Israel's Eurovision Song Contest semi-final contestant has faced boos from some audience members as he took the stage in Vienna, Austria.
The contest, now in its 70th year, plunged into crisis over Gaza genocide, with national broadcasters from five countries—including Spain, the Netherlands, and Ireland—boycotting the event because Israel is taking part.
Viewers watching the semi-final on television heard distant chants of "Stop, stop the genocide" and "Free, free Palestine" as Noam Bettan began his performance of "Michelle", which qualified for Saturday's final.
"I heard, first of all, in the beginning, a lot of booing, and it's fine. It's part of the thing," the 28-year-old Bettan said in an interview on Wednesday.
Protest tensions rise
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster ORF issued a statement confirming that an audience member near a microphone loudly expressed their views during the live broadcast.
"They were later removed for continuing to disturb the audience. Three other people were also removed from the arena for disruptive behaviour," the statement added.
The boycotting broadcasters, which also include Iceland and Slovenia, have said they are protesting against Israel's genocide in Gaza.
Israel has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and left much of Gaza in ruins.
Viewership is expected to be lower this year as boycotting countries are not televising the event.
