Kamal Ghorui
Israel has qualified for the Eurovision Song Contest’s finals to compete on Saturday, receiving controversial feedback from the audience. Representing the country, Noam Bettan performed his English, Hebrew, and French song ‘Michelle.’
Noam Bettan’s performance in the Eurovision Song Contest
Many protests occurred in Austria’s capital, Vienna, to express their detestation of Israel’s participation over the week. During Bettan’s performance at Wiener Stadthalle, the audience members were booing and chanting. As a response, the 28-year-old contestant, who was singing in an all-black leather outfit, thanked the listeners. “I heard the boos at the beginning,” Bettan said, as per Y Net Global, before adding, “They were really, really loud. But I focused on the performance.” Leaving the stage, he claimed, “I searched with my eyes for Israeli flags in the audience. It strengthened me.” He was one of the 10 acts out of 15 that were qualified for finals, including Belgium, Sweden, Greece, Finland, Croatia, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia, and Moldova, according to Sky News.
About Eurovision
Eurovision, one of the biggest music festivals, had over 35 countries competing against each other for the title. The 2026 contest has been conducted in Austria, after they won the championship last year. The first event was held on May 12, 2026, and followed by the second semi-final on Thursday, May 14, 2026. The finals will be held on Saturday, May 16, 2026. However, due to the Gaza war, five countries (Iceland, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, and Slovenia) have boycotted the entire event by refusing to broadcast and withdrew their names one by one. This call was taken after countries expressed their view of excluding Israel from the competition to the Eurovision Broadcasting Union. Since 2004, the lowest number of countries have taken part in the largest music festivals.
