Overview
- Eurovision marks its 70th final in Vienna with 25 acts, as betting now favors Finland first and Australia second, with Greece third, Israel fourth, and Romania fifth.
- Five broadcasters — Spain, Slovenia, Ireland, Iceland, and the Netherlands — withdrew over Israel’s participation, leaving 35 competing countries overall and removing Spain’s TV network from the broadcast.
- Crowd shouts of “Stop the genocide” were audible during the first semifinal when Israel’s Noam Bettan performed, with host broadcaster ORF declining to mute them while the European Broadcasting Union later posted an edited clip without the chants.
- The New York Times reported that Israel has used public funds since 2018 to influence Eurovision televotes, and the European Broadcasting Union admonished Israel’s broadcaster KAN for promoting partisan actions linked to the contest.
- Organizers are enforcing new voting rules this year that cap online votes at 10 per device and expand each national jury to seven members with at least two aged 18–25, changes meant to blunt mass mobilization as audience metrics show a sharp drop in song streams.