Each May, dozens of artists representing different countries congregate in an arena to perform high-camp, often ridiculous and largely entertaining songs for the Eurovision Song Contest.
But over the past three years, the competition has been overshadowed by controversy about one of its participants: Israel.
The country has been accused of launching a campaign to manipulate the vote, raising criticism before Saturday’s final in Vienna.
Data revealed by The New York Times this week suggested that an Israeli government campaign could “easily” have influenced the results of last year’s competition, during which Yuval Raphael, the Israeli artist and October 7 survivor, took second place and won the public vote by a landslide — despite mounting criticism of Israel and a perception of deep unpopularity.
Yuval Raphael last MayMartin Meissner/AP
According to the report, the Israeli government ran a campaign to try to sway the vote by using online adverts, advocacy and political goading, encouraging people to vote up to 20 times — an apparent loophole in the contest’s ballot system.
Financial records seen by The New York Times indicated that Israel spent at least $1 million on Eurovision marketing, including some funding from the “hasbara” office for overseas promotion.
The Israeli government was contacted for comment.
Israel’s success in the competition is nothing new: it has won the contest four times. Yet critics are asking why Israel was able to win the popular vote in countries such as Spain, where the population is highly critical of Israel’s government and its war on Gaza.
Five countries, including Spain and Ireland, are boycotting this year’s competition in protest of Israel’s participation. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organisers of the contest, sidestepped a vote on Israel’s participation last year, instead changing the rules slightly to avoid any marked statement.
Israeli flags hang in the designated Israel “Euro Cafe” MQ Kantine in Vienna on WednesdayMartin Meissner/AP
Under the new rules, broadcasters and artists are prohibited from supporting third-party campaigns, including those from government agencies.
The reforms also include fewer maximum votes per person, capped at ten instead of 20.
While Israel’s self-promotion is not necessarily against the rules, its actions are said to be against the spirit of the contest. The EBU has already issued a formal warning to the Israeli public broadcaster Kan after its contestant released videos instructing fans to “vote ten times for Israel” last weekend.
“Employing a direct call to action to vote ten times for one artist or song is also not in line with our rules nor the spirit of the competition,” Martin Green, the competition director, wrote in a statement, adding that the activity “cannot affect the overall result”.
Fans cheer for Bettan Radek MICA/AFP/Getty Images
Israel has dismissed the accusations of manipulation.
“Israel is hardly the only participating country that treats Eurovision as a PR opportunity,” Elad Simchayoff, the Europe correspondent for Israel’s most-watched news channel, wrote on X. “The competition admits no rules were broken, the integrity of the vote uncompromised. The system is built on voting for a country, not against one … the audience is voting for Israel of its own free will.”
Eurovision experts, however, say this is the biggest crisis the once light-hearted contest has ever faced.
“This is the biggest political boycott of Eurovision ever,” said Dr Dean Vuletic, a historian who specialises in the Eurovision Song Contest. “Five broadcasters are boycotting because of Israel’s participation, but I think the contest will weather these crises. Countries have historically withdrawn for different reasons, be they political, financial. Then they’ve re-entered, and Eurovision has survived all such changes.”
While Eurovision will survive, Israel’s participation is at risk, Vuletic said. Its continued inclusion in the contest depends on how the war in the region unfolds, he added, and on how Europe redefines its relations with Israel — particularly after the country’s elections this year.
Inside Israel, too, there are squabbles that may affect its Eurovision entry. The Israeli parliament passed the first reading of a bill this week that may restrict the content on its public broadcaster — including its role in the Eurovision.
On Saturday, Israel will be represented by the French-Israeli singer Noam Bettan, who has submitted a happier, more upbeat song than previous entries — a song critics say plays it safe. Over the past two years, Israel participated with songs related to the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023.
During the semi-finals on Tuesday, several protesters were removed from Vienna’s Wiener Stadthalle after chants of “stop the genocide” were heard during Bettan’s performance.
While Eurovision was created as a non-political event to unite the continent, its voting system is skewed with the effect of rewarding political alliances that can push the winner to the top. Experts say the constant focus on Israel — even when negative — may tip the contest in its favour.
“People who do want to vote politically and support Israel are really mobilised behind the Israeli entry,” Vuletic said, while those opposed to its entry were either boycotting the contest or spreading their votes over multiple entries, resulting in a “concentration in votes for Israel”.