Who is Eden Golan, representing Israel at Eurovision 2024 with ‘Hurricane’? Why did they change the song?

The 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, one of the most celebrated song competitions worldwide, will take place in Malmö, Sweden on Saturday (11 May) with Israel, represented this year by Eden Golan, at the centre of considerable controversy, largely due to the country’s role in the ongoing armed conflict with Palestinian militant groups, mainly in the Gaza Strip.

Why did Israel have to change their Eurovision entry?

Despite not officially being a European nation, the Middle Eastern country has won Eurovision four times, most recently in 2018. However, there has long been plenty of friction surrounding their participation in the 2024 event, with their song entry rejected by contest organisers on two occasions for being “too political”.

Their first proposal, named “October Rain,” was barred by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), who considered that it had obvious political connotations, with the lyrics seemingly referring to an attack carried out by Hamas, the Palestinian political and military movement, in southern Israel last October.

After that track was turned down by the EBU, “Dance Forever” was then put forward as an alternate but was also turned down for similar reasons.

In order for Israel not to be disqualified from the contest, president Isaac Herzog intervened and pushed for “October Rain” to be reworked, with “Hurricane” using the same melody but with new lyrics and a new title.

What does “Hurricane”, Eden Golan’s song at Eurovision, mean?

Golan, a 20-year-old Russian-Israeli, will perform the song after qualifying from the second semi-final on Thursday. When she was 12, she competed to represent Russia at the 2015 Junior Eurovision Song Contest but wasn’t ultimately selected. She later appeared in reality talent show “The Voice Kids” in Russia.

“Hurricane” is a power ballad, which starts off slowly then crescendos into the chorus. The lyrics are mostly in English, although the outro is in Hebrew. Its main theme is attempting to find calm in the eye of the storm (the “Hurricane”), particularly in a psychological, mental sense.

Despite the controversy surrounding the song and the country, and that fact it isn’t seen as one of the favourites, Israel is confident Golan will be able to obtain a respectable result in the contest.

What are the lyrics to “Hurricane,” Israel’s Eurovision 2024 entry?

The 2024 Eurovision Song Contest begins at 9pm local time in Sweden, which is 3pm ET and 12 PT. Golan and Israel had been due to perform sixth, but will have been bumped up to fifth after the Netherlands’ entry was disqualified.