Eurovision Issues Formal Warning to Israel’s Broadcaster Over Voting Appeal
Israel’s national broadcaster Kan received a formal warning from Eurovision organizers after it shared videos in which delegate Noam Bettan urged fans to cast all 10 of their votes for him. The action breached new rules introduced to limit third-party campaigns following controversy at the previous contest.
The IndependentEurovision organizers issued a formal warning to Israel’s national broadcaster after it encouraged viewers to cast all 10 of their allocated votes for the country’s entry. The broadcaster, known as Kan, shared videos on social media in which delegate Noam Bettan, who is competing with the song “Michelle,” asked fans to use all available votes in the first semi-final on 12 May.
The 29-year-old recorded the message in several languages including French, German, English, Greek and Italian. Organizers determined that Kan’s endorsement of the videos violated new rules designed to limit third-party campaigns. In a statement issued on 9 May, Eurovision director Martin Green said the organization contacted the Kan delegation within 20 minutes of identifying the breach and asked it to stop distributing the videos and remove them from all platforms.
Organizers accepted that the appeal was not part of a large-scale funded third-party campaign but concluded it was not in line with the rules or the spirit of the competition. Green said the contest would continue to monitor any promotional activity and take appropriate steps as necessary.
Kan responded that the campaign was not financed by any specific group.
Half of all votes now come from professional juries, and the maximum number of votes an individual can cast has been reduced from 20 to 10. Viewers may vote for the same act up to 10 times but cannot vote for the entry representing the country from which they are calling.
Five countries withdrew from this year’s contest after Israel was permitted to compete. Spain, Slovenia, Ireland, the Netherlands and Iceland chose not to participate. The chair of Spain’s radio and television corporation stated that joint organizers share collective responsibility and cited current events as making participation impossible.
Schedule for 2026 Contest Eurovision 2026 begins this week in Vienna.
The first semi-final is scheduled for 12 May, the second semi-final for 14 May, and the grand final for 17 May. >The call to viewers was not part of a “large-scale funded third-party” campaign but was still “not in line with our rules nor the spirit of the competition.” — Martin Green, Eurovision director (The Independent)
