The second country to officially kick off its national selection for Eurovision 2017 is Israel with the first show of Rising Star 2017 to be aired tonight.

Rising Star, an original production by Teddy Productions and Keshet on Israel’s Channel 2, was aired for the first time in 2013. The second season was aired after Israel’s fourth failure to qualify to the Eurovision final, and since then show is used in order to select the country’s participant for the Eurovision Song Contest.

The contest is an artist selection and so the Israeli entry is expected to be known only after the winner will be announced. All shows are pre-recorded except for the final, which will be live.

No official mechanism has been published which means we will get to know more information as the number of participants, qualification to the next rounds and dates as the show goes on. As reported earlier, Rising Star 2017 will be made of a total of 10 shows, with the first two aired already this week. Keshet, one of the two broadcasters of Channel 2, is currently broadcasting on Sunday to Tuesday, which means that all shows will be broadcasted during these days.

THE SHOW

Tonight’s show will begin at 21:00 local time (20:00 CET) and will last for 1 hour and 45 minutes. It is hosted by Asi Azar and Rotem Sela, and will present auditions of the Israeli hopefuls. The decision on which acts will advance to the next stage in each show is all in the hands of the audience during the recording, and the expert jury which is made of four artists:

• Harel Skaat – represented Israel in Eurovision 2010 with Milim
• Keren Peles – shortlisted to represent Israel in Eurovision 2009
• Asaf Amdurski – ex-husband of Michal Amdurski who participated in Kdam 2001 and 2005
• Static & Ben-El Tavori – Israel’s currently leading pop act. Their song Barbie is the most watched Israeli videoclip on YouTube, with nearly 34M views.

Every act will be voted with yes or no. In order to qualify to the next stage, each act will need to lift the screen with a total of more than 70% positive votes.

HOW TO WATCH?

A webstream of Channel 2 is available worldwide by Isramedia. Click on מקור 1 or מקור 2 (Source 1/Source 2) in order to watch.

RISING STAR 2017 AGENDA

• 02/01: Show 1
• 03/01: Show 2
• ?: Show 3
• ?: Show 4
• ?: Show 5
• ?: Show 6
• ?: Show 7
• ?: Show 8
• ?: Show 9
• ?: Final (Likely to be held in mid-February)

Stay tuned to ESCToday for more news regarding Rising Star and Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017!