{"id":117288,"date":"2026-05-17T00:42:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T00:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/117288\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T00:42:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T00:42:25","slug":"israels-noam-bettan-finishes-second-at-eurovision-as-bulgaria-takes-the-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/117288\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel’s Noam Bettan finishes second at Eurovision as Bulgaria takes the win"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel\u2019s Noam Bettan finished in second place at Saturday night\u2019s Eurovision Song Contest grand final in Vienna, Austria, just losing out to Bulgaria\u2019s Dara, whose crowd-pleasing dance number \u201cBangaranga\u201d took the top prize.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Israel came third in the popular vote and eighth in the jury rankings, but with enough combined support to propel it to a second-place finish.<\/p>\n

But it couldn\u2019t compete with Bulgaria, whose win \u2014 the first for the country \u2014 came as a shock after bookmakers had predicted Finland, Australia or Greece as the likeliest champions. Third place was also taken by a surprise outsider, Romania\u2019s Alexandra C\u0103pit\u0103nescu with the provocative \u201cChoke Me,\u201d which was second in the televote.<\/p>\n

Israel took home 343 points overall \u2014 123 from the juries and 220 with the public \u2014 while Bulgaria, whose dance hit \u201cBangaranga\u201d proved a crowd favorite \u2014 got 204 from the juries and 312 from the public, cementing its first place win with a whopping 516 in total.<\/p>\n

Bettan performed his song \u201cMichelle\u201d in French, Hebrew and English along with five backup dancers as millions around the world tuned in. Unlike during Tuesday\u2019s semi-final, no anti-Israel chanting or boos could be heard on the live broadcast. A number of fans could be heard chanting \u201cNoam, Noam\u201d just as the song began.<\/p>\n

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Some booing could however be heard in the live broadcast after Israel\u2019s high public vote was announced.<\/p>\n

\u05e0\u05d5\u05e2\u05dd \u05d1\u05ea\u05df \u05d1\u05d1\u05d9\u05e6\u05d5\u05e2 \u05d1\u05dc\u05ea\u05d9 \u05e0\u05e9\u05db\u05d7 \u05d1\u05d2\u05de\u05e8 \u05d4\u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05d5\u05d9\u05d6\u05d9\u05d5\u05df \u05d1\u05d5\u05d9\u05e0\u05d4 ????????????#\u05db\u05d0\u05df_\u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05d5\u05d9\u05d6\u05d9\u05d5\u05df<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/3rWegeQkMP<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u05db\u05d0\u05df (@kann) May 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Bettan received 12 jury points \u2014 the highest possible \u2014 from Poland, as well as 10 from Ukraine and Moldova, and eight from Albania, Austria and Lithuania. The full breakdown of all of the televote results \u2014 including from the semifinal rounds \u2014 will be released overnight.\n<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s jury handed its top points to Australia, followed by 10 to Denmark, eight to Bulgaria and seven to Finland.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tThe final result of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, early on May 17, 2026, with Bulgaria the winner and Israel in second place. (Eurovision world)<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you Europe, toda raba,\u201d Bettan said on stage after wrapping up the song. \u201cI love you all \u2014 Am Yisrael Chai,\u201d he added, Hebrew for \u201cthe people of Israel live.\u201d<\/p>\n

After coming off stage, Bettan said in a video message that he was \u201cmuch more excited than the previous times. I felt good, I felt 100 times better than past performances\u2026 I had fun, we\u2019re finally on the other side of it, after months of work, that all led us to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tNoam Bettan from Israel performs the song \u2018Michelle\u2019 during the Grand Final of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, May 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Martin Meissner)<\/p>\n

Following his second-place finish, the 28-year-old singer told Kan\u2019s public broadcaster that \u201cwe could not have asked for a better result\u2026 I tried to stay focused. I sang with joy, with a smile on my face,\u201d he added, saying he hoped to have given Israelis \u201ca moment of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Tuesday\u2019s semifinal, one anti-Israel activist could be heard shouting<\/a> \u201cStop the genocide\u201d as Bettan took the stage. He was ejected from the arena by security along with three other protesters.<\/p>\n

Bettan told The Times of Israel<\/a> in an interview last month that he had been practicing to the sounds of booing in order to be prepared.<\/p>\n

Tensions over Israel\u2019s participation in the Eurovision, which spiked over the past two years, came to a peak this year, when five countries backed out of the competition in protest, the largest political boycott in the contest\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

After leading the unsuccessful push to have Israel kicked out of the competition, Spain, Slovenia, Ireland, Iceland and the Netherlands quit the contest. The five nations announced their decisions after a vast majority of European Broadcasting Union members voted in December<\/a> to accept a package of voting reforms rather than push for a direct vote on Israel\u2019s participation.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tDara from Bulgaria holds up the trophy after winning the Grand Final of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, in the early hours of May 17, 2026. (AP\/Martin Meissner)<\/p>\n

The voting reforms including capping votes per person at 10 instead of 20, returning juries to the semifinal rounds alongside the televote, and new rules discouraging large online campaigns, as well as barring contestants from cooperating with any such paid advertising.<\/p>\n

Israel was issued a direct warning<\/a> last Saturday by the EBU over an online campaign featuring Bettan in several languages calling for fans to cast all their 10 votes for Israel, saying it was \u201cnot in line with our rules nor the spirit of the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kan said the videos were immediately pulled down, but maintained it had not violated any contest rules.<\/p>\n

The week of the contest in Vienna proceeded fairly smoothly for Israel, with less of the behind-the-scenes tension reported in 2024 and 2025. Bettan was seen being friendly with Moldova\u2019s Satoshi, Denmark\u2019s S\u00f8ren Torpegaard Lund, Albania\u2019s Alis as well as Boy George, the British pop icon who was part of San Marino\u2019s act.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tNoam Bettan from Israel performs \u2018Michelle\u2019 during the dress rehearsal for the Grand Final of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, May 15, 2026. (AP\/Martin Meissner)<\/p>\n

However the Croatian act, Lelek, reacted angrily<\/a> after the Kan X account posted a joke meme about their facial tattoos, which the public broadcaster deleted and apologized for to the Croatian delegation.<\/p>\n

Much-hyped anti-Israel protests throughout Vienna did not draw particularly large crowds. A rally Saturday afternoon near the venue drew only a few hundred people, far less than the 3,000 organizers had said they expected. A similar protest in Vienna on Tuesday drew only a couple dozen activists.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tDemonstrators protest against Israel ahead of the Grand Final of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, May 16, 2026. (AP\/Martin Meissner)<\/p>\n

At a press conference Saturday afternoon, Eurovision director Martin Green admitted that \u201cwe\u2019re going through some challenging times at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he urged viewers to tune in, to \u201cmaybe close the curtains to the outside world and dream that something else is possible.\u201d And he appeared to dismiss the speculation, on the contest\u2019s 70th anniversary, that it could not overcome its current controversies: \u201cHere\u2019s to the next 70 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Agencies contributed to this report.<\/p>\n


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