One of the most impressive and beloved Eurovision promotional events returns this year.
Yes, you are right, “Israel Calling” will be held on April 2023!
The last time the event took place was last year.
Back then, ESCBEAT took part in the event as one of the international media.
The events of “Israel Calling 2023” will last 3 days in a row.
The peak of them will be the live promo show, where the contestants will perform their Eurovision 2023 entries. The show will be held on Monday, the 3rd of April 2023, at 20:00 CET (21:00 Israel time).
The live show will be held in Tel Aviv Port, in the Hangar 11 venue.
The public will be able to purchase tickets, starting the upcoming Sunday.
For those of you, who won’t be able to arrive, there is no need to worry.
The live show will be broadcast live via different digital channels (Facebook, YouTube)
The artists will enjoy the beautiful views of Israel, and will hear about Israel’s history and Jewish heritage.
During the visit, the artists will take part in planting in the KKL (Jewish National Fund) Eurovision Forest located within the European Forest as part of the fight against the climate crisis.
This tradition has already started in 2018, when Netta represented Israel was welcome the Eurovision 2018 artists.
This year, Israel calling will celebrate a special edition for 2 reasons:
- In May 2023, Israel will celebrate its 75th independence day
- On April 7th 2023, Israel will celebrate 50 years since its first participation in Eurovision. The first Israeli entry was “Ey Sham” By Ilanit
The hosts of the “Israel Calling 2023” show will be Dafna Dekel and Sigal Shachmon.
Both were part of the trio who hosted Eurovision 1999 in Jerusalem
Dafna Dekel has also represented Israel at Eurovision 1992 with “Ze Rak Sport” (Eng: It is Only Sport)
The “Israel Calling 2023″ event will be organized by Tali Eshkoli Production, as every year.
The event will be organized and funded In cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture
Tali Eshkoli, the initiator and producer of the show commented:
I am excited to once again produce in Israel the Eurovision promo event “Israel Calling”, which has already become a tradition of an international, colorful and joyful musical celebration, which is looked forward to every year by fans of the competition from Israel and all over Europe.
This year we will hold the show in celebration of the anniversary of Israel’s participation in Eurovision, a unifying celebration and an exciting landmark for every Israeli, especially in these difficult days.
As every year, artists, delegations, journalists and bloggers from all over Europe will come to the show, who will get to know the special Israeli experience up close. I am happy for the additional opportunity to present our beautiful country, our rich culture and the warm Israelis to the artists and the European media, and consider this a true mission.
I invite the warm and embracing Israeli audience to join the international Eurovision celebration, to sing, dance and rejoice with the artists and delegations. It’s not just a celebration of music, it’s a celebration of shared universal values, of connections and camaraderie. On this occasion, I would like to greet the members of the delegations and the journalists with a welcome and return to Israel, we all look forward to your arrival. One thing is for sure: it will be fun!”
Miki Zohar, the Minister of Culture reacted:
“I am proud to announce that for the first time the Ministry of Culture and Sports under my leadership is joining the “Israel Calling” event initiative, which provides international exposure to Israeli culture, art and music. Hosting the delegations to the Eurovision Song Contest is fertile ground for the cultivation of international relations, for Israeli advocacy and collaborations between artists and musicians from all over Europe and their Israeli counterparts. In the last budget, and after much effort, I increased the ministry’s budget in favor of holding international events and productions in the fields of culture and sports, which add prestige to Israel.”
Eli Cohen, The Minister of Foreign Affairs commented:
The Israel Calling event taking place in Israel again this year in preparation for Eurovision is a colorful and joyful celebration of music that unites the nations of Europe – just like the contest itself. It is exciting to see that in the 75th year of Israel, artists from all over Europe come here to celebrate with us before they go to perform on the biggest stage in the world. I am proud that the State of Israel is taking part in this celebration and happy to host an international event here that will bring here artists, opinion leaders and journalists from all over Europe, who will get to know our beautiful country up close.
KKL (Jewish National Fund) chairman Yifat Ovadia Loski reacted:
“KKL is proud to take part in connecting the State of Israel to influential cultural leaders throughout Europe. The hospitality and the show that will be held in Israel to mark 50 years of Israel’s participation in the competition and 75 years of our independence will help in recognizing the magnificent Israeli culture that we have built here thanks to the diversity and beauty of Israeli society. I have no doubt that the visit to the forest and throughout Israel will instill in the members of the delegation and the artists a real attachment to the State of Israel.’
The list of confirmed artists is published gradually.
So far, the confirmed artists are:
Eurovision 2023 Artists:
- 🇸🇮 Slovenia: Joker Out – Carpe Diem
- 🇪🇸 Spain: Blanca Paloma – Eaea
- 🇮🇪 Ireland: Wild Youth – We Are One
- 🇲🇹 Malta: The Busker – Dance (Our Own Party)
- 🇬🇪 Georgia: Iru – Echo
- 🇩🇰 Denmark: Reiley – Breaking My Heart
- 🇦🇱 Albania: Albina and Familja Kelmendi – Duje
- 🇨🇿 Czechia: Vesna – My Sister’s Crown
- 🇪🇪 Estonia: ALIKA – Bridges
- 🇲🇩 Moldova: Pasha Parfeni – Soarele si Luna
- 🇸🇲 San Marino: Piqued Jacks – Like an animal
- 🇱🇻 Latvia: Sudden Lights – Aijā
- 🇵🇱 Poland: Blanka – Solo
- 🇭🇷 Croatia: LET 3 – Mama ŠČ!
- 🇱🇹 Lithuania: Monika Linkytė – Stay
- 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan: TuralTuranX – Tell Me More
- 🇺🇦 Ukraine: Tvorchi – Heart of Steel
- 🇷🇸 Serbia: Luke Black – Samo mi se spava
Special Guests
- 🇬🇧 Katrina (Eurovision 1997 winner, UK)
- 🇮🇱 Israel: Ilanit (Eurovision 1973, Israel) – The first Israeli representative. This year it will be 50 years since her participation.
- 🇮🇱 Israel: Shlomit Aharon (Israel 1981, part of “Hakol Over Habibi”)
- 🇮🇱 Israel: Mei Finegold (Israel 2014)
- 🇮🇱 Israel: Imri Ziv (Israel 2017)
- 🇮🇱 Israel: Eden Alene (Israel 2020, 2021)
- 🇮🇪 Ireland: Johnny Logan – Eurovision 1980 and 1987 winner, Ireland 1992 writer
- 🇫🇷 France: Anne-Marie David – The singer won Eurovision 1973 as Luxemburg‘s representative and represented France at Eurovision 1979
Don’t forget to visit our full guide to Eurovision 2023: Our Eurovision 2023 homepage
