Israeli Survivor of Hamas Terrorist Attack on 7 October Festival to Represent Israel at Eurovision 2025
At the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 to be held in Basel, Switzerland, Israel will be represented by 24-year-old Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the Hamas terrorist attack on the Israeli Nova music festival on 7 October 2023. The song will be announced in March, according to the official website of the European song contest.
On the evening of 22 January, the final of the Next Star talent show took place in Neve Ilan, Israel, during which singers perform covers of various songs. The winner of the show, Yuval Raphael, will represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest. During the final round of the show, she sang a ballad version of ABBA's Dancing Queen, dedicating it to ‘all the angels’ who were killed at the festival.
The competition song is currently unknown. It is to be chosen by an internal committee and published by Israeli broadcaster Kan in March. The song will include lyrics in Hebrew and English.
The Times of Israel write that in an interview before the final, the girl said that she survived a Hamas attack while attending the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023. She survived by hiding under corpses in a roadside bomb shelter.
Yuval Raphael said she wanted to come to Europe and ‘tell the story of the country, what she went through, what others went through’.