Vienna (AFP) - Israel will take to the stage as the Eurovision semi-finals kick off in Vienna on Tuesday, with the country’s very participation triggering the song contest’s biggest-ever political boycott.

This year marks the 70th edition of Eurovision, the world’s biggest live televised music event, which despite the razzmatazz rarely escapes the politics in the background.

Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip prompted five countries to withdraw from the glitzy annual extravaganza: Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Iceland, with the first three refusing to broadcast this week’s contest at all.

The withdrawals mean 35 countries are taking part this week – the fewest since entry was expanded in 2004.

A few dozen pro-Palestinian activists placed coffins in central Vienna to protest against Israel taking part.

“Israel has become an aggressor,” demonstrator Karin Spindlberger, 67, told AFP.

“Music should be universal, and it is. Music should bring people together – but not in this way.”

Palestine Solidarity activist Renate Burzyk, 76, added: “There are double standards at play. Russia isn’t allowed to join, but Israel is.”

- ‘Spread the love’ -

Eurovision director Martin Green told a press conference that the protests showed that Vienna allowed everyone to express themselves.

“It is a profoundly good sign of a democracy where you can have this show happening on one side of the city and a protest happening on the other side and they can both co-exist. Maybe the world can learn from that,” he said.

While the withdrawals were triggered by the Gaza war, broadcasters also raised suspicions that the public televoting system was being manipulated to boost Israel, which finished second at Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland.

Green said he hoped that “in the not too distant future”, Eurovision would be able to move to online-only voting, with the maximum 10 votes per viewer having to be spread among performers.

Eurovision is encouraging voters to share their votes out rather than pile all 10 behind one artist.

“Spread the love and express the joy,” said Green.

- Finnish flamethrowers -

Thanks to operatic singer JJ’s victory in Basel with “Wasted Love”, Austria is hosting for the third time, having staged the 1967 and 2015 contests.

Fifteen acts representing their countries will compete in Tuesday’s semi before 11,200 Eurovision fans at the Wiener Stadthalle, with 10 going through to Saturday’s grand final.

Moldova opens the show at 1900 GMT, returning to Eurovision after missing last year’s event.

The front-runners to qualify are Finland, Greece, Israel, Sweden and Croatia.

Finland’s Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen are the overall Eurovision favourites with “Liekinheitin”, or “Flamethrower”.

“We are so much into the music and what we are doing in the numbers, so that’s what we are actually always going for: the feeling. It has to come from here: from the heart,” violinist Lampenius told AFP.

At Eurovision, normally only the lead vocal is live, with the rest on a backing track.

However, Lampenius was given special dispensation to play her instrument live – a rarity since orchestras were phased out after Birmingham 1998.

Israel’s Noam Bettan will perform “Michelle”, a song in Hebrew, French and English.

Georgia and Belgium could struggle to go through, according to bookmakers, as could San Marino, despite some guest vocals from 1980s Culture Club star Boy George.

- Coffee house inspiration -

Fifteen more acts will compete in Thursday’s second semi, with 10 going through.

This year, the semi-finals will be decided by public vote and also by professional juries, back for the first time since Turin 2022, in a bid to assuage fears over televote manipulation.

Alongside Eurovision’s major financial backers Britain, France, Germany and Italy, hosts Austria have a guaranteed spot in Saturday’s 25-country final.

Eurovision 2026 executive producer Michael Kroen said they had drawn on classic Viennese coffee house culture to build the show.

Each competing country has a dedicated coffee house in the city for fans to congregate at.