Achinoam Nini, an Israeli Jew, and Mira Awad, an Arab-Israeli, who represented Israel at Eurovision 2009, are set to appear on the stage of the prestigious San Remo Festival!
The duo’s Eurovision 2009 entry, “There Must Be Another Way,” is considered one of the most politically charged and protest-oriented songs Israel has ever sent to the Eurovision Song Contest. The song represented Israel at the 2009 Eurovision held in Moscow and was performed by Israeli singers Achinoam Nini and Mira Awad.
The Israeli representatives will perform together again, this time as guests on the opening night of the San Remo Festival on Tuesday, February 11th. They will perform John Lennon‘s “Imagine” on stage to promote peace, against the backdrop of the fragile ceasefire currently in place.
The collaboration between Achinoam Nini and Mira Awad began in 2002 when they performed The Beatles‘ “We Can Work It Out”. Nini, known in Italy as Noa, is well-recognized in the country and has been awarded the title of Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2018.
Both artists are known for their critical stance towards the Israeli government. Nini recently stated in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, “After October 7th, they asked me if I had finally ‘woken up’: from what? From my belief in humanity and dialogue? Did my vision collapse that day, or should we stick to the arrogant vision of superiority and militarism that Israel operates by?”
However, she also added, “There is no black and white in life: if you choose to stand on one side, without looking at the other side, if you reject the other, you cannot say that you believe in peace and coexistence and then go out to the square and shout ‘from the river to the sea’ without remembering Israel’s right to exist, and to exist in this land. That too is spreading hatred. Just like those who want to erase the Palestinians from the same land.”
In an interview with ynet, Nini highlighted the significance of their collaboration: “This is the first time that Arabic is being sung in the Eurovision pre-selection, it’s the first time ever that the Arabic language represents Israel even though more than a million people in the country speak it. It’s time we made this change and I’m very proud to be a part of it.”
By appearing at the San Remo Festival, Nini and Awad continue their commitment to promoting dialogue and understanding between Israelis and Palestinians through music.
Eurovision 2025: This is Israel’s 47th participation in Eurovision. Israel joined the competition in 1973 and has won it four times over the years. Israel’s last victory was at Eurovision 2018 with the song “Toy” performed by singer Netta Barzilai.
