Ireland, Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands will boycott next year’s pop music competition, the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), after Israel was given the green light to compete in the contest, despite calls from several participating broadcasters for the country to be excluded due to the war in Gaza.
On Thursday (4/12), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the body that organizes the competition and represents public broadcasters from 56 countries, held its bi-annual General Assembly. Some of its members called for Israel’s exclusion due to alleged interference in the vote and the country’s actions in the war in Gaza.
However, the participating broadcasters only voted to introduce new, stricter voting rules aimed at preventing governments and third parties from disproportionately promoting music to influence voters.
This measure came in response to allegations that Israel tampered with the vote in favor of its representative.
The voting system has been criticized
The festival’s voting system came under criticism after Yuval Rafael, a survivor of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, rose to second place in this year’s popular vote. Last year’s performer, Eden Golan, also made it to fifth place, despite the judges’ lower scores.
The European Broadcasting Union said: “A large majority of members agreed that there is no need for a new vote on Israel’s participation and that the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 should go ahead as planned, with additional safeguards in place.”
The war in Gaza has created a sharp division between broadcasters and participants over the past two years.
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“The situation in Gaza, despite the ceasefire and approval of the peace process, and Israel’s use of the competition for political purposes, makes it increasingly difficult to maintain Eurovision as a neutral cultural event,” Alfonso Morales, Secretary General of the Spanish broadcaster RTVE, said in announcing his withdrawal.
Spain is one of the top five countries that contribute the most to the competition.
The Irish Public Broadcasting Corporation said: “Radio Television Ireland considers that Ireland’s participation remains unacceptable, given the devastating loss of life in Gaza and the ongoing humanitarian crisis, which puts the lives of many civilians at risk.” Ireland has won Eurovision seven times, a record it shares with Sweden.
The Israeli President praises the decision
Israeli President Isaac Herzog celebrated the approval of Israel’s participation in the 2026 event, adding that the country “deserves to be represented at every stage in the world.”
“I hope the competition will continue to promote culture, music, friendship between nations and cultural understanding across borders,” he said.
Germany and Austria, which will host the competition next year, supported Israel’s survival. German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested in October that he would support Germany’s exit if Israel was excluded.
Read more reports from DW’s partner, Metropoles.