Overview
- Sarah Engels, who landed in Vienna Wednesday, said her suitcase with all stage costumes was missing and joked she might have to perform in pajamas.
- Her first on‑stage rehearsal is set for Thursday at 3 p.m. in the Wiener Stadthalle, and Germany is already in the May 16 final as a Big Five country.
- Austrian authorities have kept the national terror threat at level four and expanded security, with an FBI task force in New York assisting on round‑the‑clock cyber monitoring.
- Public broadcasters in the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and Iceland are boycotting over Israel’s entry, while Germany’s culture minister Wolfram Weimer said he will attend to back Israel’s participation.
- Google reports Engels’ song Fire was the most‑searched Eurovision track worldwide over the past 30 days, despite bookmakers placing her in the middle of the field.