Rumours about Israel withdrawing from Eurovision were all false, as IBA confirmed the Israeli participation in Eurovision 2015 in Vienna only a few days ago. Now several Israeli media report that the Israeli entrant will be the winner of HaKokhav HaBa (also known as “The Rising Star”).

This will not be the first time that the winner of HaKokhav HaBa represents Israel in Eurovision, and that IBA collaborated with Channel 2 regarding the Israeli Eurovision entrant. Boaz Mauda was the winner of this talent show in 2008, and he went on to represent Israel in Eurovision that year, when he finished 7th in Belgrade.

HaKokhav HaBa is a very popular talent show on the commercial Channel 2. This format is originally from Israel, but many countries are buying the licence, and this show is now starting in many other countries as well – United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, Russia, Germany, Hungary, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Turkey.

Let’s remind ourselves with Boaz’s performance of “The Fire In Your Eyes” in Belgrade: