Venues across Vienna are aglow with the spirit of the jubilee 70th Eurovision Song Contest, set to begin tonight in the Austrian capital. However, the participation of Israel has cast a shadow over the event, with five countries—Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland—boycotting the competition in protest.

The contest will see 35 countries competing for the crown of Europe's musical royalty. The first semi-final will take place tonight at the Wiener Stadhalle, with the top 10 advancing to the grand final on Saturday, alongside another 10 who will qualify in the second semi-final on Thursday.

Among the 15 competitors in tonight's semi-final is Israel's Noam Betan, performing the ballad "Michel." Serbia's representative, the group "Lavina," will also be taking the stage tonight.

The Eurovision Song Contest has long been a forum for friendly and sometimes contentious national rivalries. However, recent years have seen the competition struggle to balance pop and politics. Russia was expelled from the 2022 contest following its invasion of Ukraine.

The 2024 contest in Malmö, Sweden, and last year's event in Basel, Switzerland, saw Palestinian protesters demanding that Israel be excluded due to its actions in Gaza and accusations of violating contest rules in its marketing campaign. When organizers refused to exclude Israel, five countries announced in December that they would not participate this year.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which oversees Eurovision, has tightened voting rules in response to allegations of manipulation, halving the number of votes per person to 10 and enhancing safeguards against suspicious or coordinated voting activities.

Dean Vuletić, author of "Post-War Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest," is confident that Eurovision can navigate the latest waves of controversy. "We will see demonstrations, but we will also see many colorful events that truly represent what Eurovision is about: bringing Europeans together."

"If you look at the history of Eurovision, it has gone through so many crises, so many political challenges, so many geopolitical changes in Europe and has always managed to survive," Vuletić added.

The contest promises to be a vibrant celebration of music and culture, but the political backdrop will likely continue to be a topic of discussion.