Israel Eurovision entry booed and cheered in 'mixed reaction' after organisers say cheering is not fake

Boos and shouts of ‘Free Palestine’ could be heard during Israel’s song at rehearsals for the Eurovision semi-finals earlier this week. But Israel's contestant Eden Golan said "nothing will deter" her after getting booed during a dress rehearsal on Wednesday.

She was performing her song Hurricane ahead of Thursday's semi-final in Malmo, Sweden, amid some campaigns to block Israel from taking part in this year's contest following the outbreak of war in the Middle East. There have been pro-Palestinian protests in the Swedish city this week.

After Wednesday's dress rehearsal, videos surfaced on social media from audience members who had recorded Golan being booed by some members of the crowd. Boos and shouts of ‘free Palestine’ could be heard during the song.

The next day, during the semi-finals proper, it was only cheers from the audience that could be heard on TV. Eurovision said they did not censor the audience, telling Metro: "Just like in all major TV productions with an audience, SVT work on the broadcast sound to even out the levels for TV viewers. This is solely to achieve as balanced a sound mix as possible for the audience; and SVT do not censor sound from the arena audience. The same principle applies to all competing performances and opening and interval acts. The EBU and SVT encourage all audiences to attend in the spirit of the Contest, embracing its values of inclusivity, celebrating diversity and being United By Music."

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, which organises the country's Eurovision entry, said it had complained to the EBU about the booing and asked it to prevent a repeat of the incident.

During Israel's performance in Saturday's final, TV viewers questioned whether the audience sound they could hear was cheering or jeering, but UK commentator Graham Norton confirmed there had been booing. He described it as a "mixed reaction" but said the song was "tipped to do well".