On Tuesday, the Austrian public broadcaster ORF defended Israel’s participation in the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, which will be held in May 2026 in Vienna, while He tries to convince countries like Spain, Ireland or SloveniaWho oppose Israeli attacks on the civilian population of Gaza.
As explained at a press conference by ORF Director General Roland Weismann, within the framework of these talks, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) entities will vote in December on some new rules for the festival.
“It is time for diplomacy within the eurozone. We will discuss, talk, listen and try to persuade There will be new rules. “At the beginning of December there will be a vote on these rules, with a commitment in favor of these rules,” Weissman said, without providing details about possible changes.
“It’s the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, which it is We want to be a host to everyone. “It’s 70 years, there’s something to celebrate,” said the head of the ORF, which is organizing the event after Austrian singer JJ won in Basel last May.
“We invite as many people as possible to participate. He added that this truly becomes a 70th anniversary festival under the slogan “United by Music.”
On the other hand, Weizman announced that Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova will participate in the festival again in 2026, after being absent from the last edition. He was also openly excited about a possible Canadian participation in the next edition of the festival, responding with “Hooray Hooray Canada” to a question about it.
Thus, the organizers of the 2026 festival – who expect 90,000 spectators to attend between May 12 and 16 – are optimistic that the 70th edition of the event Attracting a record number of participantsDespite recent tensions over Israel’s participation.
Public entities in several countries, such as Spain, Ireland and Slovenia, have done so Threatened not to participate in the 2026 competition if Israel attendswhose armed forces killed more than 71,000 Palestinians during the two-year war against the fundamentalist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip.
The trigger for the armed conflict was the terrorist attack launched by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the killing of approximately 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of 251 others, most of whom were released within the framework of the ceasefire in force since October 9.
The governments of Spain, Ireland and Slovenia, which are among the most critical of Israel in the European Union, recognized the state of Palestine last year. In this sense, Weissman highlighted that it is the public radio and television organizations that send singers to Eurovision, not the United States.
The director of the ORF met last week in Israel with officials of the public entity CAN, who confirmed their interest in Israeli participation in the 70th edition of the competition and committed to complying with all the new rules that the Euro intends to introduce. “We made a very clear statement: We want as many countries as possible to participate. Israel is clearly one of them,” Weizman concluded today.
About The Author
