分类： entertainment

The 70th iteration of Europe’s iconic annual Eurovision Song Contest, held this year in Vienna, has become the center of a growing global controversy, as widespread anger over Israel’s devastating military campaign in Gaza has sparked mass boycotts, alternative performances, and loud demands for Israel’s expulsion from the competition.

On a Tuesday evening in an ornate Brussels concert venue, Palestinian singer-songwriter Bashar Murad took the stage before hundreds of attendees to deliver a haunting, bilingual rendition of Nina Simone’s civil rights anthem *I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free*, blending English and Arabic lyrics. When the final note faded, the crowd erupted into thunderous applause, capping off a performance that anchored one of the largest alternative pro-Palestinian events organized to counter the official contest. This Brussels gathering, titled *United for Palestine*, brought together European artists and Palestinian creators to protest Israel’s spot in the 35-nation lineup, and it is one of dozens of parallel events taking place across the continent this week.

The controversy has already split participating countries: five nations — Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland — have formally withdrawn from the kitschy, widely beloved pop extravaganza, declining to send competitors or broadcast the final. Despite the rising pressure, the Geneva-based European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which administers the contest, has refused to remove Israel from the roster, a decision that has amplified outrage across activist circles and political bodies. Ahead of this year’s event, the EBU did tighten contest voting rules to address persistent allegations of Israeli government interference to boost its competitor, but stopped short of the full expulsion demanded by critics.

The debate over Israel’s participation stretches back decades. Murad, who nearly became Iceland’s 2024 Eurovision competitor, has a personal connection to the fight for Palestinian inclusion: in 2005, his father, a founding member of the iconic Palestinian musical collective Sabreen, joined a petition to the EBU to grant Palestine official entry to the contest, a request that was ultimately denied. Israel, by contrast, has been a participating member since 1973, has claimed four contest victories, and the event holds deep cultural resonance for the Israeli public.

But as the death toll from Israel’s military operations in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Iran has mounted, public fury has spread across Europe. Mass pro-Palestinian protests have been held from Rome to Madrid, and senior European Union officials are currently considering new sanctions against Israel over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard has joined the calls for expulsion, drawing a parallel to the EBU’s 2022 decision to ban Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “Songs and sequins must not be allowed to drown out or distract from Israel’s atrocities or Palestinian suffering,” Callamard stated.

In response to the EBU’s refusal to remove Israel, grassroots activists and public broadcasters have stepped up to organize alternative programming across the continent. SOS Belgium, one of the organizers of the Brussels alternative concert, told reporters that parallel events are also running in Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Italy, and Spain. In Spain, public broadcaster RTVE, which has aired Eurovision for decades, will not broadcast the 2025 final; instead, it will air *La Casa de la Música*, a special 70th anniversary tribute to the broadcaster’s musical legacy that features 20 performers, including the winners of Spain’s national selection contest Benidorm Fest, who would have normally competed at Eurovision.

On Tuesday, the first set of finalists was confirmed, with Israel and fan-favorite Finland securing spots in the grand final, which will be held this weekend. The official contest, which carries this year’s motto “United by Music,” drew 162 million global viewers in 2025 and retains a massive, dedicated fanbase that far outpaces the audience of any alternative event.

Still, Murad and other organizers of the alternative gatherings say their goal is not to compete with Eurovision directly, but to push the contest to live up to its stated founding mission of uniting people across borders through music. “The purpose of these alternative programs that are happening is to remind Eurovision what it’s actually about and to try to hopefully bring it back, to correct its course, and make it actually live up to the things that it claims to be about,” Murad said. “A lot of people in the world feel that the competition has lost its meaning.” “It’s always amazing to be in the same room with people who believe in the same things as you and people who believe that we can’t just let the show go on,” he added.

The 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, currently underway in Vienna, Austria, has found itself at the center of fresh controversy around Israeli participation and voting integrity, prompting organizers to implement sweeping reforms to competition rules and issue a formal reprimand to Israeli public broadcaster Kan.

Tensions around Israeli voting practices first emerged following the 2024 contest, when Israel finished as the public vote winner despite earning only 60 points from the competition’s professional national juries, which score entries based on artistic and compositional merit. Roughly 83% of Israel’s total points came from public votes that year, a stark contrast to overall winner Austria, which drew just 41% of its score from public voting.

Independent media investigations later revealed that an Israeli government advertising agency had funded a coordinated online campaign that instructed social media users how to cast the maximum allowed 20 votes for the Israeli entry, a move that violated Eurovision guidelines around disproportionate state-backed promotion. While the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Eurovision’s governing body, found no conclusive evidence of actionable voting irregularities after the 2024 event, it moved quickly to overhaul voting procedures ahead of the 2025 contest.

Key reforms approved in November 2024 include cutting the maximum allowed number of votes per user in half to 10, banning disproportionate promotional campaigns led by third parties including national governments, and mandating that online voters submit verifiable credit card details to confirm votes originate from the voter’s claimed country of residence. The reforms also restored jury voting to semi-final rounds, a step taken after six national juries were caught colluding to trade votes at the 2022 Turin contest.

Despite these new guardrails, controversy has flared again this year. Earlier this month, Israeli contestant Noam Bettan—currently one of the favorites to win the grand final with his romantic ballad *Michelle*—released social media videos instructing fans to “vote 10 times for Israel”, a move that directly violated the competition’s spirit and promotional rules. In response, the EBU issued a formal warning to Kan and ordered the offending posts be removed immediately.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, current Eurovision Contest Director Martin Green, who took on the role in 2024 after leading creative and ceremonial teams for the 2012 London Olympics and 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, acknowledged that concerns over unfair promotion were valid. “I agree that some of the promotion by some of the broadcasters was a little disproportionate,” he told the BBC, adding that organizers are monitoring all voting patterns “very, very carefully” this year to head off any potential misconduct.

Green emphasized that the EBU prefers to resolve violations through dialogue rather than immediate harsh sanctions, when asked whether Israel faced potential disqualification for further breaches. “We’re a long way from any of that. If there is a problem, we start a conversation and we try and resolve it amicably, without reaching for sanctions,” he explained. “We hope, in a way, that you teach the world that you can solve [conflict] by being collegiate right now.”

On Tuesday, Israel secured one of the 10 grand final spots from the first semi-final, though semi-final voting breakdowns will not be released publicly until after the final concludes to avoid biasing voters. Beyond voting rules, Green’s tenure has also been marked by widespread protests over Israel’s continued participation, with many contestants, fans and activists objecting to the country’s military offensive in Gaza. Last November, after a proposal to suspend Israel from the contest failed to pass, five national broadcasters—including those from Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands, all vocal critics of Israeli military policy—announced they would boycott the 2026 contest.

Speaking ahead of this year’s first semi-final, Green expressed openness to reconciliation with the boycotting broadcasters. “We’ve got 35 members of our family here, and that’s enough to have a big party. But, you know, five [are absent] and we miss them,” he said. “When this show is over, I know we’ll pick up the dialogue and we’ll see what comes.”

Despite ongoing tensions, Green said he has full confidence in the integrity of the newly revised voting system. “We are very consistent. We have one of the best voting systems for the public in the world. It is fair, it is true, it is secure. People can try and do what they like. They’re not going to [influence] anything,” he added.

The 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, hosted this year in Vienna, Austria, has already delivered dramatic twists, political tension, and standout musical performances, as 10 acts locked in their spots for Saturday’s grand final during the first semi-final held Tuesday.

Against a backdrop of years-long controversy tied to Israel’s military operations in Gaza that has roiled the competition, 28-year-old Israeli contestant Noam Bettan secured his place in the final with his tender, romance-driven pop track *Michelle*. The controversy over Israel’s participation has been particularly sharp this year: five nations have already announced a full boycott of the 2026 event, including seven-time Eurovision champion Ireland.

Bettan’s semi-final appearance was met with a deeply divided reaction from the arena audience. While some attendees booed and shouted anti-Israeli slogans, other supporters chanted the singer’s name in solidarity. Ahead of his performance, Bettan told the *Jerusalem Post* he intended to stay focused on his craft, dismissing all political criticism as nothing more than irrelevant “background noise.” Host broadcaster ORF had previously confirmed it would not censor audience protests or negative reactions toward any contestant, a policy that meant the boos were clearly audible for viewers watching the live broadcast.

In a joint statement released after the semi-final, ORF and contest organizers the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) detailed the disruptions: several protesters positioned themselves near on-stage microphones to amplify their anti-Israel messages, both as Bettan prepared to perform and during his song. “They were later removed by security for continuing to disturb the audience,” the statement read, adding that three additional protesters were also ejected from the Wiener Stadhalle arena for continued disruptive behavior. After his qualification was announced, Bettan publicly thanked the audience that supported his advancement.

This year’s semi-final also marked a historic milestone for Eurovision, opening with a heartfelt 70th-anniversary tribute short film. The film followed Toni, a young Austrian boy who developed a lifelong love for the contest as he grew up, watching the competition through decades of shifting cultural trends and evolving personal relationships. The film featured cameos from some of Eurovision’s most iconic winners, including Abba, Sandie Shaw, Conchita Wurst, and 2024 champion Nemo, and closed with adult Toni taking the stage to perform *L’amour Est Bleu*, the classic 1967 entry from Vicky Leandros — the first year Austria hosted the contest. Leandros herself then joined Toni on stage, accompanied by a 70-voice choir, for a moving opening to the night of competition.

Once the tribute concluded, the 16 competing acts took the stage in sequence. Moldovan contender Satoshi opened the competitive portion of the night with high-energy party anthem *Viva, Moldova!*, making a memorable entrance in a football shirt printed with 373 — the country’s international dialing code. Next up was Sweden’s Felicia, who performed her infectious dance track *My System* — a playful metaphor for falling in love framed as a fatal infection — while performing behind an artful face mask. Croatian all-female folk outfit Lelek shifted the tone with *Andromeda*, a harmonically rich track exploring the history of gender suppression during the Ottoman Empire. Greek contestant Akylas delivered one of the night’s most elaborate staging concepts for his track *Ferto*, weaving in references to ancient Greek sculpture, traditional knitting culture, and 2005 Eurovision winner Helena Paparizou, Greece’s only champion to date. The track draws sharp contrasts between the materialistic culture of today’s social media generation and the severe hardship Greek families endured during the 2009–2018 Greek financial crisis.

The current bookmakers’ favorite to take home the 2026 Eurovision trophy is Finnish duo Pete Parkonnen and Linda Lampenius, whose fiery, emotional love song *Liekinheitin* (Flamethrower) delivered a showstopping performance Tuesday. The pair made Eurovision history during their set: Lampenius, a world-class classical violinist, received special permission to perform with a rare 19th-century Gagliano violin, marking just the second time a live acoustic instrument has been allowed on the Eurovision stage since a rule change in 1998. The performance was so intense that Lampenius actually snapped the bow hair on her violin mid-set, adding an unplanned moment of drama.

Other standout moments of the semi-final included Italy’s Sal Da Vinci’s lush disco tribute to his wife on *Per Sempre Si*, and Lithuanian contestant Lion Ceccah’s visually striking performance of man-vs-machine anthem *Sólo quiero más*, which saw Ceccah cover his entire body in metallic silver paint. Closing out the competitive performances was Serbia’s all-female metal band Lavina, who brought a dark, hard-edged energy to the semi-final with their track *Kraj Mene*, a far cry from the electro-pop that dominated most of the night’s line-up.

In a surprise twist, former Culture Club frontman and British music icon Boy George failed to qualify for the final, after appearing as a guest performer on San Marino’s entry. San Marino was among the five countries eliminated from the first semi-final, alongside Estonia, Georgia, Montenegro, and Portugal. The elimination stung for some fans, as it cut short the return of three veteran Eurovision acts: Estonia’s fan-favorite Vanilla Ninja, San Marino’s long-time contestant Senhit, and Georgia’s Bzikebi, the 2008 Junior Eurovision champions.

Along with Bettan and the Finnish duo, the 10 acts advancing to Saturday’s grand final are: Belgium’s Essyla with *Dancing on the Ice*, Croatia’s Lelek with *Andromeda*, Greece’s Akylas with *Ferto*, Lithuania’s Lion Ceccah with *Sólo quiero más*, Moldova’s Satoshi with *Viva, Moldova!*, Poland’s Alicja with *Pray*, Serbia’s Lavina with *Kraj Mene*, and Sweden’s Felicia with *My System*.

Tuesday’s vote count was conducted under new competition rules, implemented after widespread allegations of voting irregularities during the 2025 contest. The overhauled system caps public votes at 10 per voter, down from 20 in previous years, and requires voters to enter credit card details to cast votes online. Organizers say the credit card requirement will verify that votes originate from the country they are submitted from, cutting down on cross-border voting fraud. While votes were counted, audiences were treated to an acrobatic performance honoring Vienna’s Wurstelprater, one of the oldest operating amusement parks in the world, plus a surprise cameo from Eurovision superfan and Hollywood star Will Ferrell, and a novelty comedy number leaning into the running joke between Austria and Australia, centered mostly on playful gags about kangaroos.

The second semi-final is set to take place on Thursday, where high-profile contenders from Denmark and France will make their first 2026 contest appearances. The night will also mark the highly anticipated debut of Australian pop superstar Delta Goodrem, one of the biggest names on this year’s line-up, alongside the United Kingdom’s entry, from experimental artist Look Mum No Computer.

The iconic red carpet is unfurled along the French Riviera, as the 79th Cannes Film Festival opens its 12-day run of global cinematic premieres on Tuesday. The annual gathering, one of the most prestigious events on the international film industry calendar, will conclude on May 25 with the awarding of the Palme d’Or, the festival’s highest honor that carries global acclaim and major awards season momentum.

The festival’s opening night sets a celebratory tone: kicking off proceedings is the French period comedy *The Electric State*, while legendary *Lord of the Rings* director Peter Jackson will accept an honorary Palme d’Or in recognition of his decades-long career in filmmaking. This year, however, one topic has dominated pre-festival buzz as much as the packed lineup of new films: the near-total absence of major Hollywood studio productions.

In previous years, big-budget blockbusters such as *Top Gun: Maverick* and *Elvis* made their world debut on the Croisette, drawing massive crowds and global media attention. But for 2025, no major studio tentpoles are on the official lineup. Industry insiders point to two key factors keeping big studio projects away: the risk of a critical or audience backlash in the high-stakes Cannes environment, and the exorbitant cost of flying A-list talent to the Cote d’Azur for the festival’s signature red carpet and press events. The only nod to big-budget Hollywood franchise fare this year is a special anniversary celebration for the *Fast & Furious* film series.

Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux addressed the gap in his press briefing on the eve of the festival, noting that Hollywood is currently in a period of massive industry upheaval, sparked most recently by Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. “I hope the studio films will come back,” Frémaux told reporters.

Despite the missing studio blockbusters, the festival has not lost its draw for top cinematic talent. A roster of the world’s most acclaimed filmmakers are slated to premiere new works in the official competition, including Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar with *Bitter Christmas*, American filmmaker James Gray’s *Paper Tiger*, South Korean director Na Hong-jin’s *Hope*, Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski’s *Fatherland*, and Japanese Academy Award winner Ryusuke Hamaguchi with *All of a Sudden*.

While Cannes has faded as a go-to global launchpad for major studio releases in recent years, it has cemented its reputation as the most reliable launching pad for Academy Award contenders. Two years ago, Sean Baker’s *Anora* took home the Palme d’Or at Cannes before going on to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Last year, multiple Cannes selections, including *Sentimental Value*, *The Secret Agent*, and *It Was Just an Accident*, went on to become major players throughout Hollywood’s awards season.

Leading the charge in the Cannes-to-Oscars pipeline this year is independent distributor Neon, which has backed the past six consecutive Palme d’Or winners — an unprecedented streak in festival history. The distributor is attached to more than a quarter of the 22 films competing for this year’s top prize, putting it in a strong position to extend its winning run.

The nine-member jury tasked with selecting this year’s award winners will hold its official press conference Tuesday, ahead of beginning its sequestered schedule of screenings. Award-winning South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook serves as jury president this year, joined by high-profile panelists including actress Demi Moore, Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao, and actor Stellan Skarsgård, among others.

Adding an extra layer of pop culture excitement to this year’s festival is the ongoing production of HBO’s hit series *The White Lotus*. The show’s fourth season, which is set around a trip to the Cannes festival, has been filming on location along the French Riviera over the past month, and its cast and crew are expected to make appearances throughout the event.

Even without major Hollywood studio films, the festival will not be short on star power. Over the next two weeks, dozens of A-list celebrities are scheduled to appear, including Kristen Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Adam Driver, Javier Bardem, Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Rami Malek, Sebastian Stan, Sandra Hüller, and many more.

As the curtains rise on the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna starting Tuesday, the iconic over-the-top European pop music celebration finds itself overshadowed by deep political division, centered on the debate over Israel’s inclusion in this year’s competition.

For a week leading up to the first semifinal, the Austrian capital has been decked in the contest’s signature branding, with heart motifs lining city streets and banners bearing this year’s official motto, “United by Music.” Thirty-five national acts have gathered to compete for the coveted continental musical crown, but five countries — Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland — have already pulled out in a coordinated boycott of Israel’s participation.

Tensions are running high in Vienna, where multiple pro-Palestinian demonstrations are scheduled throughout the contest week, prompting a massive security deployment. Austrian law enforcement from across the country have been reassigned to the capital, with additional operational support from neighboring German police forces. The heightened security posture also comes in the wake of a recent terror plot revelation: just last month, a 21-year-old Austrian man pled guilty to plotting an attack on a 2024 Taylor Swift concert in Vienna after pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group. Sylvia Mayer, head of Austria’s domestic intelligence service DSN, warned that the current terror threat level remains elevated, with risks posed both by Islamist extremist networks and groups affiliated with Iran.

Israeli representative Noam Bettan is among the 15 acts set to take the stage at the Wiener Stadthalle arena for Tuesday’s first semifinal, where he will perform his ballad “Michelle” to compete for a spot in Saturday’s grand final. Bettan is aiming to secure Israel a second consecutive final berth after the country took second place in last year’s contest. Like 2024 Israeli competitor Yuval Raphael, Bettan has already prepared for potential hostile reception, training to continue his performance even if audiences boo him. The top 10 vote-getters from Tuesday’s semifinal will advance to the final, joining the 10 qualifiers from Thursday’s second semifinal. Automatic final spots are reserved for the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy — the contest’s largest financial backers — as well as 2024 winner Austria, which qualifies automatically as this year’s host.

Heading into the competition, Finland is the clear bookmakers’ favorite to take the crown, with high-energy entry “Liekinheitin” (“Flamethrower”) performed by violinist Linda Lampenius and pop vocalist Pete Parkkonen. Other notable acts in Tuesday’s semifinal include Greek contender Akylas with fan-favorite party rap track “Ferto” (“Bring It”), Portuguese vocal group Bandidos do Cante with the soulful ballad “Rosa,” and San Marino representative Senhit’s upbeat party anthem “Superstar,” which features a surprise guest spot from Culture Club icon Boy George.

Long known as a space for playful, and occasionally sharp, national rivalries, Eurovision has increasingly struggled to insulate itself from geopolitics in recent years. In 2022, Russia was expelled from the competition immediately following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The 2024 contest in Malmo, Sweden, and last year’s event in Basel, Switzerland, both saw large pro-Palestinian protests calling for Israel’s expulsion over its military campaign in Gaza against Hamas, alongside allegations of rule-breaking coordinated marketing efforts to secure votes for Israeli contestants.

After the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the governing body of Eurovision, rejected demands to remove Israel from this year’s lineup, the five boycotting nations announced their non-participation last December. In response to widespread vote-rigging allegations from past contests, the EBU has implemented stricter voting rules for this year’s event, cutting the maximum number of votes per person in half to 10 and adding new safeguards to detect and block “suspicious or coordinated voting activity.”

Despite the ongoing controversy and public divisions, Eurovision historian Dean Vuletic, author of *Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest*, says he is confident the long-running competition will navigate this latest challenge, just as it has overcome countless past crises. “We’ll see demonstrations, but we’ll also see a lot of colorful events going on which will really represent what Eurovision is about, which is bringing Europeans together,” Vuletic explained. “If you look at the history of Eurovision, it’s gone through so many crises, so many political challenges, so many geopolitical changes in Europe, and it’s always managed to survive.”