The 11th season of “HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision 2025” will premiere next Sunday, November 10th. The winner of the show will represent Israel at Eurovision 2025.

The reality show “HaKokhav HaBa” is set to air next Sunday, November 10th, with the broadcast of the first audition episode. Filming of the audition episodes began in early October, and well-known artists who may surprise us during the season came to audition for the show. The beloved hosts Assi Azar and Rotem Sela will once again lead the season. The judging panel for this season will again include Assaf Amdursky, Keren Peles, Shiri Maimon, Eden Hasson, Ran Danker, and Itay Levi. The winner of the 11th season of “HaKokhav HaBa” will represent Israel at Eurovision 2025.

Collaboration Between ‘Kan’ and ‘Keshet’

On July 23rd, we revealed that the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC) and the commercial TV Broadcaster ‘Keshet’ agreed to continue their collaboration for Eurovision 2025. The agreement allows for the continuation of the popular program “HaKokhav HaBa”, which will select Israel’s representative for the competition to be held in Switzerland. This will be the eighth time the two channels collaborate in selecting the Israeli representative for Eurovision.

Impressive Ratings and Past Success

The success of the program is also evident in its impressive viewing figures. The last season of “HaKokhav HaBa” was the most watched since 2019, with exposure to 3.3 million viewers on television alone. The broadcast of the Eurovision 2024 grand final also achieved impressive viewing figures, with 1.129 million television viewers – 36.8% viewing rate, and a 62.9% viewing share. At the peak of viewing, during Eden Golan‘s performance, 1.709 million viewers watched the broadcast, representing 53.6% of households in Israel.

Challenges and Expectations

Despite the success, the last Eurovision was not without challenges. The political and security tension following the war in the Gaza Strip was strongly felt behind the scenes of the competition. However, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation hopes that next year will pass more peacefully.

The decision to continue the collaboration with Keshet also stems from economic considerations, allowing the KAN to save on the heavy costs involved in preparing for the competition.

The continued collaboration between Kan and Keshet promises the continuation of a successful tradition of selecting Israel’s representatives for Eurovision. We can only hope that the chosen representative will continue Israel’s tradition of success at Eurovision.

Israel in Eurovision 2024

“Hurricane” is the name of the song performed by singer Eden Golan, who was chosen to represent Israel after winning the tenth season of “HaKokhav Haba“. Israel advanced to the final after winning the second semi-final with 194 points, and in the grand final reached fifth place with 375 points. In the public vote, Israel came in second place, just 14 points behind the first place.

This is the second consecutive time that Israel has reached the top five, an achievement it had not attained since its streak of successes in 1998-1999.