Singer Kobi Marimi will represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, which will be held in May in Tel Aviv, after winning the television competition “Hakohav Haba” (Rising Star).
Marimi, 28, grew up in Ramat Gan and now lives in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. He studied at the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio and has appeared in several plays and musicals.
"This is a kind of school, it's something that I do not think one goes through anywhere else," said Marimi after the victory. "Ehen you do it on stage you feel exposed, but the audience I was so afraid of at the end turned out to be the most loving and embracing thing in the world. So I learned to dare."
Minister of Culture and Sports Miri Regev said, "Congratulations to Kobi Marimi, who impressed and excited an entire country with his unique voice. He proved that the will and the faith are stronger than everything after he had already been voted off, returned to the program and won."
Regev added, "Kobi brought to the stage wonderful abilities that could not be ignored. I am confident that he will prepare himself properly in the remaining months and represent us with great success in the Eurovision Song Contest here in Israel in three months. 40 years ago we won a second Eurovision after we hosted it. With Kobi we can do it again."
Israel won the right to host Eurovision in 2019 after Netta Barzilai’s victory in last year’s song contest with her song “Toy”.