Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004

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Eurovision Song Contest 2004
Country Israel
National selection
Selection processArtist: Internal Selection
Song: Kdam Eurovision 2004
Selection date(s)Artist: 13 November 2003
Song: 5 February 2004
Selected entrantDavid D'Or
Selected song"Leha'amin"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • David D'Or
  • Ofer Meiri
  • Ehud Manor
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (11th)
Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2003 • 2004 • 2005►

Israel was represented in the Eurovision by David D'Or who sang the bilingual English / Hebrew song "Leha'amin" (Hebrew script: להאמין; English translation: "To Believe"). The song was co-written by D'Or and Ehud Manor.[1]

David D'Or at Istanbul (2004)

Before Eurovision[]

Artist selection[]

On 13 November 2003, IBA announced that David D'Or was selected by a special committee as the Israeli representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2004.[2][3] Among artists considered by the selection committee, Hamsa, Ninet Tayeb, Zehava Ben and Ron Shoval were highly considered before D'Or was ultimately selected. Among the members of the committee were Avraham Natan, Liel Kolet (singer), Lior Narkis (2003 Israeli Eurovision entrant) and Gali Atari (Eurovision Song Contest 1979 winner).[4]

Kdam Eurovision 2004[]

The song that David D'Or represented Israel with in Istanbul was selected through a national final called Kdam Eurovision 2004. Four songs were selected for the competition and were presented during a presentation show on 5 February 2004, which took place at the Nokia Stadium in Tel Aviv during a break in a televised Maccabi Tel Aviv Euroleague basketball game and hosted by Merav Miller.[5] The winning song "Leha'amin" was selected by a combination of the votes from an expert jury of IBA representatives (40%) and votes from the public (60%). The basketball game attracted 13.7% of Israeli TV viewers.[6]

Final – 5 February 2004
Draw Song Composer(s) Jury
(40%) 		Public Vote (60%) Total Place
SMS Televote
1 "Freedom" David D'Or, Ofer Meiri 0% 25% 18% 12.9% 3
2 "Yamim Tovim" (ימים טובים) David D'Or, Simon Buskilla 0% 17% 4% 6.3% 4
3 "Bo'u Mal'achim" (בואו מלאכים) David D'Or, Ehud Manor 40% 11% 12% 22.9% 2
4 "Leha'amin" (להאמין) David D'Or, Ofer Meiri 60% 47% 66% 57.9% 1

At Eurovision[]

For the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, a semi-final round was introduced in order to accommodate the influx of nations that wanted to compete in the contest. Because Israel placed 19th at the 2003 contest, country was forced to compete in the first Eurovision semi-final, held on 12 May 2004. David D'Or performed 5th, following Latvia and preceding the Andorra his song in the semi-final receiving 57 points which was not enough to qualify for the final.[7] Therefore, Israel had to compete in the semi-final again in ESC 2005. 19% of Israeli viewers watched on television.[3][8] The song missed qualifying for the final by one position – thus requiring Israel to qualify from the semifinal at their next Contest appearance.

During Eurovision rehearsal week, D'Or left Istanbul to be with his father, who had to have one of his legs amputated due to complications of diabetes. His father has since died.[9]

Voting[]

Points awarded to Israel[]

Points awarded to Israel (Semi-final)[10]
Score Country
12 points
10 points
8 points
7 points  Portugal
6 points  Malta
5 points
  •  Albania
  •  Romania
4 points
3 points
2 points
1 point

Points awarded by Israel[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Israeli lyricist Ehud Manor passes away at age 64". ESCtoday.com. April 12, 2005. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
  2. ^ Barak, Itamar (November 13, 2003). "David D'or to represent Israel in Eurovision 2004". Esctoday.
  3. ^ a b "Singing a song of harmony". Australian Jewish News. February 27, 2008. Archived from the original on September 20, 2008. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
  4. ^ Yudilovich, Merav (13 November 2003). "David D'Or represented Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest". Ynet (in Hebrew).
  5. ^ "Israeli entry to be chosen tonight". ESCtoday.com. May 5, 2004. Archived from the original on February 17, 2005. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  6. ^ "High rating figuresl Israel: More than 400,000 watched Mauda". ESCtoday.com. February 28, 2008. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  7. ^ "Semi-Final of Istanbul 2004". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  8. ^ "D'Or received proposals; Disappointing viewing figures in Israel". ESCtoday.com. May 17, 2004. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
  9. ^ "Israel 2004; Israel: David D'Or regrets doing Eurovision". ESCtoday.com. August 3, 2008. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  10. ^ a b "Results of the Semi-Final of Istanbul 2004". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Results of the Grand Final of Istanbul 2004". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
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