Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003

Last updated

Eurovision Song Contest 2003
CountryFlag of Israel.svg  Israel
National selection
Selection processArtist: Internal selection
Song: Kdam Eurovision 2003
Selection date(s)Artist: 15 November 2002
Song: 23 January 2003
Selected entrant Lior Narkis
Selected song"Words for Love"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Yoni Roeh
  • Yossi Gispan
Finals performance
Final result19th, 17 points
Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄200220032004►

Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Words for Love" written by Yoni Roeh and Yossi Gispan. The song was performed by Lior Narkis who was internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) to compete at the 2003 contest in Riga, Latvia. The song Narkis would perform at Eurovision was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2003 that took place on 23 January 2003 and featured four songs. "Milim La'Ahava" emerged as the winning song after gaining the most points following the combination of a jury vote and a public televote. The song was later retitled as "Words for Love".

Contents

Israel competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 24 May 2003. Performing during the show in position 13, Israel placed nineteenth out of the 26 participating countries, scoring 17 points.

Background

Prior to the 2003 contest, Israel had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty-five times since its first entry in 1973. [1] Israel has won the contest on three occasions: in 1978 with the song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" performed by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta, in 1979 with the song "Hallelujah" performed by Milk and Honey and in 1998 with the song "Diva" performed by Dana International. Their 2002 entry "Light a Candle" performed by Sarit Hadad placed twelfth.

The Israeli national broadcaster, Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) had been in charge of the nation's participation in the contest since its debut in 1973. IBA confirmed Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 on 6 November 2002. [2] To select the Israeli entry for 2003, IBA conducted an internal selection to select the artist that would represent Israel and a national final to select the song for the artist. [3]

Before Eurovision

Artist selection

Lior Narkis was internally selected to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 Liornarkiskesaria.jpg
Lior Narkis was internally selected to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003

On 15 November 2002, IBA announced that Lior Narkis was selected by a special committee as the Israeli representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2003. Among artists that were highly considered before Narkis was ultimately selected included David D'Or, Eyal Golan, Zehava Ben, Eyal Shahar, Teapacks, and Yevgeny Shapovalov with Shlomit Aharon. [2] [4] The members of the committee were Dalia Cohen-Simcha (member of the IBA Executive Committee), Nili Carmel-Yonathan (member of the IBA Executive Committee), Reuven Shalom (member of the IBA Executive Committee), Naomi Atias (producer at Channel 1), Yitzhak Sonnenshein (Head of Israeli Eurovision delegation), Yaakov Mendel (Chairman of the Israeli Union of Performing Artists), Daniel Ben-Khalif (journalist), Eran Hadas (journalist), Jojo Abutbul (journalist), Yoav Ginai (composer), Margalit Tzan'ani (singer), Shalva Berti (singer), Ezra Suleiman (CEO of the Israeli Mediterranean Music Association) and Roy Spiegel (youth movements representative). [5]

Kdam Eurovision 2003

The song that Lior Narkis represented Israel with in Riga was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2003. Four songs were chosen from over 250 submissions by Narkis and announced on 2 January 2003. [6] The national final, which simultaneously celebrated Israel's 30th Anniversary since their first participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, took place on 23 January 2003 at the Ha'Oman 17 nightclub in Jerusalem, hosted by Eden Harel and broadcast on Channel 1. [7] All four competing songs were performed by Lior Narkis and the winning song, "Milim La'Ahava", was selected by a combination of a public televote conducted through telephone and SMS (60%) and the votes from the committee members (40%). [8] [9] In addition to the performances of the competing songs, Narkis performed his song "Lekol Ehad Yesh" together with Sigal Shachmon. [10] The national final was watched by less than 212,000 viewers in Israel with a market share of 12.8%. [11]

Final – 23 January 2003
DrawSongSongwriter(s)Jury
(40%)
Televote
(60%)
TotalPlace
1"God Bless the Universe" Uzi Hitman, Yossi Gispan8%16%12.8%2
2"Lo Rotze Lihyot Kokachav" (לא רוצה להיות כוכב)Ilan Shahaf, Tzur Ben-Ze'ev0%5%3%4
3"Choopy Choopy" (צ'ופי צ'ופי)Yoni Ro'eh, Yossi Gispan0%15%9%3
4"Milim La'Ahava" (מילים לאהבה)Yoni Ro'eh, Yossi Gispan92%64%75.2%1

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the bottom five countries in the 2002 contest competed in the final on 24 May 2003. [12] On 29 November 2002, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Israel was set to perform in position 13, following the entry from Spain and before the entry from the Netherlands. [13] Israel finished in seventeenth place with 19 points. [14]

The show, which was televised live in Israel on Channel 1, received a market share of 32% (with a peak of 40%) and was the most watched programme of 2003 in the country. [15] [16] The Israeli spokesperson, who announced the Israeli votes during the show, was Michal Zo'aretz.

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Israel and awarded by Israel in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Spain in the contest.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lior Narkis</span> Israeli singer

Lior Narkis is an Israeli singer.

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Cry Baby" written by Martin Isherwood. The song was performed by the duo Jemini. The British entry for the 2003 contest in Riga, Latvia was selected via the national final A Song for Europe 2003, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Eight acts competed in the national final which consisted of a semi-final and a final, during which the winner was selected entirely through a regional televote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest</span> Participation of Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest

Israel has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 45 times since making its debut in 1973. Israel was able to enter the contest as the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was an active member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which was responsible for the event. The IBA was succeeded as the broadcaster in charge of the Israeli entry by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan) in 2018. Israel has won the contest four times, and has hosted the contest in Jerusalem in 1979 and 1999, and in Tel Aviv in 2019.

Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Together We Are One" written by Orly Burg, Osnat Zabag and Eddie Butler. The song was performed by Eddie Butler, who had previously represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1999 as part of the band Eden where they placed fifth with the song "Yom Huledet". The Israeli entry for the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2006, organised by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA). The competition took place on 15 March 2006 and featured eleven entries. "Ze Hazman" performed by Eddie Butler emerged as the winner after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from four regional juries and a public vote. The song title was later translated from Hebrew to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Together We Are One".

Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "HaSheket SheNish'ar" written by Pini Aaronbayev, Eyal Shachar and Ben Green. The song was performed by Shiri Maimon. The Israeli entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2005, organised by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA). The competition took place on 2 March 2005 and featured fourteen entries. "HaSheket SheNish'ar" performed by Shiri Maimon emerged as the winner after gaining the most points following the combination of votes from five regional juries and a regional televote.

Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Push the Button" written by Kobi Oz. The song was performed by the band Teapacks, which was internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in January 2007 to compete at the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland. The song Teapacks would perform at Eurovision was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2007 which took place on 27 February 2007 that featured four songs. "Push the Button" emerged as the winning song after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from an eleven-member jury panel, an online vote and a public vote.

Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "The Fire in Your Eyes" written by Dana International and Shay Kerem. The song was performed by Boaz Ma'uda, who was internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in collaboration with the commercial broadcaster Keshet in November 2007 to compete at the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia, The song Ma'uda would perform at Eurovision was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2008 which took place on 15 March 2010 that featured five songs. "Ke'ilu Kan" emerged as the winning song after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from two regional juries, two thematical jury groups, a jury panel and a public vote. The song title was later translated from Hebrew to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "The Fire in Your Eyes".

Greece competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, held on 24 May 2003 at the Skonto Hall in Riga, Latvia. The Greek broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) organised a public selection process entitled Ena tragoudi gia tin Evropi to determine its entry for the contest. Held on 26 February 2003 in Athens, the event saw 10 songs compete to be the Greek entry; the results were determined by a combination of jury, SMS and televoting. Singer Mando with the song "Never Let You Go" received the most votes and was selected to represent the nation. The song was written by Mando and Terry Siganos.

Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "There Must Be Another Way" written by Noa, Mira Awad and Gil Dor. The song was performed by Noa and Mira Awad, who were internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in January 2009 to compete at the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. The song Noa and Awad would perform at Eurovision was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2009 which took place on 2 March 2009 that featured four songs. "Einaiych " emerged as the winning song after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from two regional juries, a jury panel and a public vote.

Slovenia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Nanana" written by Martin Štibernik and Karmen Stavec. The song was performed by Karmen, which is the artistic name of singer Karmen Stavec. Slovenian broadcaster Radiotelevizija Slovenija organised the national final EMA 2003 in order to select the Slovenian entry for the 2003 contest in Riga, Latvia. Sixteen entries competed in the national final where the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the top three entries were selected following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public televote. In the second round, "Lep poletni dan" performed by Karmen Stavec was selected as the winner entirely by a public televote. The song was later translated from Slovene to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Nanana".

Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Milim" written by Tomer Hadadi and Noam Horev. The song was performed by Harel Skaat, who was internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in collaboration with the commercial broadcaster Reshet in December 2009 to compete at the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway. The song Skaat would perform at Eurovision was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2010 which took place on 15 March 2010 that featured four songs. "Milim" emerged as the winning song after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from four thematical jury groups, a jury panel and a public vote.

Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Ding Dong" written and performed by Dana International, who had previously represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998 where she won the contest with the song "Diva". The Israeli entry for the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2011, organised by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA). The competition took place on 8 March 2011 that featured ten entries. "Ding Dong" performed by Dana International emerged as the winner after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from three thematical jury groups, a twelve-member jury panel and a public vote.

Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "Leha'amin" written by David D'Or, Ofer Meiri and Ehud Manor. The song was performed by David D'Or, who was internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) to compete at the 2004 contest in Istanbul, Turkey. The song D'Or would perform at Eurovision was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2004 that took place on 5 February 2004 and featured four songs. "Leha'amin" emerged as the winning song after gaining the most points following the combination of a jury vote, an audience vote and a public televote.

Latvia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Hello from Mars" written by Mārtiņš Freimanis and Lauris Reiniks. The song was performed by the group F.L.Y. In addition to participating in the contest, the Latvian broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after winning the competition in 2002 with the song "I Wanna" performed by Marie N. LTV organised the national final Eirodziesma 2003 in order to select the Latvian entry for the 2003 contest in Riga. Fifteen songs were selected to compete in the national final on 1 February 2003 where two rounds of public televoting selected "Hello from Mars" performed by F.L.Y. as the winner.

Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Time" written by Ran Shem-Tov and Shiri Hadar. The song was performed by the band Izabo, which was internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) to compete at the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Izabo and the song "Time" were announced as the Israeli entry on 7 February 2012. The song was presented to the public on 1 March 2012.

Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Rak Bishvilo" written by Chen Harari and Gal Sarig. The song was performed by Moran Mazor. The Israeli entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2013, organised by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA). The five show competition consisting of three semi-finals and a Second Chance round concluded with a final on 7 March 2013 that featured ten entries. "Rak Bishvilo" performed by Moran Mazor emerged as the winner after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from a seven-member jury panel and a public vote.

Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Same Heart" written by Rami Talmid. The song was performed by Mei Finegold, who was internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) to compete at the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. The song Finegold would perform at Eurovision was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2014 that featured three songs submitted by the public and Finegold herself, which were presented to the public via the release of their official music videos during a show on 27 February 2014. "Same Heart" emerged as the winning song on 5 March 2014 after gaining 55% of the public vote.

Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with the song "Light a Candle" written by Svika Pick and Yoav Ginai. The song was performed by Sarit Hadad, who was internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in November 2001 to compete at the 2002 contest in Tallinn, Estonia. The song Hadad would perform at Eurovision, "Light a Candle", was also internally selected and presented to the public on 26 February 2002 during the Meni Peer Show which was broadcast on Channel 1.

Cyprus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Feeling Alive" performed by Stelios Constantas. The song was written by Constantas, who had previously attempted to represent the nation at the contest after taking part in the 1997 and 1999 selection processes.

Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "To Dream Again" written by Alfred Zammit and Cynthia Sammut. The song was performed by Lynn Chircop. The Maltese entry for the 2003 contest in Riga, Latvia was selected through the national final Malta Song for Europe 2003, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition consisted of a semi-final round and a final, held on 7 and 8 February 2003, respectively, where "To Dream Again" performed by Lynn Chircop eventually emerged as the winning entry after scoring the most points from a five-member jury and a public televote.

References

  1. "Israel Country Profile". EBU . Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  2. 1 2 Barak, Itamar (6 November 2002). "'IBA looks for a well-off experienced entrant'". Esctoday.
  3. Barak, Itamar (15 December 2002). "Israel will have a miniature Kdam-Eurovision". Esctoday. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  4. "Lior Narkis for the Eurovision Song Contest". Ynet (in Hebrew). 15 November 2002.
  5. "ליאור נרקיס ייצג את ישראל באירוויזיון - וואלה! חדשות". Walla! (in Hebrew). 16 November 2002. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  6. Barak, Itamar (2 January 2003). "Lior Narkis chose his 4 songs for the Kdam". Esctoday.
  7. Barak, Itamar (23 January 2003). "The 2003 Israeli entry will be known tonight". Esctoday. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  8. "ISRAEL NATIONAL FINAL 2003".
  9. "Israel".
  10. ""מילים לאהבה" הוא השיר הזוכה בקדם". ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  11. "High rating figuresl Israel: More than 400,000 watched Mauda". ESCtoday.com. 28 February 2008. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  12. "RULES OF THE 2003 EUROVISION SONG CONTEST" (PDF). European Broadcasting Union . European Broadcasting Union. 20 November 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 April 2003. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  13. Bakker, Sietse (28 November 2002). "Draw to be made public Friday 17:00 CET". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  14. "Final of Riga 2003". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 7 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  15. Barak, Itamar (26 May 2003). "Israel: 40% ratings for the 2003 contest". Esctoday. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  16. Barak, Itamar (11 January 2004). "Eurovision: Most watched show in Israel in 2003". Esctoday. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  17. 1 2 "Results of the Final of Riga 2003". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 7 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.