VIENNA (AP) — The 70th Eurovision Song Contest launches Tuesday with its first semifinal round, though controversy surrounding Israel’s participation casts a shadow over the celebrated musical competition.
Vienna has been decorated with hearts and the event’s “United by Music” theme as performers from 35 nations prepare to vie for Europe’s top musical honor this week. However, five countries — Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland — have chosen to skip the competition in protest of Israel being allowed to participate.
Multiple pro-Palestinian rallies are scheduled throughout Eurovision week in Vienna, prompting authorities to implement enhanced security measures. Police officers from throughout Austria have been stationed in the capital, with additional support from German law enforcement.
Security concerns were heightened after a 21-year-old Austrian man pleaded guilty last month to planning an attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024, admitting he had sworn loyalty to ISIS. Austria’s DSN intelligence chief Sylvia Mayer warned that “the terror threat posed by Islamist terror groups, as well as Iran-affiliated groups, is still at a high level.”
Israeli performer Noam Bettan will compete alongside 14 other acts for votes from television audiences and national panels during Tuesday’s semifinal at Vienna’s Wiener Stadthalle arena. The top 10 performers advance to Saturday’s championship round, joined by 10 qualifiers from Thursday’s second semifinal. The United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy receive automatic spots as major financial contributors to the contest, while Austria advances as the host nation after winning last year.
Bettan hopes to advance Israel to Saturday’s finale with his ballad “Michelle,” following Israel’s second-place finish in 2025. Similar to last year’s Israeli representative Yuval Raphael, Bettan has rehearsed performing while facing hostile crowd reactions.
Finland enters as the betting favorite with “Liekinheitin” (“Flamethrower”), an energetic collaboration between violinist Linda Lampenius and pop artist Pete Parkkonen.
Tuesday’s semifinal also features Greece’s Akylas performing the crowd-pleasing party-rap number “Ferto” (“Bring It”); Portuguese group Bandidos do Cante with their emotional track “Rosa”; and Senhit representing San Marino with “Superstar,” a celebratory anthem featuring Boy George as a guest performer.
Eurovision has historically served as a platform for friendly — and occasionally sharp — national competition, but recent years have seen increasing difficulty separating entertainment from political tensions. Russia faced expulsion in 2022 following its comprehensive invasion of Ukraine.
Both the 2024 competition in Malmo, Sweden, and last year’s event in Basel, Switzerland, witnessed pro-Palestinian demonstrations demanding Israel’s removal over its military actions against Hamas in Gaza and accusations of improper vote solicitation campaigns.
After organizers refused to exclude Israel, the five boycotting nations announced their withdrawal in December.
The European Broadcasting Union, Eurovision’s governing body, has strengthened voting procedures following vote manipulation allegations, reducing individual voting limits from 20 to 10 votes and implementing stricter monitoring for “suspicious or coordinated voting activity.”
Dean Vuletic, who wrote “Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest,” remains optimistic about the competition’s resilience.
“We’ll see demonstrations, but we’ll also see a lot of colorful events going on which will really represent what Eurovision is about, which is bringing Europeans together,” he said.
“If you look at the history of Eurovision, it’s gone through so many crises, so many political challenges, so many geopolitical changes in Europe, and it’s always managed to survive.”
