Eurovision song competition starts with the first semifinal after boycott over Israel

VIENNA (AP) — Competition starts Tuesday at the Eurovision Song Contest, with divisions over Israel's participation hanging over the 70th birthday of the over-the-top pop music extravaganza.

Host city Vienna has been bedecked in hearts and the contest’s “United by Music” motto for a week in which singers and bands from 35 countries will compete onstage for the continent’s musical crown. But five countries — Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland — are boycotting to protest Israel's inclusion.

Several pro-Palestinian demonstrations are planned in Vienna during Eurovision week, and security is tight, with police officers from across Austria deployed in the capital, and support from forces in neighboring Germany.

Last month a 21-year-old Austrian man accused of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group pleaded guilty to plotting to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024, and the head of Austria’s DSN intelligence service, Sylvia Mayer, said “the terror threat posed by Islamist terror groups, as well as Iran-affiliated groups, is still at a high level.”

Israeli singer Noam Bettan is among 15 acts competing for votes from viewers and national juries in Tuesday’s semifinal at the Wiener Stadthalle arena. The top 10 will go through to Saturday’s grand final, along with 10 from Thursday’s second semifinal. The U.K., France, Germany and Italy automatically qualify because they are among the contest’s biggest funders. Austria, last year’s winner, goes through to the final as host country.

Bettan is seeking to get Israel, which came second in 2025, into Saturday’s final with the ballad “Michelle.” Like last year’s Israeli competitor, Yuval Raphael, he has practiced singing while being booed.

Hoping to cement its status as bookmakers’ favorite is Finland, with the intense “Liekinheitin” (“Flamethrower”) by violinist Linda Lampenius and pop singer Pete Parkkonen.

Other competitors in Tuesday’s semifinal include Greece’s Akylas with fan-favorite party-rap track “Ferto” (“Bring It”); Portuguese quintet Bandidos do Cante with the soulful “Rosa”; and singer Senhit, representing tiny San Marino with “Superstar,” a party anthem featuring a guest appearance by Boy George.

Long a forum for good-natured — and sometimes more pointed — national rivalries, Eurovision has found it hard to separate pop and politics in recent years. Russia was expelled in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The 2024 contest in Malmo, Sweden, and last year’s event in Basel, Switzerland, saw pro-Palestinian protests that called for Israel to be expelled over its conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza and allegations it ran a rule-breaking marketing campaign to get votes for its contestant.

When organizers declined to kick Israel out, five countries announced in December that they would not participate this year.

The European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, has toughened voting rules in response to the vote-rigging allegations, halving the number of votes per person to 10 and tightening safeguards against “suspicious or coordinated voting activity.”

Dean Vuletic, author of "Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest," is confident Eurovision can weather the latest storms.

“We’ll see demonstrations, but we’ll also see a lot of colorful events going on which will really represent what Eurovision is about, which is bringing Europeans together,” he said.

“If you look at the history of Eurovision, it’s gone through so many crises, so many political challenges, so many geopolitical changes in Europe, and it’s always managed to survive.”

For more coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/eurovision-song-contest

Sarah Engels from Germany walks on the Turquoise Carpet during the official start of the Eurovision Song Contest week at the town hall in Vienna, Austria, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Tamara Zivkovic, of Montenegro, walks on the signature turquoise carpet during the official start of the Eurovision Song Contest week at the town hall in Vienna, Austria, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Artist Noam Bettan from Israel walks on the Turquoise Carpet during the official start of the Eurovision Song Contest week at the town hall in Vienna, Austria, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Artist Look Mum No Computer from the United Kingdom walks on the signature turquoise carpet during the official start of the Eurovision Song Contest week at the town hall in Vienna, Austria, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Artist Senhit from San Marino and British pop star Boy George react to fans on the signature turquoise carpet during the official start of the Eurovision Song Contest week at the town hall in Vienna, Austria, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Colorado Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson returned from a five-game absence with a costly mistake.

The 12th-year veteran was playing for the first time in the second-round NHL playoff series against Minnesota after recovering from an upper-body injury. He took a double minor penalty for hitting Wild center Michael McCarron with the blunt end of his stick during a scrum midway through the first period.

Danila Yurov scored during the four-minute power play to put the Wild on the board first in Game 4 on Monday, with Manson watching from the box. The Avalanche recovered to win 5-2 for a 3-1 lead in the series.

“A little undisciplined there, but it didn’t look to me like it was vicious enough to make it a five-minute major,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “I was just kind of hoping for the best and Manse would be able to stay in the game. I think they probably made the right call.”

The first-period tussle with Manson was still on McCarron's mind afterward.

“He’s a dirty player. He’s always been,” McCarron said. “Not very well-respected.”

Manson was checked hard into the boards by McCarron, losing his balance and pulling McCarron down to the ice with him. As Manson tried to get loose from McCarron’s bear hug, he sent a slight jab of his stick at the side of McCarron’s face that caused him to recoil in apparent pain.

Manson threw his hands up in disbelief after the review for a major penalty was announced, and after a longer-than-usual evaluation the call came for the double minor that went in the books for “butt-ending.”

“I blew him up, and he grabbed me and pulls me on top of him,” McCarron said. “He took his butt end and clearly butt-ended me in the face. I don’t know how it’s not a five-minute. I think the rulebook says it’s a five-minute if you butt-end someone in the face.”

Manson was mostly upset that McCarron landed on him after the hit, but he said he didn't purposely try to injure him and lost awareness of where his grip on the stick was during the scrum.

“My intention wasn't to butt-end him. Did I want to punch him in the head? I did want to punch him in the head,” Manson said.

The Avalanche made their first significant lineup changes of the postseason before Game 4, putting Manson and rookie Jack Ahcan on the blue line for Nick Blankenburg and Sam Malinski, who was scratched for the first time this postseason because of an upper-body injury. Manson was hurt in Game 3 of Colorado's first-round sweep of Los Angeles.

Manson posted a career-best plus-42 rating during the regular season, and he had a career-high 91 penalty minutes.

Bednar also gave goalie Mackenzie Blackwood his first start in nearly a month after he relieved Scott Wedgewood during the 5-1 loss in Game 3 to the Wild.

First line left wing Artturi Lehkonen also had his first absence due to an upper-body injury, so captain Gabriel Landeskog moved up to skate with star center Nathan MacKinnon.

Wedgewood and Blackwood shared the William M. Jennings Trophy as the Avalanche had the NHL's best goals against average during the regular season. Wedgewood was 6-0 in the playoffs before giving up three goals in Game 3 to prompt the pull from Bednar early in the second period on Saturday.

Blackwood, who played the entire first-round series last year against the Dallas Stars, made 19 saves in Game 4 after stopping 12 of 13 shots in Game 3.

“He went in the net and did exactly what I was hoping he would do,” Bednar said. “He’s had some really strong practices in the last week. He’s had some time to prepare. He’s in tune with what’s going on in the series and done his homework.”

AP Sports Writer Pat Graham in Denver contributed to this report.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Colorado Avalanche goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood waits for play to resume after a goal by Minnesota Wild right wing Danila Yurov during the first period of Game 4 in a second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Monday, May 11, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Wild right wing Ryan Hartman (38) tries to gain control of the puck as Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brett Kulak (27) and goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (39) defend during the third period of Game 3 of an NHL Stanley Cup hockey second-round playoff series Saturday, May 9, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Wild right wing Ryan Hartman (38) tries to gain control of the puck as Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brett Kulak (27) and goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (39) defend during the third period of Game 3 of an NHL Stanley Cup hockey second-round playoff series Saturday, May 9, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)