Country Israel Selected song "Milim" | Selected entrant Harel Skaat | |
Selection process Artist: Internal Selection
Song: Kdam Eurovision 2010 Selection date(s) Artist: December 2009
Song: 15 March 2010 Semi-final result Qualified (8th, 71 points) | ||
Israel participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, held in Oslo, Norway in May. The Israeli entry was performed by Harel Skaat, with the song decided by a televised national final, Kdam Eurovision, that was held in February 2010.
Contents
Kdam Eurovision 2010
In December 2009 it was claimed by Israeli newspaper Maariv that IBA, the Israeli national broadcaster, had internally selected Harel Skaat to perform the Israeli entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, after an IBA meeting held on 23 December. On 25 December IBA confirmed that they had selected Skaat to represent the country in Norway.
The song that Skaat performed at Eurovision was decided by a national final, Kdam Eurovision, held on 15 March, televised by Reshet, an operator of Channel 2, and featuring a total of four songs. The winner was selected by the public through SMS/televoting and by 5 jury groups, made up of: members of the Knesset - the Israeli parliament, members of OGAE Israel, members of the Harel Skaat fan club, Moshe Datz, Svika Pick and Mira Awad, and a jury of IBA officials.
IBA announced the four song-titles and songwriting teams on 22 February, as well as confirming 14 March as the date for the contest. The contest was laler delayed by one day, to 15 March. IBA released the four songs on their website on 7 March, a week before the final.
"Milim" was the winning song of the contest, getting full marks from all five jury groups and the televote.
Voting
At Eurovision
Israel competed in the second semi-final of the contest, on 27 May. Performing 3rd at the semifinals (after Armenia and before Denmark), they advanced to the Grand Finals of the contest and placed 14th among 25 Grand Finalists. Despite of this achievement, they swept all titles at Marcel Bezençon Awards this year.