She is just 20 years old and has spent her whole life to this point developing her talent for singing and dancing.
But now, Israel’s Eurovision entry Eden Golan suddenly finds herself as one of the most controversial figures in the world.
In the face of huge anti-Israel protests that has seen her forced to remain holed up in her hotel room between Eurovision performances in Malmo, Golan remains defiant – and believes in the power of music to bring people together as a ford for good.
Speaking to MailOnline the singer insists she is trying to focus on the good stuff, saying: ‘I’ve been getting an extremely huge amount of support. I focus on that because people have truly been amazing.’
While she believes people should have the right to protest – ‘I think people have the right to speak their mind and say whatever they want’ – she says she also has the right to ignore them.
Eden Golan performing her song Hurricane in Malmo, Sweden at the second Eurovision semi-final
Israel’s Eurovision entry has caused controversy but despite the negative reactions from the public, Golan is keen for everyone ‘to be united by music’
Mass pro-Palestinian protests broke out outside the Eurovision Village in Malmo, Sweden where Palestinian flags were waved
Golan said: ‘I’m not blinded or delusional, I am not making up a false belief. But when I go on stage I see how music unites. I am getting messages from people of different nations all over the world.
‘They have different beliefs and different opinions but they’ve connected to the music. We are here to be united by music – that is the slogan of Eurovision and I really feel that we are.’
Eden didn’t need to go to Malmo in Sweden to experience antisemitism: it was something she came to know only too well while growing up in Russia.
Born in Israel to parents who grew up in the USSR – father Eddie is a Latvian-Jewish businessman while mother Olga, who is her manager, came from a Ukrainian Jewish family – her parents moved with Eden and her brother back to Russia for her father’s work when she was six.
There she studied at a British international school in Moscow as well as taking courses online and taking lessons in ballet and gymnastics.
According to her proud parents, she started singing and performing in earnest before she had turned ten.
Father Eddie recently told Russian TV: ‘I completely support Eden in what she chose to do. I will never forget how at the age of nine and a half she came to me and said ‘I will be a singer, I will be one of the best singers in the world’.’
Mother Olga added: ‘She got into rhythmic gymnastics at the age of three and a half in Israel. Then we moved to Moscow, she was into rhythmic gymnastics there too.
Police have had to be placed outside Golan’s hotel in between performances as Israel worry for the performer’s safety
Golan’s powerful performance is the culmination of years of training and according t her parents she’s been singing since she was ten and has even competed in the Junior Eurovision
‘I took her to a nearby ballet class, and she was into ballet. She wasn’t singing. I always said that Eden’s voice was simply to sing in the shower.
‘When, on Eden’s request, I hired a teacher, she worked on vocals. And the teacher said: ‘You know, your daughter has a talent’. Eden was nine when she got into singing.’
A talented gymnast – as fans have noticed during her performances – the change of focus from that towards singing happened after she went on stage during a family holiday to Thailand when she was nine.
She first performed to thousands aged just 11 when she was Russia’s representative in the Junior Eurovision Song contest, finishing fifth.
Eden later talked about her singing ambition on screen.
A video on Russian state TV Channel 1 shows her at an audition as a young teenager.
She says to camera: ‘Hello, my name is Eden Golan. I’m 14 years old, I’m from Israel, but I’ve been living in Moscow for 9 years. We moved to Moscow because of my Dad’s work. I like Russia very much. There are very nice people here, it’s very beautiful, especially in winter.’
She adds: ‘I’m praised for being very kind and helping out if someone’s in trouble. And I am a very hard worker, meaning I have a goal, and I go for it.’
Greta Thunberg (pictured) joined the thousands protesters in the southern Swedish city demonstrating against Israel competing in the famous song contest
Protesters hold a banner reading ‘Welcome to Genocide song contest’ in Malmo yesterday
She attended an international school which followed a British curriculum – she even did A Levels – but it was while at school she was mocked for her Hebrew name.
Later on, when she started in the music industry, she was told to change it.
That experience helped give her the steeliness Eurovision audiences appear to have fallen in love with; her poise, beauty and talent a stark contrast to the hate-filled marches against her appearance.
‘Over the years, my voice got better and I kept practising but I still have places to go,’ she told the Jewish News last month. ‘I feel that until the day I die, I will have a vocal coach and try to get better.’
In 2018 she appeared on a Russian version of The Voice and was put into a girlband called The Cosmos Girls which had moderate success but she had to start her career from scratch when the family moved back to Israel.
But after uploading a demo onto TikTok she was approached by music producers and was then offered the chance to appear on Israel’s talent show HaKockhav HaBa (The Next Star) – just a few weeks after the October 7 attacks which devastated the country and prompted the ongoing war with Gaza.
The singer wowed the audience during the heats with her song which received claps and cheers as well as some booing from the audience
Golan holds an Israel flag to the crowds during the announcements in the semi-final
Golan was ordered to stay in her hotel room by her country’s national security agency as thousands of pro-Palestine protesters called for her to be excluded from the competition
‘It was a very intense season because of the situation in the country. At one point there was a big question mark as to whether the season would happen at all, but it did and I ended up winning and here I am representing Israel after being back in the country for only two years.’
Eden lives in Tel Aviv and was forced into a bomb shelter when Hamas invaded the south of Israel on October 7. Her friend’s boyfriend Ben Shimoni, was one of the victims of the Nova festival in which 330 music lovers were murdered.
After escaping in his car, he went back toward the site to help rescue people three times – and saved nine people. But on his fourth rescue journey he was murdered.
Her song Hurricane was written about the October 7 attack and was originally called October Rain. But after being deemed too political the name and some of the lyrics were changed.
But as she’s toured the world in her new role, she has sported the yellow ribbon symbolising the hostages still in Gaza.
And while she was told she had to stay in her hotel room while not rehearsing or performing, she made one outside visit to Malmo; to join the local Jewish community on their Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations.
‘It was the most important thing for me to be there and it is something that I will never forget,’ says Eden who led the community in singing the Israeli national anthem.
British bookies Ladbrokes and PaddyPower both have Israel among the favourites to win the whole competition
A demonstrator displays a poster during a protest against Israeli participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, ahead of the second semi-final, in Malmo Sweden, May 9, 2024
A pro-Israel demonstration was staged in Malmo in support of Israel’s participant and in defiance of the pro-Palestinian protesters
‘I think it was understandable that I needed to be there. It was important to show what our nation has been through. I wanted to light a candle for our all our beautiful lives, all the lives we have lost. It’s was a sad day.’
While she has attracted plenty of hate – including, it appears, from some of her fellow contestants, with a Greek competitor yawning and appearing to mock her during a press conference – she has won fans with her bravery in refusing to be bowed by the mob.
Part of her rehearsals have included her team booing at her so that she was prepared for a wall of negative sound.
Another secret weapon is, she reveals, her long nails. ‘They are part of my armour; they are a huge part of me – I don’t feel myself without them,’ she says.
Whatever happens on Saturday night, she will be a major star. But when she returns to Israel she is also due to do her national service having had the call up every citizen has. She says she is ready to serve for her country but music will always be her priority.
In the meantime, ahead of the finals, she tells MailOnline: ‘Just being here feels like an achievement, a crazy opportunity. I believe that we have a great song and anything is possible. I believe that we could go all the way.’
