Israel will take part in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest on May 12 in Vienna, according to the draw on Monday, while five countries have pulled out of this year’s competition over Israel’s participation.
The world’s biggest live televised music event heads into its 70th anniversary edition mired in its biggest-ever political boycott, with just 35 countries set to participate — the fewest since entry was expanded in 2004.
Israel will compete against 14 other countries, including past Eurovision winners Estonia, Finland, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, and Sweden, for spots in the May 16 final, the draw at Vienna’s City Hall revealed.
Israel has yet to pick who will represent it in the contest, a position given to the winner of the “Hakochav Haba” (Rising Star) reality TV contest. The show’s finale airs January 20.
In the other semi-final held on May 14, the 15 countries vying for spots include past winners Azerbaijan, Denmark, Latvia, Norway, Ukraine, and Switzerland, according to the draw.
From each semi-final, 10 songs that get the most points from the jury combined with a public vote will qualify for the final.
People react as they watch the votes being counted during the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest being screened at a community center in Tel Aviv, Israel, early on May 18, 2025. (Maya Levin / AFP)
Host Austria and the biggest financial contributors, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, automatically qualify for the final.
Public broadcasters in Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain have all announced they are boycotting this year’s event due to Israel’s inclusion.
Those boycotting say it would be unconscionable to take part given the number of civilians killed in Gaza amid Israel’s war with Hamas, which began with the terror group’s October 7, 2023, onslaught and was halted in a US-brokered ceasefire about two months ago. Israel has rejected those accusations, saying it has sought to minimize noncombatant casualties as it fought an enemy embedded in civilian infrastructure.
Anti-Israel furor heavily overshadowed the two most recent song contests, with headlines dominated by protests, threats, boos, and drama. That furor drove a backlash among pro-Israel viewers, who mobilized to vote for Eden Golan in 2024 and Yuval Raphael in 2025, sending them soaring in the popular vote.
Members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) decided last month against kicking Israel out of the contest. During an EBU conference, its members voted overwhelmingly in favor of accepting a package of reforms aimed at assuaging some of the concerns that had been raised over Israel’s participation.
Anti-Israel protesters and BDS activists hold Palestinian flags and a banner reading ‘Country of apartheid … Israel,’ during a demonstration prior to the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel, Switzerland, May 17, 2025. (SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)
The vote was seen as a de facto referendum on Israel’s inclusion, since members were told that a vote explicitly on Israel would only be held if the reforms did not receive majority support.
The decision to keep Israel in the competition has sparked anger from many of the contest’s most devoted fans as well as some past participants. Last month, 2024 Eurovision winner Nemo said they were returning their trophy to the EBU in protest of the decision, and Ireland’s Charlie McGettigan, who won in 1994, said he would do the same.
Last year’s show drew around 166 million viewers, according to the EBU, more than the roughly 128 million who Nielsen estimates watched the American National Football League’s Super Bowl.
Austria is hosting the contest in Vienna after its representative JJ won in Basel, Switzerland, last year.
