Eurovision Bosses Confirm Paint Incident During Israeli Act's Final Performance

Israeli singer Yuval Raphael pictured during the final rehearsal for this year's Eurovision Song ContestEurovision organisers have confirmed there was an incident in the arena during the Israeli act’s performance on Saturday night.Israel’s presence in the contest has become a contentious issue, particularly in the last few years, in light of the ongoing conflict in Gaza.Following Eurovision’s live final in Basel, Switzerland on Saturday night, a spokesperson confirmed that two people tried to make their way onto the stage during Israeli performer Yuval Raphael’s rendition of her competing song New Day Will Rise.However, they were unsuccessful, but did manage to throw paint at a crew member.“At the end of the Israeli performance, a man and a woman tried to get over a barrier onto the stage,” a representative for the Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR said. “They were stopped.“One of the two agitators threw paint and a crew member was hit. The crew member is fine and nobody was injured. The man and the woman were taken out of the venue and handed over to the police.”Yuval Raphael on stage at EurovisionSky News also quoted a spokesperson for the Swiss police, who said that it was now up to Eurovision bosses “whether to press charges” against the demonstrators.It was previously revealed that six pro-Palestine protesters were removed from the arena after attempting to disrupt Yuval’s dress rehearsal before the Eurovision semi-finals on Thursday.Prior to that, the Israeli delegation was met with jeers from protesters upon their arrival at the official Eurovision launch, with Israel’s public broadcaster Kan also making an official complaint to Swiss police after an alleged threatening gesture was made towards her by one of these protesters.Yuval told BBC News that this first day of Eurovision was “frightening, even at times uncomfortable” and like her predecessor, Eden Golan, she maintained a low profile in the days before her semi-final performance, doing only a handful of media appearances and interviews.She also claimed she was “expecting” boos, and had been preparing for a variety of distractions during her rehearsals.In the end, Austrian representative JJ became this year’s Eurovision winner, with Yuval finishing in second place, after Israel secured the most points in this year’s televoting.After Ireland’s national broadcaster RTÉ became the fourth to raise questions to Eurovision organisers about Israel’s participation, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said it would hold discussions with its members about whether this should continue once this year’s contest was over.MORE EUROVISION:'I Was Never As Overwhelmed As I Was At Eurovision': Swiss Winner Nemo Reflects On Their 'Whirlwind' ExperienceRemember Monday Speak Out On Their Eurovision Experience After Getting Zero Points From ViewersThis Is Why This Year's Eurovision Song Contest Was So Controversial Once Again

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