Israel qualified for the Eurovision 2026 final with the pop song “Michelle”, performed by 28-year-old Noam Bettan. The success comes in a tense context, marked by protests and the boycott of five countries, including Ireland, as a reaction to Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
At Tuesday’s semi-final, Bettan was met with a mix of applause and boos, according to the BBC. Some spectators shouted anti-Israel slogans, while others chanted his name.
Before the contest, the artist had told the Jerusalem Post that he wanted to stay focused on the music and reduce criticism to “background noise“.
The negative reactions could also be heard on the TV broadcast, after the Austrian television channel ORF – the host of the contest – announced that it would not censor the public’s protests.
ORF and EBU later reported that a spectator who was close to a microphone and “loudly expressed his views” both before and during Israel’s moment was evicted.
Three other people were also ejected from the arena for similar behavior.
Despite the tensions, Noam Bettan secured one of the ten places available in the final.
The artist thanked the audience after announcing his qualification to the finals which will take place on Saturday.
Qualify and eliminate
Ten countries qualified for the grand final. The favorites of the evening were the representatives of Finland, Pete Parkkonen and Linda Lampenius, with the song Liekinheitin (Flamethrower), currently considered the main candidate for the trophy.
Instead, San Marino – who had Boy George as a special guest – failed to pass the semi-final vote, to the disappointment of the British artist’s fans.
They qualified:
Belgium – Essyla: Dancing on the Ice
Croatia – Lelek: Andromeda
Finland – Linda Lampenius & Pete Parkkonen: Liekinheitin
Greece – Akylas: Ferto
Israel – Noam Bettan: Michelle
Lithuania – Lion Ceccah: Sólo quiero más
Moldova – Satoshi: Viva, Moldova!
Poland – Alicja: Pray
Serbia – Lavina: Kraj Mene
Sweden – Felicia: My System
Eliminated: Estonia, Georgia, Montenegro, Portugal and San Marino — including three names with history in the competition: Vanilla Ninja, Senhit and Bzikebi.
The second semi-final takes place on Thursday, where 15 countries will fight for the last 10 places in the final.
Austria (the host), along with France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, are already automatically qualified.
Romania will compete in the second semi-final, scheduled for May 14, when Alexandra Căpitănescu will represent our country with the song “Choke Me”. The artist will take the stage live on TVR 1, from 22:00, and will compete for a place in the final alongside Albania, Denmark, Armenia, Cyprus, Switzerland, Norway, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Malta, Bulgaria, Australia, Ukraine, Czech Republic and Latvia.
