Israel is eligible for the Eurovision final in the midst of protests

Israel qualified for the grand finale of Eurovision on Saturday, hours after demonstrators tried to disturb the rehearsal of the country.

Yuval Raphael, 24, was that New Day will rise on Thursday afternoon during a preview show when six people with whistles and “oversized” Palestinian flags obstructed her act. According to the Arena rules, all flags are allowed, but there are customized limitations.

Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR, who organizes the event, said that the members of the public were quickly shed out from the St Jakobsshalle Arena.

The participation of Israel in Eurovision has been a source of controversy, because the army intensifies its bombing of Gaza and enforces blockages of all food and other humanitarian supplies.

In recent weeks, broadcasters in Spain, Ireland and Slovenia have called for a debate about the involvement of Israel, and there have been small protests in the streets of Basel, Switzerland where this year’s competition takes place.

The incident during Thursday’s rehearsal did not disrupt Raphael’s performance, and her appearance in the semi -final on television was passed without further demonstrations.

Speak with the BBC earlier this weekRaphael said that her team had played public noises about her rehearsals: “So I can practice when there are distractions in the background.”

The singer hit her hands together and then blew a kiss to heaven when it was announced that she would go to the final.

Despite the constant tension, her song is currently as the favorites to win, according to Bookmakers.

The 10 actions that were successful in Thursday’s public mood were:

• Armenia: Parg – Survivor
• Austria: JJ – Wasted love
• Denmark: Sissal – Hallucination
• Finland: Erika Vikman – Ich Kemme
• Greece: Piano – Asteromaat
• Israel: Yuval Raphael – New Day will rise
• Latvia: Volksdochter – Bur’s happiness
• Lithuania: Catharsis – Your Eyes
• Luxembourg: Laura Thorn – The Doll Rises Sound (Shown)
• Malta: Miriana Conte – Serving

Which means that the six eliminated countries were Australia, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Ireland, Montenegro and Serbia.

The elimination of Australia was the largest shock. Their Insuendo loaded pop anthem milkshake man had received a warm welcome for the competition, but in the night viewers turned out to be lactose intolerant.

Ireland also crashed, a year after Bambie Thug had delivered a sixth place.

The country has not now been eligible for eight of their last 10 attempts. The continuation of that losing streak will cause a lot of soul search in the nation connected to Sweden for most Eurovision victories of all time: seven in total.

The second semifinal also gave viewers their first chance to see the UK law, remember Monday.

The girl band supplied a whimsical staging of their song, what the hell has just happened? – Dance around a fallen chandelier in outfits inspired by Bridgerton, while sanging a messy night on the tiles.

With difficult three -part harmonies, they brought the Dodgy vocal versions that Olly Alexander and Mae Muller plagued in 2024 and 2023.

And they were spared the public mood for the time being. The UK automatically qualifies for the final as one of the “Big Five” countries that make surplus financial contributions to Eurovision.

Swedish entry Kaj are currently favorites to win the 2025 match, with their sweaty sauna people songs Bara Bada Bastu.

The Austrian counter-torine JJ, whose operating head Song Wasted Love is the second favorite, was one of the 10 acts that was voted after Thursday’s show.

In a striking version, the 24-year-old was thrown around the stage in a rickety sailboat, which reflects the turbulent emotional waters of his texts.

Elsewhere, the competition had all traditional Eurovision attributes: spandex, sequins, storm wind machines and no fewer than 10 costume changes on stage.

One of the more new elements were a “sand tornado” during the performance of France, and the Maltese participant Miriana Conte bounced on a bright red medicine ball for her self -promoting hymn.

Latvian folk band Tautumeitas used a more ethereal approach with their close -knit Inmarony Bur Man Laimi, which literally translates as “a singing for happiness”.

Dressed in Golden Bodysuits with branch and vine details, they transported the public for an enchanted forest for a song that emphasized the connection between humanity and nature.

The band was considered an out of a bit for the final, but jumped over higher profile numbers from Ireland and the Czech Republic – precisely because they stood out.

Making a stamp was also the Finnish singer Erika Vikman, who ended the show with a bang.

Her song Ich Komme is a sex-positive Club Volkslied that saw with the singer above the audience astride a huge, fire-spraying golden microphone.

Just like her, it rose in the grand finale of Saturday – where the song was expected to land in the top 10.

The show of Saturday takes place in Basel’s St Jackobshalle from 20:00 BST / 21:00 Swiss time.

The ceremony is broadcast live on BBC One and BBC Radio 2, with fully live comments on the BBC news website.