Festigal () is an annual Israeli song and dance musical show for children. Festigal is held every year at Hanukkah time, during the school vacation. It began as a song contest but the format gradually changed to include performances by well-known Israeli singers and actors. Each year's event is built around a particular theme or story.
History The first Festigal took place in the city of Haifa in 1981, conceived by entertainment producer Miki Peled, who later to be joined by his son, Yaron Peled. Since then, it has been held in venues nationwide. It is among the largest events during Hanukkah. For example, in 2006, about 18 million NIS were allocated for the concerts."The Festigal audience never gets older", The Jerusalem Post, 31 December 2006 The show was directed by Hanoch Rosen from 1997 until 2023.
Theme songs
2002–2015: Adapted international pop songs Between 2002 and 2015, each Festigal featured a Hebrew adaptation of a popular international song, or a Hebrew remake of an older Israeli song. 2002: "The Ketchup Song" – 2003: "Around the World" (Israeli Song) – 2004: "Dragostea din tei" – 2005: "Holding Out for a Hero" – .Pitchford's and Steinman's classic famous title Holding Out for a Hero has been chosen to lead the annual Festigal song contest 2006: "The Final Countdown" – 2007: "Major Tom (Coming Home)" – 2008: "Can You Feel It" – 2009: "I'm So Excited" – 2010: "The Rhythm of the Night" – 2011: "Mr. Saxobeat" – 2012: "Livin' la Vida Loca" – 2013: "Euphoria" – 2014: "When the Rain Begins to Fall" – 2015: "Heroes"Israel: "Heroes" goes to high school as Festigal theme –
2016–present: Original Hebrew theme songs Beginning in 2016, Festigal returned to original Hebrew theme songs written specifically for each year's storyline. 2016: "Singing Together" –שרים ביחד; lyrics: Uri Gross; music: Aviv Koren 2017: "A Legend from Now" – אגדה מעכשיו; lyrics: Uri Gross; music: Loran De Paz 2018: "Freestyle Festigal" – Freestyle פסטיגל; lyrics and music: Doron Medalie 2019: "Connecting to Life" – להתחבר לחיים; lyrics and music: Doron Medalie 2020: "MY Festigal" – lyrics and music: Doron Medalie 2021: "Sky High" – lyrics and music: Ron Biton and Itay Shimoni 2022: "Festigal on Festigal – The Fantasy Comes to Life" – פסטיגל על פסטיגל- הפנטזיה מתעוררת לחיים; lyrics and music: Ron Biton and Itay Shimoni 2024: "Sing Festigal – Let the Music Connect Us" — Sing פסטיגל – תנו למוזיקה לחבר בינינו; lyrics and music: Ron Biton and Itay Shimoni 2025: "Awakening to Life" – להתעורר לחיים (IMAGINE Festigal); lyrics: Uri Orien; music: Amir Lekner
Themes From 1984, Festigal has had a different theme each year. For example, in 2010, the theme was the story of two kids lost in a museum at night with the exhibits coming to life and showing pieces of history (based on the 2006 film Night at the Museum). In 2015, the show had a high school theme loosely based on the Fame franchise and the TV show Glee.
List of themes
1984: Channel 1 1985: Robots 1986: Radio broadcasting 1987: Saving the Garden from Demolition 1988: The Light Kingdom 1989: Family 1990: Fight of the Festigal 1991: Hanny'le and the Saturday Dress 1992: To Be a Star 1993: Father and Daughter at Festigal 1994: Television 1995: Animals 1996: Circus – 1997: Amusement park – 1998: Dreams – 1999: Millennium – 2000: Toys – 2001: Telenovela – 2002: Cinematography – 2003: World Tour – 2004: Fairy tales – 2005: Superheroes – 2006: Fantasy – 2007: Time travel – 2008: Underwater – 2009: Kung fu – 2010: History – 2011: Cyberspace – 2012: Spying – 2013: The Four Elements – 2014: The Hunger Games – 2015 and 2016: High school – 2017: Urban legend – 2018: Dance – 2019: Cyberspace – 2020: 40th Anniversary – 2021: Angels – 2022: Parallel Universes — 2024: Music — 2025: Imagine —
See also Dance in Israel Music of Israel Culture of Israel
References