Kan and Keshet confirm Israel’s participation in Eurovision 2027 in Bulgaria, renewing their “HaKokhav HaBa” collaboration following Noam Bettan’s success.
It is now official: The Israeli national broadcaster Kan and the Keshet broadcasting network have agreed to continue their collaboration for Eurovision 2027. With this agreement, Israel officially confirms its participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2027, which will be held in Bulgaria. Additionally, the agreement allows for the continuation of the popular program “HaKokhav Haba for Eurovision”, through which the Israeli representative for the coveted contest will be selected.
The Ongoing Success Of “HaKokhav HaBa”
The decision to continue the collaboration for the tenth time comes on the heels of the impressive success of Noam Bettan at Eurovision 2026, where the singer achieved a respectable second place for the second consecutive year with the song “Michelle”.
Yuval Raphael, the Israeli representative for Eurovision 2025, also secured a highly respectable second place with the song “New Day Will Rise”. Raphael, who was selected in a previous season of “HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision”, successfully qualified for the Grand Final and brought great honor to the country during a particularly challenging year.
Since the beginning of the collaboration between Kan and Keshet in 2015, every representative selected through the program has managed to qualify for the Eurovision Grand Final. The peak arrived in 2018, when Netta Brazilai won first place with the song “Toy” and brought the contest to Israel. Furthermore, over the last four years, Israel has consistently placed in the top five in the final: Noa Kirel finishing in third place, Eden Golan in fifth place, Yuval Raphael securing second place, and another second-place finish delivered by Noam Bettan at the most recent Eurovision held in Vienna, Austria.
Dominating the Television Ratings
Recently, the television viewership data for the first half of 2026 was published. For the second consecutive time, the show responsible for selecting the Israeli representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, “HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision” broadcast on Keshet 12, is the most-watched program in Israel!
“HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision” is a musical reality show aimed at selecting the Israeli entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. In recent years, the program has continued to register significant successes, with Israel ranking in the top five of the contest’s Grand Final for four consecutive years – an unprecedented achievement for the nation.
A Platform for Future Artists
Over the past three years, the show has sent Eden Golan, who reached fifth place, Yuval Raphael, who reached second place, and Noam Bettan, who also achieved a second-place finish in the contest. Additionally, in 2018, Netta Barzilai, who won the Eurovision final and brought the contest to Tel Aviv, was selected through the program. Beyond selecting the participant, the show provides a platform for new artists, creates collaborations with international producers, and drives investments into television productions.
The program serves as fertile ground for promoting young singers and creators, even if they ultimately do not win the chance to represent the country at Eurovision. One example is the Arab-Israeli singer Valerie Hamaty, who reached second place in both the eighth and eleventh seasons of the show, and currently enjoys immense popularity among the Israeli audience.
Israel at Eurovision 2026
“Michelle” is the title of the song performed by Noam Bettan, who represented Israel at Eurovision 2026 held in Vienna, Austria, where he finished in second place in the final. The song was written by the singer together with Nadav Aharoni, Tzlil Klifi, and Yuval Raphael. This is the first time at Eurovision for the writing team and the singer, except for Yuval Raphael, who represented Israel at the contest a year earlier in 2025 with the song “New Day Will Rise“, with which she also finished in second place in the final.
Israel advanced to the final after winning the second semi-final with 269 points, and in the Grand Final, the country finished in second place with 343 points. In the televote, the Israeli entry reached third place, while in the jury vote, it secured 8th place. This marks the fourth consecutive time that Israel has reached the top five, an achievement the country has never reached before.
Eurovision 2026: This was 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.
