US EditionIsrael to Take Part in First Eurovision Semi-Final on May 12
Israel competes in the first semi-final amid the largest political boycott with 35 countries participating and new voting rules to improve contest integrity.
- On May 12, Israel was drawn into the first semi-final in Vienna's City Hall, paired with 14 other countries for the contest.
- Public broadcasters in Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain announced they are boycotting this year’s contest, citing concerns about Israel's conduct in Gaza and journalist restrictions.
- After televote controversies in 2025, the European Broadcasting Union reinstated professional juries in semi-finals with young jurors aged 18 to 25 and adopted stronger fraud-detection measures.
- With only 35 countries, the contest's field is smaller than usual, as Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom automatically qualify for the May 16 final, with 10 semi-final qualifiers from each semi-final.
- The second semi-final on May 14 features 15 countries, including past winners Azerbaijan, Denmark, Latvia, Norway, Ukraine and Switzerland, while Germany and Italy are in the first semi-final.
37 Articles
37 Articles
Israel to compete in first semifinal of 2026 Eurovision, organizers announce
A total of 35 countries will participate in the 70th Eurovision Song Contest, but only 30 will compete in the semifinals because five countries are pre-qualified for the grand final on May 16. By Shiryn Ghermezian, The Algemeiner Israel will participate in the first semifinal of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, in May and will perform during the second half of the competition, the European Broadcasting Union announced on Mond…
The draw in Vienna has determined which countries will perform in the first and second semi-finals of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest, which will be held in the Austrian capital in May. This year, 35 countries will participate in the music competition, the fewest since 2004. Five of them, including Slovenia, have announced a boycott of the contest due to Israel's participation.
Belgium will participate in Eurovision's first semi-final on 12 May, at which the Israeli candidate will also perform. ...
The two semi-finals of this year's Eurovision Song Contest have been drawn - and Sweden's entry ended up in the first semi-final, which also includes Israel, among others.
After the controversy over Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), the starting places for the two semi-finals were distributed in four months. Israel will compete in the first semi-final on May 12, as a draw on Monday at the Vienna City Hall resulted. On the stage this evening, the candidates from Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Croatia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Sweden and Se…
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