Eurovision 2026: Anti-genocide chants 'censored' as Israel qualifies for final

As Israel's Eurovision contender Noam Bettan took to the stage in Vienna on Tuesday evening, chants of “stop the genocide” and “free Palestine” rose from the audience during his introduction and the opening moments of his song. 

But when footage of the semifinal performance at Wiener Stadthalle was uploaded to Eurovision's official YouTube channel soon after, fans noticed that the declarations of solidarity with Palestinians were missing, sparking anger and accusations of censorship by Austrian host broadcaster ORF and organiser European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 

Four people were also removed from the contest due to pro-Palestine action during Israel's performance, organisers said. 

The first semifinal of the competition took place amid fierce backlash to Israel’s participation: several European broadcasters withdrew from the contest, and more than 1,000 artists last month called for a boycott of Eurovision, which they said was being used to "normalise" and "whitewash" Israel's genocide.

Social media users criticised both the removals of pro-Palestinian protesters and audio editing. 

Under the YouTube video itself, commenters also accused Eurovision of deleting criticism and sanitising the audience reaction.

“They removed and censored the booing and the ‘free palestine’ from the crowd that could be heard during the live stream,” commented another user, adding: “they removed it on the video upload, they can't remove it from the live broadcast obviously so everyone heard it there.”

The Eurovision communications team said in a statement to MEE that the competition removed the pro-Palestinian slogans on the video uploaded to YouTube because they "believe the focus of the Eurovision Song Contest should be on artists and music". 

The statement continued that one audience member “close to a microphone” had “loudly expressed their views” during Israel’s performance, and was heard on the live broadcast. 

Some social media users pointed out that the ORF had promised last year it would not censor booing or audience reactions during performances, as had happened in the previous competition.

The crowd chanted “Stop the genocide” as Israeli singer Noam Beitan stepped onto the stage during the Eurovision contest in Vienna, leading to security intervention and the arrest of pro-Palestine supporters.

You cannot hide the truth or deny the genocide committed by Israel in… pic.twitter.com/5DrIHRT0iM

— ‏الـشـبـ𓂆ـراوي ‎#غـزَّة⁩ (@M_shebrawy3) May 13, 2026

Others argued that Israel’s continued participation had fundamentally altered the atmosphere surrounding Eurovision.

“Never let anyone forget that Israel ruined Eurovision, just as it does every single other event that it participates in,” wrote another X user.

Bettan ended up qualifying for Saturday’s grand final.

Protests and boycott calls

The backlash comes Eurovision faces its largest broadcaster boycott in its 70-year history.

Broadcasters from Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, Iceland and the Netherlands withdrew after the EBU declined to hold a vote on Israel’s participation.

The protests surrounding Israel’s participation have also spread beyond Vienna.

In Brussels, Palestinian singer Bashar Murad performed at an alternative “United for Palestine” concert taking place at the same time as Eurovision.

The event, which featured former Belgian Eurovision contestants including Gustaph and Geike Arnaert, was part of a wider wave of demonstrations and boycott actions taking place across Europe.

Palestinian musicians also called for a boycott of Eurovision under the campaign headline #VoteJustice4Palestine. They urged supporters of Palestinians to use their platforms to share The Drone Song, a viral piece recorded by musician, composer and instructor Ahmed Abu Amsha in Gaza City, inspired by the sound of Israeli drones buzzing over the besieged enclave.

The competition has also faced scrutiny following a report from the The New York Times that Israeli state-linked bodies spent more than $1m on Eurovision-related promotional campaigns in recent years to encourage public voting.

Eurovision organisers last week issued a formal warning to Israel’s public broadcaster Kan after videos circulated encouraging viewers to vote “10 times for Israel”, in violation of competition rules.