Eurovision 2025: Yuval Rafael, Israel's representative, will compete in second semi-final

Israel will compete in the second semi-final of the international song contest, on May 15; Eurovisione xperts say this is a 'good draw for Israel'

Ran Boker|
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Preparations for the European Song Contest continue. After the Israeli representative for Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland was selected last week in Israel, a lottery held Tuesday by the European Broadcasting Union determined that Yuval Rafael will compete in the second semi-final on the Eurovision broadcast.
The first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest will take place on May 13 and the second semi-final will be held two days later. on May 1. The grand final of the European song contest will take place on May 17. All broadcasts will be carried by KAN, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation.
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יובל רפאל
Yuval Refael will represent Israel at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland
(Photo: Tal Givoni, courtesy of Kan 11)
Alongside the Israeli representative, the second semi-final will feature representatives from Austria, Lithuania, Armenia, Montenegro, Greece, Croatia, Malta, Finland and Denmark. The first semi-final will feature representatives from Sweden, Ukraine, Slovenia, Iceland, the Netherlands, Azerbaijan, Albania, San Marino, Belgium and Cyprus.
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Eurovision experts say that this is a "good draw for Israel," as countries that are marked as strong, such as Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands, will not compete against Yuval Raphael, and will be placed in the first semi-final broadcast.
Yuval Rafael, 24, from Ra'anana, was chosen to represent Israel after winning the reality show "The Next Star for Eurovision," beating out contestants Valerie Hamati, Moran Aharoni and Red Band, and Daniel Weiss. Rafael survived the Hamas massacre at the Nova music festival on October 7, when she managed to hide in a bomb shelter among the bodies of victims and pretended to be dead.
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