The atmosphere inside Vienna’s Wiener Stadthalle on Tuesday night was as much a political battlefield as it was a musical stage. As Israel’s Noam Bettan stepped into the spotlight for the first semifinal of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest, the air was thick with tension, punctuated by audible chants of “stop the genocide” that bled into the live broadcast.
Despite the vocal opposition and a contest shadowed by the largest boycott in the event’s history, Bettan’s multilingual entry, “Michelle,” resonated enough with both the professional juries and the viewing public to secure his place in Saturday’s grand final. The result marks a defiant progression for the Israeli delegation in a year where the intersection of pop culture and geopolitical conflict has reached a breaking point.
Bettan’s performance was a carefully choreographed blend of vulnerability and spectacle. He and dancer Lihi Freud began the piece encased in a massive diamond-shaped prop, which slowly opened to reveal the singer before he joined four backup dancers. Singing in French, Hebrew, and English, Bettan fought through the initial wave of boos—a scenario he admitted to the Times of Israel last month he had specifically practiced for to ensure he wouldn’t be rattled on the world stage.
“I heard the boos, but quickly afterward, I heard calls from people on our side who were making noise and lifting me up,” Bettan said in a video message following the performance. “And it immediately lifted my spirits and warmed my heart. It filled me up, it gave me strength.”
A Contest Defined by Absence and Protest
The 2026 edition of Eurovision has been defined by who is not on the stage. In an unprecedented move, Spain, Slovenia, Iceland, Ireland, and the Netherlands led a concerted push to have Israel disqualified. When the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) refused, those five nations withdrew from the competition entirely. This boycott has reduced the field to just 35 nations, the smallest roster in decades.
The friction extended beyond the official participant list and into the streets of Vienna. On Tuesday, the Palestine Solidarity Austria group organized a demonstration in the city center. While the turnout was relatively tiny—approximately a dozen people—the imagery was stark, featuring small fake coffins with photos of children killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. Protesters carried signs reading “No stage for genocide,” mirroring the chants heard within the arena.
Inside the venue, the tension remained high. The Austrian public broadcaster, ORF, explicitly stated it would not employ anti-booing technology—a tool used in previous years to dampen crowd noise during controversial entries. This decision allowed the raw friction of the crowd to be heard by millions of viewers worldwide. Security was forced to physically remove two individuals from the arena after they attempted to interrupt the broadcast.
For Bettan, the emotional core of the song served as a personal anchor. During the Hebrew line “someone who will hear me,” Bettan noted that he was singing directly to his home country. “It sounds like such a cliche,” he admitted, “but I was singing to Israel, and I felt it on every level.”
EBU Reforms and the Battle for Fair Voting
The EBU has spent the last year attempting to insulate the contest from accusations of “televote manipulation,” particularly following Israel’s runaway win in 2025. This year, the organization implemented a suite of reforms designed to balance popular appeal with professional musical judgment. Most notably, the professional jury votes have returned to the semifinal rounds, creating a 50/50 split between the jury and the public.
Beyond the return of the juries, the EBU has tightened the rules on how the public can engage. Voting is now capped at 10 votes per person, down from 20, in an effort to prevent organized “vote-bombing” campaigns. The organization has also vowed to crack down on “disproportionate promotion campaigns,” especially those with government funding.
| 2026 Rule Change | Previous Policy | Objective |
|---|---|---|
| Semifinal Juries | Public Vote Only (since 2024) | Balance populism with professional critique |
| Voting Cap | 20 votes per person | Limit the impact of coordinated campaigns |
| Promotion Rules | Less stringent oversight | Prevent government-funded “vote-buying” |
These reforms were put to the test almost immediately. Just days before the semifinals, the EBU issued a direct warning to the Israeli broadcaster, Kan, regarding an ad campaign featuring Bettan. The campaign, translated into multiple languages, encouraged viewers to vote for him the maximum 10 times. The EBU declared the campaign was “not in line with our rules nor the spirit of the competition,” prompting Kan to pull the ads from social media.
The Road to Saturday
Bettan joins a diverse group of qualifiers who survived Tuesday’s cut. Along with Israel, Greece, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Moldova, Croatia, Serbia, Lithuania, and Poland have advanced. The night was a disappointment for Portugal, Georgia, Montenegro, Estonia, and San Marino, all of whom were eliminated from the competition.
Israel has a strong historical pedigree at Eurovision, with four victories since 1973 (1978, 1979, 1998, and 2018). Recent years have seen the country maintain high standings despite growing political volatility, with Eden Golan finishing fifth in 2024 and Yuval Raphael—who co-wrote “Michelle”—taking second place overall in 2025.
As the competition moves toward the grand final, the focus shifts to the “Substantial Four” (France, Germany, Italy, and the UK), the host nation Austria, and the qualifiers from Thursday’s second semifinal. While bookmakers currently favor Finland, followed by Greece and Denmark, Israel is projected to finish in sixth place.
The tension in Vienna is expected to peak this weekend. Organizers and local authorities are bracing for significantly larger anti-Israel protests on Friday and Saturday, with hundreds of participants expected to gather. A smaller pro-Israel counter-protest is scheduled for Thursday.
The grand final will take place this Saturday night, where the final tally of jury and public votes will determine the winner of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest.
Do you think the EBU’s new voting reforms are enough to keep the contest fair? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
