Israel to change lyrics of October Rain for Eurovision after being barred from contest

Ahead of this year’s Eurovision competition, Israel’s public broadcaster is reconsidering its position on the lyrics of the song that they intend to send for this year. Israel’s public broadcaster will soon be asking those involved with the making of the song to tweak the lyrics of their song titled “October Rain”.

This comes after Eurovision barred the song last week for breaking rules on political neutrality. The said song is by artist Eden Golan and is called October Rain. The Israeli song, as the name suggests, contains references to the Hamas October 7 attack on Israel.

October Rain barred from Eurovision

This song didn’t sit well with the organisers of the Eurovision contest.

After it was barred from becoming a legal entry from Israel, the Israeli broadcaster Kan, which determined which song would enter Eurovision, pledged to not make any alterations to the lyrics. However, Israeli President Isaac Herzog called for “necessary adjustments” to ensure Israel can enter the show.

President Herzog emphasised that this move comes “precisely at a time when those who hate us are seeking to repress and boycott the State of Israel,” and that the country “must raise its voice” in international forums.

Kan is also considering a song called “Dance Forever”. In a statement, Kan said it had asked the lyricists of both songs under consideration to “readapt the texts while preserving their artistic freedom.”

Not the first time when song with political messaging is banned

This is not the first time a song with political messaging has been banned at the Eurovision. In the past, Georgia’s 2009 entry was banned for this very reason.

Israel has been a hot favourite for years and has won the Eurovision Song Contest four times.

This year’s event will be held in Sweden in May.

Meanwhile, artists have called for Israel to be excluded from Eurovision this year over itstreatment of the people of Gaza. These include artists in Iceland, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden, with several pointing out that Russia has been disqualified since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

Eurovision organisers say that the situations in Ukraine and Gaza are different.