Eurovision 2026 semi-final draw: Israel to compete despite boycott

The draw for the two semi-finals of Eurovision 2026 took place in Vienna on Monday, with Israel among the 15 participants set to compete for a spot in the final despite protests by several countries.

Israel is due to perform in the first semi-final on May 12 alongside Greece, Belgium, Sweden, Croatia and others.

Denmark, Romania, Switzerland and Norway are among those featuring in the second semi-final.

Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain and host Austria are automatically qualified for the final.

New voting rules give less weight to the public vote in the semi-finals than in previous years.

The Semi-finals will once again use a roughly 50/50 split between jury and audience voting.

A jury will help decide on 10 of participants from each of the semi-final shows advancing to the final round.

In another change, each viewer may only cast up to 10 votes, compared to up to 20 votes previously. The new rules also apply to the final.

The 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna has been overshadowed for months by a debate about Israel’s participation against the backdrop of its two-year military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

Spain, Ireland, Iceland, the Netherlands and Slovenia said they would boycott this year’s edition of the music spectacle in protest.

The entries from a total of 35 countries will be determined in the coming weeks.

Sales for the approximately 90,000 tickets for the nine shows during the week of the competition are meanwhile set to begin on January 13 at 1 pm (1200 GMT).

This year will mark Vienna’s third time hosting Eurovision, which was launched after World War II to promote international understanding.