Despite strong opposition from five member states leading to their eventual boycott of the competition, the Eurovision Song Contest allowed Israeli contestant Noam Bettan to participate in Tuesday night’s semi-final. The crowd wasn’t too pleased with him and he started his song ‘Michelle’ to cries of “stop the genocide” from the audience.
Quoting local newspaper Österreich, The Times of Israel reported two people were removed from the venue over the chants, which could be heard in the show’s live broadcast. Accounts on social media posted footage from the broadcast with audible chants.
The incident follows protests in Vienna, including one where demonstrators placed coffins in the city centre. At the site, 67-year-old Karin Spindlberger told AFP, “Israel has become an aggressor.” She said music brings people together, “but not in this way”.
Protests planned throughout the week leading up to the final on Saturday are expected to draw around 3,000 people to the streets.
Eurovision director Martin Green said the protests and competition taking place simultaneously showed people could have differing opinions on something and coexist. “It is a profoundly good sign of a democracy where you can have this show happening on one side of the city and a protest happening on the other side and they can both coexist. Maybe the world can learn from that,” he said.
