posted on social media without my permission. Despite my requests for its removal, it has not been taken down. I would like to clarify and emphasize that the video is not a political statement or an endorsement of any kind."

Swedish singer Eric Saade performed in the opening of the first semi final with a keffiya wrapped around his hand, although political symbols are banned. A spokeswoman for the EBU said: "The Eurovision Song Contest is a live TV show. All performers are made aware of the rules of the contest, and we regret that Eric Saade chose to compromise the non-political nature of the event."

The EBU did not post footage of Saade to its social media accounts. Ireland’s Bambie Thug, who qualified for the final on Tuesday night, was required by the producers to remove pro-Palestinian messages from their costume when they performed.

Others showed their displeasure over the participation of Israel in different ways. A Eurovision song contest viewing party at New York City's 3 Dollar Bill bar was canceled on Thursday after Golan advanced to the final. The "Queer-owned and operated Nightclub" apologized for scheduling the event and said that hosting the party did not align with their values. "We understand the concerns raised by our community regarding the need for boycott," said the bar, adding the hashtag "never again for anyone."

The organizers of Eurovision Party London, one of that city’s largest and most popular watch parties, cancelled its event two months ago, citing Israel’s participation in Eurovision as the reason for the cancellation, and a number of other British venues followed suit. In Berlin, some bars cancelled their watch parties or turned them into events to support Palestinians in Gaza, but most of the parties are planned to go on as usual.

One unabashed fan of Golan was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who wished her well in a video message before her performance on Thursday night. In his statement, Netanyahu said, "Eden, I want to wish you success, but you have already succeeded. You not only face Eurovision in a proud and impressive way, but you successfully face a wave of antisemitism while standing and representing the State of Israel with respect."

In any case, Golan will not be the only Israeli performing in the final: Jerusalem-born Tali Golergant, who is representing Luxembourg, won a place after she performed her song, “Fighter,” in the first semi-final on Tuesday night. An Israeli who has lived all over the world, she has been a professional singer for seven years already, even though she is only 23.

Some survivors of the massacre at the Supernova Music Festival have used the phrase, “We will dance again,” to express hope for the future, and Golan showed us on Thursday night that we will sing again, too.

The Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.