iceland

Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia all withdrew in protest against Israel’s participation in the midst of its war on Gaza.

As the Eurovision Song Contest took to the stage for the Saturday night final in Vienna, thousands protested outside against Israel’s inclusion, and five countries boycotted the event over the genocidal war on Gaza.

Protesters marched through the Austrian capital to highlight what critics described as a double standard. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) organisers refused to exclude Israel, despite banning Russia following its invasion of Ukraine four years ago.

Eurovision, which attracted 166 million viewers last year, is seeing the largest boycott in its 70-year history.

Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia all withdrew because of Israel’s inclusion, with some of their national broadcasters refusing to air the show.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who has emerged as one of Israel’s strongest critics in Europe, said on Friday that the decision puts Spain on “the right side of history”.

Last month, more than 1,000 artists called on fans to boycott Eurovision in an open letter against Israel’s participation. Among the artists were outspoken critics of Israel, Macklemore and Paloma Faith. Macklemore has released songs protesting against Israel’s war in Gaza.

Double standards

On Monday, Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard denounced the EBU for allowing Israel to participate.

“The failure of the European Broadcasting Union to suspend Israel from Eurovision, as it did with Russia, is an act of cowardice and an illustration of blatant double standards when it comes to Israel,” she said.

Reporting from Vienna, Al Jazeera’s Charlie Angela said 2,000 demonstrators gathered in the city earlier on Saturday to protest against Israel’s participation.

Angela reported that protesters accused the competition of normalising Israel’s actions in Gaza, adding that Eurovision was “bending over backwards” to justify including Israel while excluding Russia.

Russia has faced a widespread cultural boycott following the Ukraine invasion. It is banned from international football tournaments, and FIFA and UEFA have excluded Russian domestic teams from all competitions, including the Champions League.

The winner of Eurovision will be selected by both a professional jury and TV viewers voting for their favourite act.

Austria won the competition last year, with Israel second.

The Israeli government was later accused of unfairly influencing voting. New rules have since been introduced.

Ruben Chorlton-Owen, 24, from North Wales, booked an Airbnb abroad hoping for a great holiday. However, as soon as he arrived, things soon started to go downhill

We all enjoy escaping abroad for a spell in a different country, but sometimes holidays don’t quite unfold as we’d hoped. One traveller who recently learnt this is Ruben Chorlton-Owen, 24, from North Wales, who claimed he had an unexpected experience while staying at an Airbnb this year.

Ruben shared his travel ordeal as he struggled to comprehend how events unravelled. He jetted off in March for a break and to immerse himself in a different culture, but things took an unexpected turn when he encountered drama from the moment he touched down for his holiday.

This isn’t the first instance of travellers reporting problems while abroad either. Only weeks ago, tourists revealed they’d booked flights home early from a popular holiday hotspot.

Describing his recent Icelandic getaway, Ruben explained: “We landed late and arrived at our Airbnb just before midnight, expecting to warm up after travelling. However, when we opened the door, the entire property was completely pitch black with no electricity.

“It was around -5°C outside, and there was no heating in the apartment. The only heating available was two plug-in heaters, which couldn’t be used without power.

“We had to rely on our phone torches just to see inside, while our batteries were slowly draining. We tried contacting the host immediately but received no response.

“We were unable to get help that night and had to stay there without power or heating. Airbnb initially advised us to find our own hotel at that time of night and offered a 20% reimbursement, which was difficult given how late it was. We were eventually relocated the following day.”

Despite this, he acknowledged the property itself was clean upon arrival and access was simple via the key box, but he said that was where the positive experience ended. He also alleged what made matters worse was that, after this occurred, he looked at the reviews and noticed other guests had flagged similar power problems.

Ruben said he had reserved the stay roughly two months beforehand, so they had no means of knowing at the time, as the complaints were more recent. He continued: “It wasn’t how we imagined starting the trip – arriving somewhere new in the middle of the night expecting somewhere warm and safe, only to find no power in freezing conditions.

“To add to the chaos, when we were relocated to the new accommodation, we accidentally entered the wrong property as the house next door had the exact same lockbox and code. We ended up briefly walking into someone’s home by mistake before realising, which, in hindsight, was quite surreal (and luckily no one was in).

“Throughout the situation, the host remained unresponsive and most replies appeared automated. While Airbnb did eventually provide full compensation, the first 24 hours were stressful and difficult to resolve.”

If you’ve never come across Airbnb before, it’s incredibly popular. Airbnb is a worldwide online platform and app that links travellers with hosts to facilitate the rental of distinctive accommodation – from spare bedrooms to complete properties.

Established in 2008 as a peer-to-peer, short-term rental marketplace, it enables holidaymakers to discover authentic, locally-based accommodation in more than 220 countries and territories, while simultaneously allowing hosts to earn income from their properties. It provides visitors with an alternative to traditional hotel stays.

When questioned about the matter, an Airbnb spokesperson said: “We were disappointed to hear about this experience, and we’ve provided the guest with a full refund and the host has been removed from the platform. All bookings come with AirCover, meaning in the rare event something isn’t as expected on arrival for a stay, we’ll help the guest find a similar place or give them a refund.”

Hampton’s performance was not a clean one as she fumbled several crosses and was not convincing on set-pieces.

She almost dropped the ball into the path of Sveindis Jonsdottir late on too, but rescued it just in time to spare her blushes.

Hampton’s has been patchy of late for Chelsea, but like all world-class players she delivers when it really matters.

She did it against Spain on Tuesday, as England held on to a significant 1-0 win in part thanks to her acrobatic save, denying Edna Imade late on.

At Wembley, her predecessor Mary Earps was being celebrated for her Lionesses career before kick-off, but Hampton has taken her gloves seamlessly, shining at Euro 2025 and now impressing as England look to seal their spot in next year’s World Cup.

Despite the spotlight, Hampton was humble at full-time in Iceland, joking about the simplicity of the game and her role within it.

“Alessia [Russo] puts the ball in one end and I stop it going in at the other. It’s a simple game when you break it down,” she told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“I am just glad I get to be involved. It means I don’t freeze to death! I’m always willing to put my body on the line.”

But there was no downplaying by England manager Sarina Wiegman, who said Hampton’s saves against Iceland were “crucial” to securing the victory.

“It is always a team effort and a team performance but it’s really nice to have a goalkeeper that stops the ball going in – especially when it’s really hard for the team and they are struggling,” added Wiegman.

“That’s called teamwork. She showed again that she is a world-class goalkeeper.”

Arsenal striker Russo added: “She was amazing. Big moments kept us in it and she showed up three or four times to get us the three points.

“Sometimes you need someone to step up like that.”