Israel Qualifies for Eurovision Final as Noam Bettan Advances From First Semi-Final

Israel qualified for the grand final of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest after Noam Bettan performed the pop song Michelle in Tuesday's first semi-final in Austria. Ten countries progressed from the semi-final. Finland also qualified with a strong performance by the duo of Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen, who performed Liekinheitin.

Bookmakers listed the Finnish entry as the favorite with a 34 percent chance of victory. Lampenius, a classical concert violinist, played a 19th-century Gagliano violin live on stage after organizers granted special permission, marking only the second time a live instrument has been used in the contest since 1998.

The semi-final opened with a film celebrating Eurovision's 70th anniversary that featured past winners and ended with a live performance joined by a 70-member choir. Additional segments included an acrobatic tribute to a historic Vienna amusement park and a brief appearance by comedian Will Ferrell.

Other notable performances came from Croatia's all-female band Lelek with folkloric harmonies, Greek performer Akylas with elaborate staging referencing ancient sculpture, knitting culture, the country's 2005 Eurovision winner, modern social media materialism and the Greek financial crisis of 2009-18, Serbia's leather-clad metal band Lavina, Lithuania's Lion Ceccah performing entirely in silver body paint, and Moldova's Satoshi in a football shirt displaying the country's dialing code.

British singer Boy George, appearing as a guest performer on San Marino's entry, did not advance. Estonia, Georgia, Montenegro, Portugal and San Marino were eliminated. The second semi-final is scheduled for Thursday and will feature entrants from Denmark and France along with Australian pop star Delta Goodrem and the British entry Look Mum No Computer.

The voting process was revised this year with limits on the number of votes per viewer and requirements for credit card details to verify national origin.

According to a statement from Austrian broadcaster ORF and the EBU, one audience member who loudly expressed their views was removed by security, along with three others who engaged in disruptive behavior. " Before the semi-final, Bettan told the Jerusalem Post he planned to focus on the music and treat any criticism as background noise.

He thanked the audience after learning he had progressed to Saturday's final.