Reactions to five countries’ participation in Eurovision 2026 confirm that Israel will once again participate in the contest that has reached the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The festival organizer issued a statement last July following the debate which sparked astonishment from Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia and Iceland and support from the majority of member countries for Israel’s permanence in the competition.
The EBU text refers to the criticisms that were received during the internal debate established during its General Assembly, celebrated on December 4 in Geneva (Switzerland). Ultimately, the majority of the organization’s members voted to approve new measures regulating televoting. There is therefore no need to consider the expulsion of Israel for its military attack on the Palestinian city of Gaza, which caused more than 70,000 victims and which an independent commission appointed by the UN described as genocide.
“Following the recent General Assembly debate on the Eurovision festival, several EBU members have been criticized for their position in the debate. While the public communications media are always open to criticism, the EBU considers that some of the attacks on our members, from both sides of the debate, have been completely inaccurate and ill-informed,” the communication begins.
One of the public criticisms he received was a recent meeting by José Pablo López, president of RTVE, who assured on social networks that “what happened at the EBU Assembly confirms that Eurovision is not a song contest, but a festival dominated by geopolitical interests and fractured,” he said.
For the EBU, the debate on Eurovision in recent months “has been respectful and eloquent” and considers that the members who expressed their opinions “reflected their own perspectives and those of the public on this difficult subject, from the perspective of no one, of the political party”, indicates the text.
The organization assures that it respects the right of its members “to make an individual decision regarding their participation in the Eurovision festival, whether their decision is made or not” and expresses its desire to collaborate with the participants in Vienna next May and also that important members who will not participate in 2026 return ready for the competition. “We will continue to work with them to achieve this,” concludes the EBU.
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