Noam Bettan and the Israeli delegation gave another dazzling performance on Wednesday in their second rehearsal on stage for the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, which opens on May 12.
At the same time, Austrian police said they were preparing for a week of heightened security both before and during the event.
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.
The second rehearsal gave a clearer look at the central visual element in the Israeli number: a diamond. The performance will open with Bettan and dancer Lihi Freud inside the diamond structure, which rotates. 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.
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, as is the case every year, in coordination with Israeli security officials.
“Travel routes and locations are being kept under a high level of classification,” the spokesman told Mako. “And there is a dynamic adjustment of the security level according to situation assessments that are carried out every few hours.”
Israel’s broadcasting corporation celebrates 70 years of Eurovision
KAN, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, 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, May 10, 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 throughout the years.
On May 11, Roy Bar-Natan will host Yardena Arazi, who took part in Eurovision and also hosted the contest when it was held in Jerusalem for the first time, for a special episode of What Was That?
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.
For the full list of programming, go to the KAN website at kan.org.il.
Source:
www.jpost.com
