Israel qualifies for Eurovision Song Contest final

Israel's entry has qualified for the Eurovision Song Contest final.

Noam Bettan, an Israeli singer and songwriter, has performed his song Michelle without incident during the first semi-final of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest.

He was given a mixed reception at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, with some of the audience shouting and booing during the song's quieter moments.

After his song, the 28-year-old told the crowd: "Thank you so much."

It comes after an interruption attempt during Israel's 2025 performance at Eurovision, when two protesters unsuccessfully attempted to storm the stage and throw paint during Yuval Raphael's song.

Before Bettan took the stage at this year's contest, the BBC's Eurovision commentator Rylan Clark noted there had been "a lot of controversy" surrounding Israel.

Bettan, wearing a black leather outfit, performed inside a large golden diamond, surrounded by female dancers in black and white bodysuits and white boots.

Several protests have reportedly taken place in the Austrian capital this week over Israel's inclusion in the song contest following the war in Gaza, with Ireland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia all boycotting the event.

Israel's participation in last year's contest was followed by allegations that voting had been manipulated in Raphael's favour.

The singer received the largest number of votes from the public at the 2025 event, held in Basel, Switzerland, in May, but ultimately finished as runner-up to Austria's entry after the jury votes were counted.

Following the controversy, the European Broadcasting Union announced last November that it was changing its voting system, which includes clearer rules around promotion of artists and their songs, the cap on audience voting being halved, the return of professional juries to semi-finals and enhanced security safeguards.

Portugal, Georgia, Montenegro, Estonia and San Marino were the five countries eliminated from the contest during the first semi-final, with Greece, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Moldova, Serbia, Croatia, Lithuania and Poland progressing to the final alongside Israel.

UK entrant Look Mum No Computer, whose real name is Sam Battle, said that people can "express their opinions" at the song contest.

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Asked about the impact that protests against Israel's participation could have, Battle said: "People can be themselves, and they can also express their opinions, and they can do that this year because the canned audience is unedited, so we've just got to see what goes on…

"The audience isn't controlled, the audience [participates] with the microphones, they're allowed to wave whatever flags within the sizing rules and the flammability rules and stuff, so we've just got to get on with it."

Battle is due to represent the UK at the second semi-final on Thursday.

(c) Sky News 2026: Israel qualifies for Eurovision Song Contest final