Music Heckling during Israel's ESC semi-final performance
There was an incident during Israel's first semi-final performance at the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna on Tuesday evening.
13.05.2026, 09:30
SDA
According to the report, a heckler shouting the slogan "Stop Genocide!" could also be heard during the television broadcast before and during Noam Bettan's performance. "The person was later removed from the hall after further disruptive behavior and repeated requests to refrain from this," reads a statement from ORF and the EBU broadcasting union.
ORF broadcasts an unfiltered audio feed from the hall and the person in question was in the immediate vicinity of a microphone. The heckler was not the only one who had to leave the ESC venue during the first semi-final. "Three other people were also expelled from the arena for disruptive behavior and non-compliance with the house rules," it continues.
