Kobi Marimi, the 27-year-old Tel Avivian singer, picked to represent Israel at this month’s Eurovision Song Contest, can’t stop smiling:
‘I love my country. I love Tel Aviv. To know that I’m achieving a dream of mine, to be a part of Eurovision, it’s amazing in itself’, he tells me, with an earnestness that could crack the biggest Eurovision cynic. ‘But to know that I’m doing it in my country, my own city, it’s even greater than that.’
But not everyone is quite so enthusiastic about Eurovision being held in the Holy Land. While politics can’t help but creep into the contest each year, this time around feels different as the Jewish State – loathed by its regional foes and right-on Western activists alike – sets about putting on the campest show on Earth.
Israel’s inclusion in the contest has riled neighbouring states ever since it first competed in 1973. Lebanon was due to make its Eurovision debut in 2005, but refused to show the Israeli entry on TV.
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