Israel has chosen 19-year-old Eden Alene, the child of Ethiopian immigrants, to represent it at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest in the Netherlands in May.

The Jerusalem-born singer beat three other teenage challengers in The Next Star, a TV programme to pick the country’s entrant.

“It is an insane honour to represent my country,” she said. “It is amazing that an Ethiopian is doing it for the first time.”

Now viewers as well as a team of expert judges will choose which song she will sing at the event in a follow-up show, The Next Song for Eurovision.

According to the Eurovision TV website, Eden “won Israel over with her powerful voice and electrifying performances” and “will bring a fresh and contemporary combination of sounds and influences to the Eurovision Song Contest”.

Israel has won the competition four times - the last time in 2018 when Netta triumphed with Toy, which led to the event being staged in Tel Aviv last year.