4 ejected from Eurovision amid protests during Israel’s performance, organizers say

Four people were thrown out of the first Eurovision Song Contest semi-final amid attempts to disrupt Israeli singer Noam Bettan’s performance, the competition’s organizers say.

As Bettan began his performance of the song “Michelle” during yesterday’s live show, a protester could be heard shouting “Stop, stop the genocide,” and “Free, free Palestine.”

In a joint statement, Austrian host broadcaster ORF and the European Broadcasting Union say: “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. ORF is broadcasting a clean audio feed live from audience microphones before and during every performer’s song.”

The statement adds, “One audience member, close to a microphone, loudly expressed their views as the Israeli artist began his performance, and during the song, which was heard on the live broadcast. They were later removed by security for continuing to disturb the audience. Three other people were also removed from the arena by security for disruptive behavior.”

Asked shortly before the semi-final whether Eurovision had plans to lower the crowd volume on the broadcast in case there were attempts to disrupt Israel’s performance, executive producer Michael Kroen had insisted: “The crowd volume will be the same for all the contestants.”

Bettan made the contest’s final following his performance yesterday.