Noam Bettan finished second with 343 points in a competition overshadowed by protests, broadcaster disputes and audience backlash over Israel’s participation [Getty]
Israel’s second-place finish at the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest was met with relief in parts of Europe after months of controversy over the country’s participation, boycotts linked to the Gaza genocide, and accusations that the Israeli government had sought to turn the competition into a political soft power campaign.
Bulgarian singer Dara, real name Darina Nikolaeva Yotova, won this year’s contest in Vienna with the song Bangaranga, securing the country’s first-ever Eurovision victory with 516 points after a tense showdown with Israel in the final moments of voting.
Israeli contestant Noam Bettan finished second with 343 points in a competition overshadowed by protests, broadcaster disputes, and audience backlash over his country’s participation.
As Israel surged during the public vote count, sections of the audience inside Vienna’s Wiener Stadthalle arena responded with loud boos, according to multiple reports from the event.
Dara later collapsed to the floor as confetti rained down following the announcement of her victory, before performing the winning song again to close the contest.
“I want to thank everyone who gave us those points, we really tried to give our best,” she said after the result.
Five countries, including Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Iceland, and Slovenia, boycotted this year’s competition over the war on Gaza and Israel’s participation in the event.
Ahead of the contest, more than 1,000 musicians and cultural figures signed open letters calling for Israel to be banned from competing.
Spain’s Culture Minister, Ernest Urtasun, also sharply criticised Eurovision organisers for allowing Israel to participate amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
“The decision I would criticise, which I think is wrong, is the decision of the EBU board to allow Israel to participate,” he told Euronews. “This is what is wrong from the beginning.”
Urtasun accused Eurovision organisers of using culture to “whitewash” the war on Gaza and rejected claims that music itself was behind divisions surrounding this year’s contest.
“It’s not music that is dividing people,” he said. “Music is a moment of celebration. Eurovision has always been a moment of celebration.”
“But I think the vast majority of Spaniards reject war, reject genocide, and are outraged by what is going on in Gaza,” he added.
Israeli officials also admitted that their hopes of hosting next year’s Eurovision contest in Israel were unlikely to materialise, even amid speculation that Bulgaria may struggle to organise the event.
“Everyone knows that at this time, hosting Eurovision in Israel would be very complicated,” one official told Israeli site Ynet.
The comments came as Israel faces mounting international isolation over the war on Gaza and Lebanon, with a recent Global Country Perceptions survey carried out by Nira Data ranking Israel as the most negatively viewed country in the world, ahead of North Korea, Afghanistan, and Iran.
The survey linked the collapse in Israel’s image to the destruction in Gaza, the displacement of Palestinians, and growing accusations of war crimes and genocide.
A recent investigation by The New York Times found that Israel had spent more than $1 million promoting its Eurovision campaigns over the past two years as part of a coordinated state-backed effort to improve its image abroad during the Gaza war.
According to the investigation, Israeli embassies, government offices, and pro-Israel groups coordinated multilingual campaigns encouraging viewers to vote repeatedly for Israeli contestants, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared graphics urging supporters to maximise votes.
The report also found that Eurovision organisers privately acknowledged concerns over “disproportionate” Israeli promotion campaigns but refused to release detailed voting data or commission an external review.
