The hotly anticipated Eurovision contest 2017 begins on Tuesday with Israel’s hopes of winning the competition resting on 25-year-old singer Imri Ziv.

The first semi-final takes place tonight, but those waiting to see Ziv in action will have to wait until the second semi on Thursday, when he is due to perform.

Thirty-six countries are competing for 20 places in Saturday’s final where they will compete against Italy, France, Germany, Spain, the UK and hosts Ukraine who all have guaranteed slots.

Ziv is no newcomer to Eurovision - he has sung backing vocals for previous Israeli contestants.

He performed as a back-up singer for Nadav Guedj in 2015 in Vienna and Hovi Star last year in Stockholm.

He was selected to represent Israel after winning the finals of the reality TV show Kochav Haba in February.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis are expected to tune in on Thursday to watch him perform I Feel Alive , a dance tune similar to Golden Boy Guedj’s entry that earned Israel a top 10 placing two year ago.