Overview
- The 70th contest began Tuesday with 15 acts in Semi-Final 1 in Vienna, where 10 will advance to Saturday’s Grand Final and Austria joins the U.K., France, Germany and Italy as automatic finalists.
- Five public broadcasters — Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland — pulled out to protest Israel’s inclusion, leaving 35 countries in the field.
- Israel’s entrant Noam Bettan performs “Michelle” in the first semi as Vienna police mount one of their largest operations, with planned protests and officers drawn from across Austria and Germany.
- The European Broadcasting Union cut personal televotes to 10 and added safeguards against coordinated ballots after issuing a formal warning to Israel’s KAN for videos urging viewers to “vote 10 times for Israel.”
- Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova returned after sitting out 2025, restoring some numbers as organizers try to keep focus on music during a heavily polarized week.