Noa Kirel on her non-participation in the Festigal competition: "They disqualified me"

The much-talked-about return of Noa Kirel to the Festigal stage promised fans a historic moment: the star's first participation in the traditional song competition. After six performances in the years when the competition was frozen, the anticipation for "Top Secret Festigal" was at its peak.

The competition, which returned to the format last year and awarded first place to Shahar Taboch and Eden Golan, was supposed to place Kirel in a particularly intriguing battle against her castmates. However, it has now been revealed that Kirel will not be subject to the audience's judgment at all, which immediately raised questions: is it a fear of prestige being damaged in the event of a loss, or a calculated script move?

Kirel herself addressed the issue with humor at the Festigal launch event during an interview with the Mako website, joking that the production "disqualified her," but the real reason likely lies in the plot.

The show's production clarified that she will play a legendary past winner who will serve as a mentor to the other participants, and therefore will not compete against them as an equal. By the way, Eden Ben Zaken will also not participate in the competition, as she was cast as a guest singer. In addition, the production was quick to reassure fans and promised that there are more "intriguing surprises" expected regarding her role.

As recalled, Kirel returned to the Hanukkah show after a year-long break she took for the sake of her personal life and the constant flights following her international career and that of her husband, goalkeeper Daniel Peretz. Furthermore, she recently stated that in due time she will have to mentally prepare herself to take a real break from her professional career when she wants to expand her family.