Israel through to Eurovision final for 3rd consecutive year
Imri Ziv performs ‘I Feel Alive’ as the last song of the semi-final; he will be the first performer on Saturday night; Ziv thanks Israelis for their ‘strengthening energies.’
KIEV— After performing the final song in the second semi-final on Thursday night, Israel’s representative at the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), Imri Ziv, managed to secure a spot in the competition’s final on Saturday night.
“I’m excited and happy that I managed to represent Israel with dignity, to reach the final and to realize my great dream,” Ziv told Ynet upon the announcement.
“I would like to thank all the viewers from Israel for supporting me and sending me strengthening energies on the stage. It’s an amazing position to be in. ‘I feel alive,’” he concluded, saying the name of the song he performed in the contest. Like most entries this year, Israel's eschews its native tongue for English.
Oddschecker, a bookmakers’ aggregation site, doesn’t have the most inspiring odds for an Israeli victory, which it ranks in 18th place on its favorites board. Italy’s Francesco Gabbani, Portugal’s Salvador Sobral and Bulgaria’s Kristian Kostov—who has the penultimate slot on Saturday—have the best odds on the site.
Israel’s 26-year-old entry is no neophyte to the ESC. He was a backup singer for the country’s last two entries, Nadav Guedj and Hovi Star, who both reached the final as well.
Whether Ziv can beat the odds and become the fourth Israeli to win the ESC—the last being Dana International in 1998 with the song “Diva,” which she performed in Hebrew—will be seen on Saturday night. The competition begins at 10pm Israel time.
(Translated and edited by J. Herzog)
