This Israeli broadcaster, the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), held a national final to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1993. IBA held the national final at its television studios in Jerusalem, hosted by 1987 co-Israeli representative Nathan Dattner. 12 songs competed, with the winner being decided through the votes of 7 regional juries.
"Shiru" (Hebrew: שירו; "Sing") was performed in Hebrew and English by The Shiru Group on the night of the contest, one of two bilingual songs, along with the Croatian entry.
The song is about the power of song itself. The protagonist recalls how they were "given their songs" by the people they grew up with. They say song is "all we have" and they sing to "break walls" and "open hearts". The bridge of the song is performed in English, marking the second occasion, after its 1992 entry, on which the Israeli contest entry had featured any language apart from Hebrew.
At Eurovision
Lehakat Shiru performed 24th on the night of the final, preceding Norway. On stage, the members dressed in traditional Israeli dress, wearing red ribbons in solidarity with people living with HIV/AIDS.[2] Bracha, Haim, Nadler and Proiter were in the center of the stage, while Sharon was on piano and Zamir was backing singer. At the end of the song, they all joined in a row at the front of the stage.
They received 4 points, placing 24th in a field of 25, Israel's worst ever finish in the grand final, and therefore were relegated from participating in the Eurovision Song Contest 1994.[3]
^Sem Anne Van Dijk. "Israel: Rachel Haim Passes Away Aged 66". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. A notable special touch from the performance was that all members of the band wore a red ribbon on their shirts. This was meant to be a symbol of the war against AIDS.