The 2025 Eurovision Song Contest took place in Basel, Switzerland between May 13-17.
Israel’s representative, Yuval Raphael, performed in the second semifinal along with contestants from 14 other countries, qualifying for the Grand Final where she clinched an impressive second place. The betting odds released before the final put Raphael in sixth place.
To catch you up on this year’s all things Eurovision, we’ve compiled a list of other facts you may not know about Raphael and Israeli participation in the contest.
6 things you didn’t know about Israel at Eurovision 2025
1. Nova music festival massacre survivor
Yuval Raphael, 24, is a survivor of the October 7, 2023 Nova music festival massacre, in which 378 people were murdered. She hid inside a bomb shelter along with 50 other people when the attack began. Many of those kidnapped into Gaza that day were abducted from that very “death shelter,” including Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Raphael survived the attack by hiding under a pile of dead bodies for eight hours. She is one of only 11 people who came out of that bomb shelter alive. The phone call she made to her family during the ordeal was recorded by her father and later went viral.
2. Reality TV star
Raphael earned her chance to become Israel’s representative at the 2025 Eurovision by winning the “HaKochav HaBa” (“The Next Star”) reality TV competition in January. The reality show each year picks Israel’s representative for the song competition.
Prior to participating in “HaKochav HaBa,” Raphael had never sung professionally or in front of audiences, citing her shy personality. Raphael later said she decided to audition for the reality show after realizing that nothing worse than surviving a massacre could happen to her on stage.
3. ‘New Day Will Rise’
This year’s song entry, “New Day Will Rise,” was written by singer-songwriter Keren Peles, who serves as one of the judges on “HaKochav HaBa.” Peles also cowrote “Hurricane,” Israel’s 2024 Eurovision entry performed by Eden Golan.
“New Day Will Rise” is written and performed largely in English, with lines in Hebrew and French. Raphael wanted to incorporate other languages into the song since she lived in Geneva, Switzerland, for three years as a child, and is fluent in French.
Raphael said the song “represents the healing that we all need and the optimism for the days ahead.” The video for the song features a group of young people singing and dancing in a green pasture, reminiscent of the festivalgoers at the Nova music festival.
4. The outfit
Raphael performed on the Eurovision stage alone, with no backup singers or dancers. Her outfit took center stage in this performance. The dramatic black jumpsuit with winged sleeves was designed by Victor Bellaish, an Israeli wedding and evening wear designer.
The designer called the outfit “an antithesis to the glittery circus usually associated with the contest.” Bellaish designed the white top Raphael wore in the “New Day Will Rise” video, which also features dramatic sleeves that create an image of wings.
The jewelry Raphael wore during the stage performance was custom made by veteran Israeli jewelry designer Keren Wolf.
5. The stage setup
Since Raphael performed the song by herself, the stage setup played a vital part in the performance. The 5.5 meter-tall stage was covered in crystal-like stones and features a chandelier. This acts as a visual continuation of the music video for the song, which features a massive chandelier.
Yoav Tzafir, the director and producer of the Israeli performance, said the set was custom made in Romania and delivered to Basel by land.
6. Skincare empire connection
One of the most random facts about Raphael is that her father, Tzvika, is the brother of Israeli skincare entrepreneur Ronit Raphael, who owns international skincare brand L.RAPHAEL and a host of beauty salons in Israel and abroad, including Geneva, Cannes and New York.
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