Tonight at 20:30 CET, Israel’s “HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision 2026” grand final will air live, where the country’s representative for Eurovision 2026 in Vienna, Austria, will be chosen.
Tonight (Tuesday), after a season filled with talented and surprising contestants, the 12th season of “HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision” comes to an end with a live grand final that will reveal who will represent Israel at Eurovision 2026 in Vienna, Austria. The final will begin at 20:30 CET and will be broadcast on Channel “Keshet 12”, as well as on the channel’s website and app.
Competing tonight for the ticket to Vienna are Alona Erez, Gal De Paz, Noam Bettan, and Shira Zloof. Each contestant will perform a song of their choice, followed by the opening of the voting. The public can vote through the ‘KAN’ app, joining the judges in deciding which three contestants will advance to perform again. After the second round of performances, another round of voting will take place, and both the audience and judges will decide who will become Israel’s representative at Eurovision 2026.
Earlier today, the results of an online poll revealed which contestant readers believe should represent Israel — and the winner is Noam Bettan! He received 57.26% of the votes and led the poll by a significant margin. Noam has delivered outstanding performances since the start of the season, earning wide appreciation from both the judges and viewers at home. It’s worth recalling that he scored an impressive 98% in his first audition — the same score earned by Yuval Raphael, the winner of the 11th season of “HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision” and Israel’s representative at Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland, who brought immense pride to Israel by finishing in second place.
Last week, on the new “Kan Podcasts” show “Kdam Eurovision,” hosted by Amit Harari alongside Eurovision commentators Akiva Novick and Asaf Liberman, Yoav Tsafir, the director and editor of “HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision”, revealed that popular singer Odeya will make a guest appearance at the grand final. Tsafir shared on the podcast:
“We can already say that Odia will perform at the final with an incredible number. The most played and successful singer today will join us for a spectacular, Eurovision-style performance”.
In addition to Odeya, Tsafir revealed that Akiva Novick and Asaf Liberman will also attend and participate as voters in the final. The duo, who have covered Eurovision broadcasts since 2021, are expected to bring their signature humor and deliver unforgettable moments during “HaKokhav HaBa” grand finale.
Israel at Eurovision 2025
“New Day Will Rise” is the song performed by Yuval Raphael, who was chosen to represent Israel after winning the 11th season of “HaKokhav HaBa”. Israel advanced to the final after winning the second semi-final with 203 points and finished second overall with 357 points in the grand final. Israel ranked first in the public vote but only 14th with the jury. This marks the third consecutive year that Israel has reached the top five – an unprecedented achievement.
Eurovision 2026: This will be Israel’s 48th participation in Eurovision. Israel joined the contest in 1973 and has won four times. Its most recent victory was at Eurovision 2018 with the song “Toy”, performed by singer Netta Barzilai.
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Ilay Gaist is a leading Israeli content creator and writer specializing in the Eurovision Song Contest. He is a well-known commentator with extensive expertise in the contest’s history, rules, and dynamics. His passion for Eurovision drives him to deliver rich, professional, and innovative content to his audience.
Ilay holds a bachelor’s degree in Arabic and has a multilingual background. He also engages in cultural research, with a particular focus on global culinary traditions and the evolution of local cuisines around the world.
