After the internet exploded with speculation about iconic Canadian singer Celine Dion making an appearance at Eurovision 2025 events in Basel, a video of the star shown during the dress rehearsal for Tuesday's first semi-final suggests the singer might not attend the competition events after all.

"Switzerland is in my heart, it's the country that believed in me, that gave me a chance to be a part of something extraordinary," the singer said in the video, referring to her participation in the 1988 Eurovision contest in Dublin as the Swiss representative, winning first place with the song "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi."

"It was a life-changing moment for me, and I am so grateful for everyone who supported me. Now, 37 years later, it is so beautiful and emotional to see Switerzland winning... this night is yours, and I hope you feel as proud as I do," Dion concluded.

At the conclusion of Dion's message, an orchestra began playing her winning song, performed by last year's Eurovision representatives from Greece, Lithuania, Ukraine and Portugal – who were among the most vocal opponents of Israel's participation in last year's competition – further suggesting the star likely won't be traveling to Basel in person.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Les Cinq Céline Dion Brasil (@lescinqceline)

However, a Swiss broadcasting corporation spokesman said, "All elements of the first semi-final show were played through and rehearsed intensively. There are currently no changes regarding Celine Dion – we are still in close contact with her," meaning uncertainty still surrounds the star's expected appearance despite all indications to the contrary.

Due to complications from stiff-person syndrome (SPS), Celine Dion has largely withdrawn from touring in recent years. The Canadian vocalist made a notable return to the spotlight during the 2024 Paris Olympics, delivering an emotional rendition of Edith Piaf's "Hymne A L'Amour" from the Eiffel Tower in what many considered a triumphant comeback performance.

The post Will Celine Dion perform in Eurovision 2025? appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Eurovision week 2025 officially opens Sunday afternoon with the delegation parade on the turquoise carpet – the festive opening ceremony of the competition, in which Israel's representative Yuval Raphael will also participate.

The atmosphere in Basel is already fully present. During the past weekend, the city began embracing Eurovision colors – flags appeared in almost every corner, shop windows were decorated, and squares transformed into pilgrimage sites for competition fans, locals, tourists – everyone. The general feeling? As if the city awakened to a world where sequins are a native language, feathers constitute a dress code, and every step on the street comes with an imaginary chorus of "douze points!"

The magic of Eurovision 2025 doesn't wait for you to reach downtown; it begins the moment you land.  If you arrive by plane, you'll encounter colorful signs welcoming you with "Welcome Eurovision Fans" right at the baggage carousels of Basel-Mulhouse Airport. And if you choose to arrive by train, from the moment you step onto the main station floor, you'll understand you've entered a city that speaks Eurovision language.

Digital signage has transformed into colorful heart displays, direction markers glow in bright pink, and almost every column features the competition logo. The station has become an unofficial Eurovision branch – a combination of transportation hub and photo-op station for sequin genre enthusiasts.

Between steaming coffee and Swiss tuna sandwiches, even locals have embraced the competition spirit. Store after store has wrapped itself in Eurovision colors – "Welcome Home" signs in neon yellow, fuchsia pink hearts, and shop windows specifically modified for the event, featuring microphone-shaped cakes, scarves with "douze points" inscriptions, and shelves stocked with official merchandise.

Digital screens in the station plaza broadcast competition messages and logos on constant rotation, and as they change colors and wink at passersby, there's a sense of a continuous show. Pedestrians pause for photos, children point excitedly, and tourists reach for smartphones – as if it's not just another ordinary day, but a semifinal show beginning with a fashionably late five-minute delay.

"Eurovision Street"

When exiting Basel's main train station and turning left, you can't miss what locals simply call "Eurovision Street." This main urban thoroughfare extends about 1.9 miles, all the way to Badischer Bahnhof station, completely transformed into a colorful, festive walking route dedicated to the competition.

Shops along the way have "dressed up" for Eurovision – many display "Friends of Eurovision" signs, while others have designed their windows with songs, sequins, and hearts as inspiration. "United By Music" signs line the street, while familiar Eurovision hit melodies flow from the city's sound system – an unofficial soundtrack to everyday life.

But it's more than just decoration. Eurovision Street lives, breathes – and performs. One side features small wooden stands for local street artists, who are already strumming, drumming, whistling, and engaging passersby. At its center stands a main stage hosting live performances throughout the day. Last weekend already featured local brass ensembles, percussion groups, and young bands performing tribute songs to competing artists. Later this week, some competition contestants themselves are expected to perform here. On this street, Basel isn't merely hosting Eurovision – it's actively participating in it.

On Eurovision Street, we met the first group of Eurovision fans from Israel – including Avi Zeikner, a photographer in everyday life but serving as the editor of Euromix.co.il while in Basel. "We arrived here yesterday afternoon, and since then it's been really pleasant," he said. "The atmosphere is quite relaxed. Regarding security, we notice police officers on the streets and hope everything proceeds smoothly. I'm not overly concerned, just trying to limit speaking Hebrew on the street and not carrying an Israeli flag, but overall it feels quite safe."

Beside him stood Tal Dahan and Shachar Assido – devoted Eurovision fans who attended every competition over the past three years. "We haven't seen anything like this at previous competitions we've attended – there are truly wonderful things here. We even met Luxembourg's representative, and she's really friendly," Tal said, and Shachar added, "Very near here was a karaoke party where everyone gathered around us after we sang – nice atmosphere, and it doesn't feel as tense as last year in Malmö.

"Initially, we thought there wouldn't be any Israeli flags at all, that perhaps they'd boycott or no presence would be visible," she said. "But we actually do see them – both here on Eurovision Street and throughout Basel – whenever flags are displayed, the Israeli flag is included. That's definitely a pleasant surprise."

This stands in stark contrast to last year in Malmö, where at this stage of the week, one could already encounter numerous demonstrations, inscriptions, flags, and verbal attacks against Israel. This time, at least so far, the situation appears completely different.

Except for a few isolated cases documented last week when anti-Israel inscriptions scattered around the city were spotted, Basel's municipality apparently acted quickly to remove everything. The physical presence – flags, signs, street atmosphere – feels much calmer. That makes the moment when you encounter graffiti saying "F**k Israel" near Eurovision Street, on the wall of a bank branch adorned with Eurovision inscriptions, particularly jarring.

The colorful sign declaring "United by Music" in plump letters hangs directly above the vulgar inscription. Yet this exception seems to emphasize the rule that, at least for now, Eurovision in Basel operates in a "neutral and sterile zone" where Israelis can simply enjoy the competition.

Eurovision Village

At the end of Eurovision Street, the Eurovision Village spreads. This year, for the first time, it's established in an enclosed, covered venue, creating the atmosphere of a colorful fair under one roof. The massive structure is entirely branded with distinct Eurovision aesthetics, featuring giant signs, screen displays, flags from every direction, and eye-catching food stalls ranging from Middle Eastern cuisine to hamburgers to sticky, delightful Swiss raclette.

Between these, you'll find official competition merchandise, scarves, postcards with the "United by Music" slogan, and selfie stations with golden microphones.

On one wall, right at the entrance, appears the Eurovision 2025 slogan in various languages, including Hebrew. But standing casually before this inscription is a tall green plant, apparently placed randomly. It doesn't entirely obscure it but creates a charming hide-and-reveal effect, as if the Hebrew greeting wants to say hello, but shyly. It doesn't appear intentional, certainly not hostile, but this small scene embodies something quintessentially Eurovision, a blend of good intentions, colorful design, and foliage that grew beyond control.

In the center of the space stands a performance stage where both local artists and Eurovision stars from years past will appear throughout the week. Later in the week, some current competition participants are also expected to perform here. As the plaza gradually fills, a tram passes outside completely wrapped in pink and blue hearts, displaying the Eurovision logo. This represents a relatively rare sight around Basel, but when spotted, impossible to miss. It approaches quietly, stops, and all that's missing is a Ukrainian backing choir with shiny gold coats emerging from it.

The calm before the douze points

To reach the competition venue, as well as Euroclub and Eurocafe, the official Eurovision nightclubs, you must leave Eurovision Street and board a tram. The local line takes visitors to the southeastern edge of the city, home to what will become a focal point of noise, in the most positive sense.

Especially here at St. Jakobshalle – the hall hosting the semifinals and grand final – a completely different atmosphere currently prevails, a feeling of "the calm before the storm."

Inside, you don't yet feel the drum rhythms or lighting intensity, but hints already exist. Some delegations conduct rehearsals, journalists collect entry passes granting access to media zones, and occasionally, security personnel with earpieces and transmitters pass by.

But tomorrow, everything changes. This area will become Eurovision week's beating heart, featuring open rehearsals for ticket holders, daily performances, media broadcasts from every corner, and the three highlight evenings: first semifinal, second semifinal, and the grand final itself. Within 24 hours, every quiet corner transforms into a colorful distillation of singing, costumes, hope, and douze points.

Among decorated streets, fragrant stalls, festive trams, and the still-quiet hall – it's impossible to ignore the bubbling excitement in the air. Basel prepares for its defining moment with scenery almost complete. It's not showtime yet, but something here already sings.

The Eurovision 2025 semifinals will take place on May 13 and May 15, and the grand final on May 17.

The post Reporting from Basel: Eurovision 2025 begins appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Theodor Herzl needed only six days of action to establish a state. Or at least that period of time to understand and absorb that, in this short time, he laid the foundations for the political existence of the Jewish people.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

On 1 Elul, 5647 (1897) Herzl was still running around the Stadtcasino concert hall in Basel, starching flags, commenting – like a skilled editor – on the delegates' speeches that were sent to him ahead of time. He then reprimanded Max Nordau and sent him back to the hotel to change his casual clothes into a frock coat, in accordance with the ceremonial dress code. On Friday, 6 Elul (1897), after the 208 delegates had returned to their relevant countries, Herzl wrote in his diary: "At Basel, I founded the Jewish state."

What made Herzl realize that the Jewish state had been founded at the special conference of the First Zionist Congress? After all, another fifty years passed until the actual declaration of independence, during which time the Jewish people faced a real danger of annihilation. Herzl had, in fact, launched a vision that expressed a desire. In the following lines in his diary he wrote: "The foundation of the state was already laid in the people's desire for a homeland."

One word in the Hebrew language expresses the transition from the metaphysical event of the First Zionist Congress to the physical event called the State of Israel more than anything else, and that word is "chozeh." In English there are two separate meanings of the word "chozeh." One is "visionary," and Herzl, who was defined as the State Visionary, represents the vision and belief in the establishment of the Jewish state. The second is "contract," and Herzl was the one who drafted the contract between the Jewish People and their homeland. In Hebrew it sounds so much better, clearer, and more real.

Black frock suits have disappeared over the past 125 years, but the ceremonial emotions remain and the historical excitement is still thriving, as many hundreds of Jews gathered in the Basel concert hall this week. They clinked their glasses and mingled, but they also contemplated one big and ever-existing question: as the State of Israel enters its 75th year, what should the country represent – a safe haven for Jews from constant global threats, or a model society? The obvious answer, derived from the variety of meetings this week in Basel, is that all the answers are correct.

Herzl understood that the solutions that the Jewish people find for themselves are only paving the way for even bigger solutions, for a better world. The "Jewish question" that troubled the world in which he lived (Die Judenfrage) was given an answer in the actual essence of political Zionism as well as in the establishment of institutions that motivated Zionist action – for immigration, settlement and fulfillment.

As Dr. Micah Goodman said in Basel, in his typical prophetic passion, "we have reached a new stage in the responsibility of the Jewish people: if Herzl found a universal solution to the Jewish problem, we are now in an era where universal problems are being solved by Jewish solutions."

The Trap of Improvisation

The current congress differed from the first in that over the years Israeli culture has developed a thin layer of cynicism towards the ability to change and dream ahead. The need for a vision has been replaced, all too often, by the need for survival. In some way, the famous Israeli improvisation – which has become known all over the world – has become infamous.

Existential plans, which consider the future of Israel, the 100th Independence Day, the lives of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and not the next fiscal year – have become unrealistic in an unstable political reality. This reality forces us to stray from thinking about the collective, and mainly it suppresses our ability to dream and envision; to look beyond the horizon.

But reality can change quickly. Herzl was one of those righteous and upright individuals who was able to lift himself above a crisis and the low spirits of his time, in order to envision lofty insights and a new reality. This is how he acted when he, as a journalist, reported on the antisemitic trials of Édouard Drumont and Alfred Dreyfus, when he stubbornly trudged among the major philanthropists, and when he did not let himself sink into the political filth, when the "protesting Rabbis" in Munich objected to his intention to hold the First Zionist Congress in the city, but simply moved it to Basel – and the rest is history.

Strive for moral perfection

So, if only one insight emerged from the discussion panels, the cocktails and the many meetings held this week in Basel, it is that the Jewish People must remember Herzl's message, that has characterized him for over 125 years of Zionism: the ability to rise above narrow-mindedness and low-level interests, and put a vision into action. Zionism, a la Herzl, strives for moral and spiritual perfection for the Jewish people. This is the contract he signed, and this is the contract that has been continuously ratified for the past 125 years.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post In Basel, Herzl's Zionist covenant got renewed appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.