Efendi, the Azeri representative at Eurovision 2021, is slated to appear at Israel’s OGAE celebration marking 40 years, which will be her first time back since her previous stay in Israel during the October 7th Hamas-led attacks.
As one of the more popular artists in Azerbaijan, Efendi was originally supposed to compete in Eurovision 2020 with the song “Cleopatra”, which of course got cancelled. She ended up appearing in next year’s edition with “Mata Hari”, reaching the final and finishing 20th with 65 points. Now, Efendi will be travelling to Israel for its OGAE party and performing with several other stars.
A Full-Circle Moment
This isn’t just a regular visit from another Eurovision artist, but more a moment of closure for Efendi. In 2023, she travelled to Israel to perform at that year’s OGAE meeting on October 5th, which happened to be a celebration of Israel’s 50th year in Eurovision. However, just two days later, Hamas began a deadly attack on southern Israel.
Efendi was staying in her hotel when the initial rockets began landing, triggering the very first alarms of the years-long war that would follow. She took to Instagram and went live, in tears and visibly distressed, to relay her experience as it unfolded all around her. This video would become among the most talked-about footage in the Eurovision community at the time.
Despite it all, Efendi maintained a very warm relationship with her fans in Israel, and her poignant return to Tel Aviv shows just how close she feels to her audience in the country. She’ll be counted on to fire up the crowd at the celebration with her Eurovision hits and some additional surprises.
Eurovision Guests in the Lineup
Efendi will be joined by other Eurovision stars from Israel and from around the world, such as:
- Chiara – represented Malta at Eurovision 1998 with “The One That I Love”. She returned to the contest in 2005 with “Angel” and at Eurovision 2009 with “What If We”.
- Pasha Parfeni – represented Moldova at Eurovision 2012 with “Lăutar” (in English: “Lute Player”). At Eurovision 2023, he competed with “Soarele și luna” (in English: “The Sun and the Moon”).
- Lydia – represented Spain at Eurovision 1999 with “No Quiero Escuchar” (in English: “I Don’t Want to Listen”).
- Elnur – represented Azerbaijan at Eurovision 2008 together with Samir and the song “Day After Day”. In 2015, he returned to the contest with“Hour of the Wolf”.
- Kati Wolf – represented Hungary at Eurovision 2011 with “What About My Dreams”.
- Liora – represented Israel at Eurovision 1995 with “Amen”.
- Mital De Razon – competed in the Israeli Eurovision pre-selection for 2013 with “Toda La Noche” (in English: “All Night Long”), together with Asi Tal.
- Adrat – competed in the Israeli Eurovision pre-selection for 2013 with “Victory”.
The full list has yet to be announced and will be fully revealed in the near future.
For tickets – click here. Entry to the event is for ages 18 and up.
Efendi – Who Are You?
Samira Efendiyeva, 35, has participated over the years in popular television music shows in Azerbaijan, such as “Yeni Ulduz” (in English: “New Star”), “Böyük Səhnə” (in English: “Big Stage”) (3rd place), and “The Voice of Azerbaijan” (3rd place). In 2017, she competed in the international contest “Silk Way Star” in Kazakhstan, securing 3rd place, and in 2019, she took part in the international competition “Voice of Nur-Sultan”, also held in Kazakhstan. Efendi was selected to represent Azerbaijan at Eurovision 2020 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, with the song “Cleopatra“. Following the cancellation of that year’s contest, she was chosen to represent her country again at Eurovision 2021 with “Mata Hari“, which finished in 20th place. In 2025, she performed as an interval act with her song “Cleopatra“, alongside other Eurovision artists.
Azerbaijan at Eurovision 2026
“Just Go” is the song that performed by the singer JIVA, who represented Azerbaijan as song number 2 in the second semi-final on May 14th, in Vienna, Austria. The song reached 15th in the semi-final with 2 points.
Eurovision 2027: This was Azerbaijan’s 19th participation in Eurovision. Azerbaijan joined the contest in 2008 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 2011 when singers Ell and Nikki won first place with the song “Running Scared”.
