After mulling numerous candidates over the last few months, the names of Israel's representatives at the Eurovision song contest, scheduled to take place in Moscow in May, were finally announced Sunday.
This year, the Israel Broadcasting Authority selected two singers, Achinoam Nini and Mira Awad, to represent the country at the European song contest. The song they will perform has yet to be written and they will work on it together with Gil Dor, Nini's long-time musical collaborator.
The singers were selected by an artistic committee headed by Yoav Ginai and a confirmation committee headed by Moshe Gavish and comprised of public representatives at the Broadcasting Authority. "This is an excellent choice of two talented and internationally recognized singers," confirmation committee members said yesterday. "We are convinced the choice will prove itself."
Nini's manager, Ofer Penson, said both Nini and Awad - a Christian Israeli Arab who is a theater actress - jointly submitted their candidacy for the competition.
"They have been working together for several years now," he said yesterday. "On Nini's previous album they sang the Beatles' song, 'We Can Work It Out.' Achinoam and Mira decided that in difficult times, as right now, the most appropriate thing they could both do is to sing a song with a message of peace on a respected European stage, a place where we face public relations problems."
Last year, Boaz Mauda, the winner of the "A Star is Born" competition (the local version of "American idol"), represented Israel in the Eurovision song contest, after being selected by the audience that watched a competition broadcast on Channel Two. Mauda finished in ninth place. This year, the selection was restored to the Broadcast Authority officials.
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