Tali Golergant during Luxembourg's Eurovision pre-show
(Video: Courtesy of RTL)
From a distance of over 4,000 kilometers from Israel, Luxembourg's Eurovision pre-show became a celebration of Israeli talent. Aside from the victory of Israeli singer Tali Golergant in the pre-competition held Saturday, Israeli production and content experts contributed significantly to the broadcast over several weeks.
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Producer Tali Ashkenazi, who took on the task assigned by Luxembourg, brought numerous Israeli professionals with her. Moshe Kepten, the artistic director of Habima National Theater, known for directing various ceremonies in Israel, was entrusted with directing the performance.
Kepten expressed his excitement over the Eurovision pre-show production. "It was an amazing project. Consider that an Israeli team brought Luxembourg back to the Eurovision stage after 30 years without competing," he said.
Ashkenazi, recognized as an experienced Eurovision figure, revealed that the local foreign minister, a Eurovision enthusiast and friend of Israel, was the one who sought to bring Luxembourg back to the competition and consulted with her.
"I assisted them in conceptualizing [the broadcast], and then there was a tender, and they chose me to produce it," she said. "There was no one here with expertise in entertainment, so I explained to them that to succeed, I needed the best people – and those were the Israelis."
Ashkenazi did not rely solely on Kepten; other Israeli professionals were brought on board, including Mor Hamami, who previously collaborated with Noa Kirel on her Eurovision bid, and led the Israeli dance team, adding an extra touch of blue and white.
Mentioning the difficulty of the task during wartime, Kepten recalled: "Suddenly, in the middle of a rehearsal in Luxembourg, a rocket siren from Ramat Gan started blaring on my phone. You're directing in Luxembourg, and you get a siren alert from Israel; it was very challenging. In general, dealing with the news in the country was very complex. To be in a hotel and wake up to new names of fallen troops is extremely hard."