Pakistan, May 15 -- As 28-year-old Israeli singer Noam Bettan began his performance of "Michelle" during Tuesday's live show, a protester could be heard shouting "Stop, stop the genocide" and "Free, free Palestine".

Israel's participation in Eurovision 2026 has caused Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia to pull out of the world's biggest live televised music event. Eurovision is run by the European Broadcasting Union, the world's biggest alliance of public-service media.

In a joint statement, Austrian host broadcaster ORF and the EBU said: "An audience of 10,000 fans in the Wiener Stadthalle at the first semi-final of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna greeted every artist enthusiastically.

"One audience membe...