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Ticket to Tel Aviv: Meet Kobi Marimi from Israel

23 April 2019 at 09:00 CEST
Kobi Marimi Ronen Akerman
Kobi Marimi will represent Israel at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest with ‘Home’. He will perform 14th in the Grand Final on Saturday 18 May in Tel Aviv, Israel. This is 'Ticket to Tel Aviv', our feature counting down to the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest.

Kobi won his ticket to Tel Aviv when he won Israel’s national selection show HaKokhav HaBa (Rising Star for Eurovision) on Tuesday 12 February. He was the unanimous first choice with the show’s, judges audience and televoters. That result means that he will represent his country as Israel hosts the Eurovision Song Contest for the third time this year. 

Who is Kobi Marimi? 


27 year-old Kobi was born and raised in Ramat Gan, close to Tel Aviv in Israel. Originally, Kobi Marimi wanted to be an actor and trained at an acting studio for three years. He lost over 50 kilos and went on to perform in several plays before auditioning for Rising Star with no real professional music experience.

As Rising Star continued, Kobi Marimi’s star continued to rise, overcoming seasoned singers including Maya Buskiya to claim the right to represent the host nation at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Later, it was revealed that he would sing Home, especially written for his Eurovision participation.  

READ MORE: Kobi Marimi’s participant profile.

You can follow Kobi Marimi on the following social media platforms:

Kobi Marimi’s Song

Kobi Marimi will sing Home at the Eurovision Song Contest. The song is written and composed by Ohad Shragai and Inbar Weitzman. It will be only the fourth time Israel’s entry has been sung without any Hebrew lyrics.

LISTEN: Stream or download Home via your favourite music service 

Israel at Eurovision 2018 

Last year in Lisbon, Netta ran away with victory at the Grand Final. She delivered Israel's fourth victory at the Eurovision Song Contest with Toy. Netta won the 2018 first Semi-Final with 283 points before going on to win the  Grand Final with 529 points, 93 ahead of second placed Cyprus. 

READ MORE: Israel’s country page

How do you like Kobi Marimi’s song for the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest? Let us know in the comments!