Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981

Israel was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the song "Halayla" (הלילה), composed by Shuki Levy, with lyrics by Shlomit Aharon and Yuval Dor, and performed by the band Habibi. The Israeli participating broadcaster, the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), selected its entry through Kdam Eurovision 1981. IBA returned at the Eurovision Song Contest, after withdrawing from the 1980 contest because of National Day of Remembrance.

Eurovision Song Contest 1981
Participating broadcasterIsrael Broadcasting Authority (IBA)
Country Israel
National selection
Selection processKdam Eurovision 1981
Selection date(s)3 March 1981
Selected artist(s)Habibi
Selected song"Halayla"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final result7th, 56 points
Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1979 1981 1982►

Before Eurovision

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Kdam Eurovision 1981

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The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) decided to replace the Israel Song Festival with a new competition designed to select a song for the contest.

The final was held on 3 March 1981 in Jerusalem, and was hosted by Daniel Pe'er. The votes of nine regional juries across Israel decided the winner.[1] Each place had a jury who awarded 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 point(s) for their top twelve songs.

The winning entry was "Halayla", performed by Hakol Over Habibi and composed by Shuki Levy, with lyrics written by Shlomit Aharon and Yuval Dor.

Final – 3 March 1981
Draw Artist Song Points Place
1 Eitan Masuri "Etmol" (אתמול) 35 7
2 Milk and Honey "Serenada" (סרנדה) 61 4
3 Mike Burstyn "Sviv kol ha'olam" (סביב כל העולם) 57 6
4 Sexta "Cinderella" (סינדרלה) 75 2
5 Miri Aloni "Piyus" (פיוס) 11 10
6 Irit Bulka "Mona Lisa" (מונה ליזה) 31 8
7 Gary Eckstein "Aya ve Dan" (איה ודן) 4 12
8 Hedva Amrani "Bo elai" (בוא אליי) 24 9
9 Shlomo Gronich & Dafna Armoni "Kaleidoscope" (קליידוסקופ) 6 10
10 Avi Toledano "Karnaval" (קרנבל) 69 3
11 Hakol Over Habibi "Halayla" (הלילה) 91 1
12 Yigal Bashan "Ten li" (תן לי) 58 5
Detailed Regional Jury Votes
Draw Song
Tel Aviv
Karmiel
Kfar Saba
Haifa
Tzora
Herzliya
Ashdod
Lakhish
Jerusalem
Total
1 "Etmol" 8 2 4 8 2 5 6 35
2 "Serenada" 10 6 6 7 8 7 7 3 7 61
3 "Sviv kol ha'olam" 4 5 5 12 10 5 4 10 2 57
4 "Cinderella" 12 7 8 5 5 12 12 2 12 75
5 "Piyus" 2 3 1 5 11
6 "Mona Lisa" 3 4 3 3 4 3 2 5 4 31
7 "Aya ve Dan" 1 1 1 1 4
8 "Bo elai" 2 3 1 1 4 3 4 6 24
9 "Kaleidoscope" 1 2 2 1 6
10 "Karnaval" 5 12 10 6 7 6 8 7 8 69
11 "Halayla" 7 8 12 10 12 10 10 12 10 91
12 "Ten li" 6 10 7 4 6 8 6 8 3 58

At Eurovision

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On the evening of the final Hakol Over Habibi, performing as Habibi, performed 5th in the running order, following Luxembourg and preceding Denmark. Shlomit Aharon, the band's soloist, was in about 6–7 months pregnant at the contest. At the close of voting "Halayla" had received 56 points, placing Israel seventh of the 20 entries.[2] IBA appointed Dan Kaner as its spokesperson to announce the result of the Israeli vote in the final.

Voting

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References

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  1. ^ ESC National Finals database 1981
  2. ^ "Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Results of the Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.