When Noam Bettan takes the stage to represent Israel as he sings the song, “Michelle,” at the final of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna on Saturday night, millions will be watching around the world, and especially in Israel, home to many of the competition’s most devoted fans.
Bettan has spent the time between the first semifinal on May 12, in which he performed brilliantly and flawlessly, and the final, enjoying the historic city with his backup dancers, and mostly rehearsing for his Saturday night performance.
With the poise of an experienced ambassador, he has navigated the challenges of representing Israel at any international competition in 2026 and at Eurovision in particular. As he performed on Tuesday, several protesters screamed, accusing Israel of genocide, and were dragged away from the auditorium.
But if Bettan was distracted, he didn’t let it show in his performance, which showcased his technique and his ability to convey emotion through his singing. He was a popular Israeli singer before, but after Tuesday, he truly became a star. “Michelle,” which had been in sixth place in the Eurovision betting tables, jumped to fourth.
Since the video for the song was unveiled, Israel has been predicted to win the televoting, as it did last year, when Israel’s contestant, Yuval Raphael, and her song, “New Day Will Rise,” came in first in the audience vote. In 2024, Eden Golan and her song, “Hurricane,” took second place in the televoting.
Photo of Eden Golan performing ”Hurricane” in 2024. (credit: SARAH LOUISE BENNETT/EBU)
But the winner is determined by 50% of the audience’s votes and 50% by national juries, who tend to be far less sympathetic to Israel than the audience. Raphael finished second overall, and Golan fifth, despite their success with fans.
After last year, several countries alleged that Israel must have cheated, and so there were some rule changes instituted that were designed to make it more difficult for Israel to advance to the final. One was that strict limits were imposed on campaigns promoting contestants. Another was that televoters could vote only 10 times, not 20 as previously allowed.
National juries to vote in final
But an even more important change was that the national juries now vote in the semifinals as well as the final, and their votes make up 50% of the result.
There was trepidation among the Israeli delegation, which is sponsored by KAN, Israel’s public broadcaster, that despite Bettan’s talent and the elaborate staging of “Michelle,” in which the singer and five dancers perform in a giant revolving diamond, the negatively disposed national juries would put the kibosh on Israel’s dream of making it to the final.
But Bettan overcame that challenge. The vote breakdown between the juries and the public wasn’t released yet, as it will be on the night of the final, but obviously Bettan did well enough overall.
These rule changes weren’t enough for some countries that did not feel Israel should be allowed to compete, and five of these, Spain, Slovenia, Holland, Iceland, and Ireland chose to boycott the competition, and Slovenia, Ireland, and Spain announced they would not even broadcast the competition.
Their absence will make the final go more quickly and hasn’t hampered Israel’s efforts to do well in the least, although there are serious security threats against the Israeli delegation. Reportedly, both the Shin Bet and Mossad security agencies are working with the FBI and the Austrian police to ensure the safety of the Israeli delegation.
It’s been reported that demonstrations are anticipated ahead of the final, which comes just a day after Nakba Day, which for some Palestinians is marked as a day of mourning over the establishment of the state of Israel. Channel 12’s Elad Simchaoff, who is in Vienna covering the contest, said that when the Israeli delegation travels around the city, streets have to be closed, and the delegation is accompanied by a police motorcade, as if for a head of state.
But the Israeli delegation and Israeli fans expect this, and most put it out of their minds. Eurovision gives Israelis a yearly get-out-of-the-war-zone pass to spend a week or more focusing on the glitzy extravaganza, which was founded in 1956 to provide a forum for peaceful competition among nations and in which Israel has taken part since 1973.
Long before Israel won an Olympic medal, long before millions around the world tuned in to Israeli series such as Fauda and Tehran, Israelis were major competitors at Eurovision, taking home the top prize four times: for two years in a row in 1978 and 1979 with wins for Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta for the song “A-Ba-Ni-Bi,” and Milk and Honey for “Hallelujah,” respectively.
In 1998, Israel won again with Dana International’s “Diva,” the first win for an openly transgender contestant. The LGBTQ+ community has always had a special fondness for the contest, where performers with various sexual orientations were welcomed and celebrated even before they came out openly, and Eurovision has been called “the gay World Cup.” In 2018, Netta Barzilai became Israel’s fourth Eurovision winner with her rousing rendition of “Toy.”
Eurovision has taken place in Israel three times, in Jerusalem in 1979 and 1999, and in Tel Aviv in 2019. In 1980, when Israel would have hosted following its 1979 win, the dates conflicted with Memorial Day, and there was also a financial issue with Israel’s public broadcaster, which did not have the funds to host two years in a row.
Eurovision is known for its wild costumes and elaborate lighting effects. It has launched the careers of many performers, notably the Swedish superstar pop group ABBA, who won with “Waterloo.” Other big hits that won at Eurovision include “Ding-a-dong,” by Teach-In, and “Save Your Kisses for Me,” by Brotherhood of Man.
Stars who were born with a Eurovision win or who became much bigger following their Eurovision appearances include Celine Dion, France Gall, and Lulu.
Israel has often sent its top performers. Ilanit, a major Israeli singer, was Israel’s first representative, and in the second year Israel took part, it sent an early incarnation of the supergroup, Kaveret, who performed under the name Poogy and sang their hit, “I Gave Her My Life,” wearing vests they bought in a Jaffa flea market and looking sweet and scruffy.
They were sure they would win until ABBA performed. Another Israeli superstar, Ofra Haza, performed in the contest in 1983 and came in second with her moving song, “Chai,” which was especially emotional for many fans because the contest took place in Germany that year. In 2009, Israel sent Noa and Mira Awad, a Jew and a Christian Arab, to compete. The duo performed the song, “There Must Be Another Way,” which celebrates coexistence.
This year, while thousands of Israelis are walking around humming “Michelle,” the winner on Saturday is predicted to be Finland, for a song that includes a much-praised violin solo, while Greece, with a comic song sung by a guy in a tiger suit, is expected to take second place.
There are some worries that if Finland does take the top prize and hosts the contest next year, Israel will not be welcome, because thousands of Icelandic performers have signed petitions over the past few years calling for Israel to be banned.
But, as a doctor I once knew who worked with seriously mentally ill patients liked to say, we’ll jump off that bridge when we get to it. For now, Israelis can look forward to a few more days during which they can skip headlines about the war with Iran resuming, and bask in the glow of Bettan’s polished performance of “Michelle.”
No matter what the final tally is, Bettan and the staging of “Michelle” have impressed viewers around the world, and from that point of view, he – and we – have already won.