Israel will be allowed to compete at the Eurovision song contest after changing the lyrics to its song, organisers have confirmed.
Eden Golan, representing Israel at this year’s competition, originally submitted a ballad called October Rain, widely thought to reference the Hamas attacks of 7 October. However, the entry was barred on the grounds of breaking rules on political neutrality.
After initially pledging not to alter the lyrics, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, responsible for choosing the country’s entry, later agreed to amend the song following the Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s call for “necessary adjustments” to ensure it could take part.
The national broadcaster said: “The president emphasised that at this time in particular, when those who hate us seek to push aside and boycott the state of Israel from every stage, Israel must sound its voice with pride and its head high and raise its flag in every world forum, especially this year.”
The updated version of the song, now titled Hurricane, will be shared this weekend.
In a statement, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the contest, said: “The EBU can confirm that the official submission from its Israeli member Kan has been deemed eligible to compete in the Eurovision song contest in May.
“The contest’s reference group, its governing board, made the decision to accept the song Hurricane for the upcoming competition after careful scrutiny of the lyrics.
“It was agreed that Hurricane met the necessary criteria for participation in accordance with the rules of the competition.”
The original lyrics of October Rain – written in English – were published on Kan’s website last month.
They included the lines: “There’s no air left to breathe” and “They were all good children, each one of them”.
Earlier this week, Belgium’s French-speaking culture minister, Bénédicte Linard, called for Israel to be banned from Eurovision as long as the war in Gaza continues.
“Just like Russia has been excluded from competitions and Eurovision following its invasion of Ukraine, Israel should be excluded until it puts an end to its flagrant violations of international law, which are causing thousands of victims, especially children,” she wrote on X.
Linard also told the Belgian parliament on Wednesday that she would ask public broadcaster RTBF, which is organising Belgium’s entry to Eurovision, to voice the concerns to the EBU.
Her Flemish counterpart, Benjamin Dalle, agreed that an Israeli suspension would be appropriate while so many Palestinian civilians were suffering, according to a report by Flemish broadcaster VRT.
Artists in several countries have called for Israel to be suspended from the contest. In December, Iceland’s Association of Composers and Lyricists issued a statement saying Israel’s military action in Gaza made its participation incompatible with an event “characterised by joy and optimism”.
In Finland, a petition signed by more than 1,400 music industry professionals accused their national broadcaster Yle of double standards, saying it was among the first to demand the ban on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
