Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Friday, May 16, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Friday, May 16, 2025
Eurovision entry Yuval Raphael takes photo at balcony where Herzl posed in 1901
Amy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel
Theodor Herzl on a balcony in Basel in 1901; Yuval Raphael recreating the image on May 16, 2025. (Bettman Archive; Nitzan Livnat/Kan)
Ahead of her performance in the Eurovision grand final tomorrow night, Israeli singer Yuval Raphael takes a photo on the famed balcony in Basel, Switzerland, where Zionist visionary Theodor Herzl posed in 1901.
The original photo was believed to have been taken at the Hotel Les Trois Rois in the Swiss city during a meeting of the Fifth Zionist Congress, although accounts have varied.
Israel Eurovision organizers said that the balcony on the two-story chandelier during Raphael’s performance of “New Day Will Rise” is meant to be a “symbolic nod” to the famed image of Herzl.
President Isaac Herzog did a similar recreation when he visited the Swiss city in 2022.
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