RTVE president José Pablo Lopez accused Israel of working in the shadows “for months” to influence the vote that on Thursday confirmed the Hebrew state’s participation in the Eurovision contest. “What looked like a democratic debate in Geneva was so … only A farce cooked in the offices »the Supreme Commander of the General Corporation indicated from his account in X.
In a new criticism of the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) decision, Lopez stressed that the organization’s main argument had been “destroyed”, namely that Eurovision’s neutrality “It is not guaranteed either before or now.” And that Israel “will continue to use” the festival “as it sees fit.”
Moreover, he regretted the EBU’s silence on the issue while “in the last few hours” it approved “very serious” attacks on RTVE, which, according to the president, “the organization looked the other way”.
The European Broadcasting Union, meeting in Geneva, announced on Thursday that Israel will participate in Eurovision 2026 after an internal vote in which support for the Jewish state was imposed by 738 votes in favour.
Spain had threatened not to participate in the next session of the festival if Israel was not expelled “for its sake.” The genocide committed in GazaAfter he heard the news, he did not delay in fulfilling his promise. They are joined in the boycott by the Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia, while Iceland will have to decide “in the coming days.”
RTVE announced on Thursday that it would not broadcast the final or semi-finals of Eurovision, although it revealed on Friday that it would celebrate “Benidorm Fest”, the event that has served as the Spanish pre-selection since 2022.