New Delhi, May 14 -- Ten countries including favorite Finland and contentious competitor Israel won places Tuesday in the Eurovision Song Contest final, while five nations were sent home after the first day of competition in the pop music extravaganza.

Host city Vienna has been bedecked in hearts and the contest's "United by Music" motto for a week in which singers and bands from 35 countries will compete onstage for the continent's musical crown. But divisions are clouding the contest's 70th anniversary edition, with five countries - Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland - boycotting to protest Israel's inclusion.

Despite the absentee nations, thousands of ebullient fans from across Europe and beyond packed the Wiener S...