Noa Kirel has signed contract with KAN, set to officially represent Israel in Eurovision 2023

News that Noa Kirel would be going to Eurovision broke last month from KAN, but contract negotiations had not been finalized prior to the announcement. When asked about the opportunity immediately after the announcement, Kirel said in an interview that she was excited about the opportunity, but needed time to “brainstorm her approach to this thing”.

However, it seems that Kirel has had enough time to consider the offer and has officially accepted. This means that one of Israel’s biggest pop stars will officially take to the Eurovision stage in 2023, and now they can focus on the beginning stages of song selection.

Kirel did make some specific requests in the contract negotiation process, namely that she must be involved in the writing and selection of her Eurovision song, and directing the eventual stage performance or the deal would be off. This means that KAN’s original plan of holding a 3-4 song selection show similar to 2020 and 2021 may not take place during the 2023 national final season. Instead, KAN and Kirel will likely opt for either a public or closed song submission process with an eventual internal song selection.

During the press conference Kirel thanked her fans for their love and support, saying “thank you for the huge support you gave me from the moment I was chosen and for the privilege to represent my country.” She also understands that fame in Istael will not grant her automatic success in Eurovision. “The fact that I can succeed here in Israel doesn’t mean that I arrive [at Eurovision] and automatically win.”

Kirel will have a heavy burden on her shoulders to bring the country back to the grand final after Michael Ben David failed to qualify in Turin. Israel has qualified for the final every year since 2015, where they broke a four year non-qualification streak with Nadav Guedj and would go on to win in 2018 with Netta.

What kind of song would #YOU like to see Noa Kirel bring to Eurovision next year? Let us know on social media @ESCUnited, on our discord, or on our forum page!