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In a refreshing change from previous years, Israeli singer Noam Bettan and his entourage were warmly received in Vienna, Austria, during the opening event for this week’s Eurovision Song Contest. This marked a significant departure from the past two years when Israeli contestants faced hostile receptions and pro-Hamas protests.
The Eurovision Song Contest, an annual celebration of music that includes some non-European countries like Georgia and Australia, is celebrating its 70th anniversary. Originally created to foster unity and peace in post-World War II Europe, the event brings countries together to showcase original songs performed by selected artists.
This year, 35 countries are participating, with Israel continuing its long-standing involvement since 1973. Despite Israel’s four victories, most recently in 2018, the contest has been marred by political tensions. Following the tragic events of October 7, 2023, when the jihadist group Hamas killed over 1,200 people in Israel, anti-Israel campaigns have gained momentum. The 2024 and 2025 editions in Malmö, Sweden, and Basel, Switzerland, respectively, were marked by significant protests and a notable chill from fellow contestants towards the Israeli representatives.
However, the atmosphere this year in Vienna, the host city due to Austria’s victory last year, was markedly different. At the “Turquoise Carpet” event, a prominent feature of Eurovision week where artists meet fans while showcasing their music and fashion, Bettan and his team were greeted warmly. While a few individuals displayed disapproval with thumbs-down gestures, they were in the minority, overshadowed by fans eager to connect with Bettan. The Israeli team walked the carpet to the tune of “Hava Nagila,” appearing about an hour into the event as the nations were introduced alphabetically.
Amidst this positive reception, Bettan also shared a cordial moment with British pop icon Boy George, who is supporting San Marino’s contestant Senhit in the competition. This friendly interaction further underscored the shift towards a more inclusive and welcoming atmosphere at this year’s Eurovision.
Such an exchange would have been unthinkable during the 2024 and 2025 editions of Eurovision. In 2024, singer Eden Golan was unable to walk the turquoise carpet in Malmö, a city known for becoming a hotbed of mass migration from Islamic countries, due to thousands of anti-Israel protesters surrounding the venue, causing security concerns that Swedish authorities were unable to adequately address. Among them was Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg, who appeared in the crowd wearing a keffiyeh. Within the Eurovision “bubble,” Golan was subjected to heckling and derision from other contestants, including one who claimed to have cried when Golan made it out of the semifinals. Golan placed fifth in the grand final.
In 2025, Israeli singer Yuval Raphael — a survivor of the October 7 massacre — did walk the carpet, but was subject to throngs of menacing pro-Hamas protesters, including a man making throat-slitting gestures at the singer. Raphael finished in second place to Austria’s JJ and won the popular vote.
Following the competition, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organization that stages the event, faced tremendous pressure to expel Israel from the competition, including from competing countries. The EBU had initially scheduled a meeting in December to discuss potentially ousting Israel for its self-defense operations in Gaza, but canceled it after the Gaza war concluded, outraging the most leftist participants in the contest.
In addition to the Gaza war, competitor countries have also complained that Israel advertises and promotes its artists too aggressively. The EBU revealed this weekend that it was forced to warn the Israeli public broadcaster, KAN, to stop advertising videos in which it encouraged viewers to vote for Israel ten times, the maximum, in the semifinal, describing the advertising as “not in line with our rules nor the spirit of the competition.”
Israel is not the only country to promote its artists, however. This year, the small island nation of Malta has ruffled some feathers with a sprawling, continental billboard campaign for its singer, Aidan. The EBU has not at press time issued any public warnings to Malta over its campaigning.
I knew Malta is really aggressive with the promotion of their artists every year, but surely didn’t expect to bump into Aidan billboard on a random boulevard in Sofia, Bulgaria, lol
byu/AdmirableFlow ineurovision
Five countries — Spain, Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, and the Netherlands — withdrew from the 2026 edition to protest Israel’s presence. Three countries that had not participated in 2025 — Moldova, Bulgaria, and Romania — returned.
Bettan is competing this year with the song “Michelle” and will compete in the first semi-final on Tuesday.
The boycotts and outrage among the left, as well as the return of several Eastern European nations to the contest, appear to have changed the tenor of the song output for 2026. Prominent among the songs this year are themes of family — several songs honor motherhood in particular — traditional marriage, and patriotism. In contrast, the 2024 edition featured two “non-binary” performers, including the winner, and 2025 featured multiple songs including explicitly sexual lyrics and crude language that required modification for the ultimate broadcast.
The EBU revealed in January that tickets to the various live performances that comprise Eurovision week sold out in record time despite the anti-Israel boycott campaigns.
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