Austrian police said they were preparing for a week of heightened security both before and during the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, which opens on May 12.
Noam Bettan, who will represent Israel with the song “Michelle,” took the stage at the Wiener Stadthalle for the final round of rehearsals before the dress rehearsals and live broadcast. Israel will compete in the first semifinal on May 12, where Bettan will perform 10th, hoping to advance to the grand final on Saturday.
While the focus for Eurovision fans is on the songs, staging, and stars, the security arrangements around the contest in Vienna have become a major story on Austrian news.
The FBI has set up a dedicated task force in New York that will operate around the clock during Eurovision week in Vienna, with the aim of helping local police identify and thwart cyber threats. The focus is on potential attacks against voting systems, the broadcast infrastructure of ORF, Austria’s public broadcaster, and attempts to disrupt the work of the delegations.
“The FBI is supporting us through its own task force in New York,” Dieter Csefan, vice president of the Vienna police, was quoted by the website Mako as saying. “The goal is to monitor cyber threats and potential attacks on the voting systems and the technological infrastructure of the event. We are in continuous contact with them in order to identify any suspicious activity online before it translates into a physical threat on the ground.”
The cooperation comes after an incident in which American intelligence helped thwart an ISIS attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024.
Austrian police are carrying out extensive security operations around the main Eurovision sites. Authorities are reportedly preparing for a particularly tense weekend, with the main demonstrations expected on May 15 and 16, around Nakba Day and the Eurovision final.
According to reports, thousands of demonstrators are expected to come to key areas, including the contest venue and the Eurovision Village in the square outside Vienna City Hall. In addition, police have declared a no-fly zone with a radius of 1.5 kilometers around the hall, and they are prepared to deal with drones or any other aerial threats.
The Israeli delegation is being protected by special units of the local police and in coordination with Israeli security officials as in previous years.
“Travel routes and locations are being kept under a high level of [security] classification,” the spokesman told the Mako news portal. “And there is a dynamic adjustment of the security level according to situation assessments that are carried out every few hours.”
Meanwhile, The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) issued a formal reprimand to KAN, Israel’s Eurovision broadcaster, over prohibited social media campaigning.
After social media posts featuring Bettan included specific instructions on how viewers could utilize their full 10-vote allowance for a single entry, Martin Green, executive supervisor of the contest, confirmed that organizers requested the immediate removal of such material from platforms such as X/Twitter. While the delegation complied within 20 minutes, the EBU has formalised the incident with a warning, citing a breach of the “spirit of the competition.”
KAN described the incident as an isolated promotional choice by the artist’s management team. A spokesperson stated that the videos were intended to mirror the enthusiasm seen in other national campaigns and were not backed by “unlawful financing.”
Following the EBU’s feedback, the broadcaster confirmed it would align all future content with the new standards.
Bettan’s second rehearsal provided a clearer look at the central visual element in the Israeli number: a diamond. The performance begins with Bettan and dancer Lihi Freud inside the rotating diamond structure. Later, the diamond opens like a flower, and Bettan steps to the front of the stage. From there, the production number moves to a catwalk that leads toward the audience, and Bettan and Freud are joined by the other four dancers.
In addition to Freud, the dancers appearing with Bettan are Eden Zino, Daniel Ben-Avraham, Yasmin Hachmon, and Zhenia Gafonov.
Israel's broadcasting corporation celebrates 70 years of Eurovision
KAN is marking the 70th anniversary of Eurovision with a week of special broadcasts across KAN 11, KAN BOX, KAN’s radio stations, and the corporation’s digital platforms.
The programming will begin on Sunday at 9:30 p.m., with a Eurovision special of the game show The 1% Club, hosted by Shahar Hason, featuring questions related to the contest and contestants with detailed knowledge of Eurovision.
The program will be accompanied by a cover band playing Eurovision songs from competitions throughout the years.
On Monday, in a special episode of What Was That?, Roy Bar-Natan will host Yardena Arazi, who took part in Eurovision and hosted the contest when it was held in Jerusalem for the first time.
KAN 11 will air the documentary Euro-Pop: 70 Years of Eurovision on May 13. It will examine how the contest has reflected, and at times inspired, major trends in Europe during its 70-year history.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.