Overview
- The 70th contest starts its semi‑finals Tuesday in Vienna with 35 countries competing, as Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland boycott over Israel's inclusion.
- Israel's Noam Bettan performs the song "Michelle" in the first semi‑final after the European Broadcasting Union warned broadcaster KAN over videos telling fans to "vote 10 times."
- Organizers tightened voting safeguards for 2026 by cutting each viewer’s televotes to 10 and bringing professional juries back to the semi‑finals to deter coordinated voting.
- Vienna police increased patrols, banned drones near key sites, and set airport‑style screenings, with protests planned and Austria's terror alert holding at a high level.
- The lineup is smaller than recent years but Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova returned, while host Austria and major funders France, Germany, Italy and the UK are already in the final.