Two people have been apprehended after they attempted to storm the Eurovision stage during Israeli performer Yuval Raphael’s performance at the St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel on Saturday night.
According to footage posted to social media, an attendee at the Eurovision Grand Final attempted to leap the barrier separating the audience standing area from the stage and shouted “Free Palestine” in the middle of Raphael’s performance. He was apprehended by security before reaching the stage.
There are also reports that another audience member sprayed red paint on a security guard and other attendees in the area.
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig)
May 17, 2025
Following the incident, a representative of Israeli broadcaster KAN told media outlets: “We will not address issues regarding security in the event. We are extremely proud of Yuval Raphael’s perfect performance on the stage, which represented Israel in the most respectful manner.”
In a statement, Edi Estermann, Head of Communications for this year’s Eurovision song contest said: “At the end of the Israeli performance, a man and a woman attempted to climb over the barrier onto the stage; they were stopped.
"One of the two people threw paint, hitting a crew member. The crew member is fine, and no one was injured. The man and woman were escorted from the venue and handed over to the police.”
According to a press release from Anti-Israel protest group Youth Demand, three of their activists were arrested in Basel. David Curry, 22, from Manchester and Meaghan Leon, 27, from London were named by the group as responsible for the protests.
Anti-riot police officers use pepper spray to restrain activists during a demonstration against Israel's candidate prior to the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel on May 17, 2025. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP) (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images
The news comes amid intensifying illegal protests in Basel city centre, where Palestine demonstrators have clashed with Swiss police since setting off from Barfüsserplatz at 7pm. Roughly three hours into the protest, anti-riot police used pepper spray to restrain demonstrators who were pushing past police lines, mimicking scenes from last year’s violent anti-Israel Eurovision protests in Malmö, Sweden.
Before the song contest Raphael revealed in an interview with the BBC that she had found the level of hostility at the competition tough to deal with. She said: "It was scary at times, even uncomfortable, but it makes me keep reminding myself why I'm here and my agenda, which is spreading as much love as I can and bringing pride to my country,"
The 24-year-old Nova survivor also said that she’d practised dealing with interruptions in case of protests.
