Noa Kirel officially announced on Wednesday at a press conference at the Carlton Hotel in Tel Aviv that she will be Israel's representative for Eurovision next year in the United Kingdom.
Kirel initially hesitated to perform at Eurovision upon being chosen by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation KAN last month. The singer "was visiting Warsaw, and during a taxi ride [she] was informed that [she] had been chosen to represent Israel," according to Maariv.
"I'm very excited. I feel that we are embarking on a mission that came to me as a complete surprise," the singer said, according to Hebrew media.
No information has been released in regards to what song Kirel will sing at the competition, but the singer will have full artistic control over the song choice, according to Hebrew media.
"I'm very excited. I feel that we are embarking on a mission that came to me as a complete surprise."
Noa Kirel
In response to the question of whether she was afraid of not making it to the finals or being ranked low, she said that "obviously there are concerns. I'm human and I get scared sometimes. It's an honorable position. Politics are involved and things are not up to me. I may fail of course, but I've always taken risks, it's part of the career and who I am. I'm representing my country and I'm taking the risk."
"I've learned that not everything falls on art and performance. I'm already imagining myself on that crazy stage at Eurovision. With a decision from my heart, I'm putting everything to the side and going into this with complete faith. I have always felt proud to represent this country."
Kirel said she received reactions from people who each expressed their opinion on whether I should or should not represent Israel. There were people who "said I would win and there were those who said it would hurt me. In the end, I decided to listen to my heart."
When asked if she was afraid of getting antisemitic reactions during the competition, Kirel said that she "wants to be interviewed about Israel and show one side of the country," according to Maariv.
"I've learned that not everything falls on art and performance. I'm already imagining myself on that crazy stage at Eurovision. With a decision from my heart, I'm putting everything to the side and going into this with complete faith. I have always felt proud to represent this country."
Noa Kirel
The singer will also be performing at Yarkon Park in two weeks, Hebrew media reported, to promote Kirel for the competition.
Israel and Eurovision in the past
Israel's last Eurovision representative, Michael Ben David, did not qualify for the final stage of the contest, making it the first time since 2014 that Israel did not advance to the finals. Ben David was chosen as a result of winning the most recent season of X Factor Israel.
Israel has won the Eurovision Song Contest four times. The competition next year will be held in the United Kingdom. The competition was initially supposed to be held in Ukraine, as their representative won the last competition. However, the ongoing Russian invasion of the country forced the competition to be held in the UK.
Hannah Brown contributed to this report.