Israel’s Eurovision entrant Eden Golan has defied the odds to place in the top 10 of acts in the competition’s grand final in Sweden.
Twenty-year-old Golan, from Kfar Saba in central Israel, faced boycott calls, protests and threats over her inclusion in the contest and demands for Israel to be excluded from the final in Malmo.
Golan received 12 points, the maximum allowed, from the UK voting public, but nothing from the UK jury. The singer also gained 10 points from Ireland’s public vote, and 12 points from Germany’s.
The Israeli entry received 323 points in total from the voting public, the second most of any competitor.
Earlier this week, Golan faced boos from the audience as she performed her song “Hurricane” during the dress reherasal for the singing competition’s semi-final on Thursday.
Videos emerged on social media of noisy disapproving audience members who filmed themselves booing the artist while she was on stage.
The track “Hurricane”, which was originally titled “October Rain”, had to be rewritten by Israeli public broadcaster Kan to comply with competition rules about political statements.
Thousands of Israelis supported Golan with public screenings across the country, including in Tel Aviv, which hosted Eurovision in 2019.
In a statement following the poor reception she received in the arena during her semi-final dress rehearsal, Golan said she was “proud” to represent Israel, “particularly this year”, adding: “I am receiving support and love and I am determined to give my best performance tomorrow in the semi-finals and nothing will deter me from that goal!”
The UK’s entry Olly Alexander placed 18th in the final on Saturday, receiving no points from any of the countries’ public vote.
