Image source, Getty Images
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- author, Mark Savage
- Author title, BBC News
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Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia will boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest after allowing Israel to participate in the contest.
These countries had requested Israel’s exclusion due to the war in Gaza and accusations of irregular voting practices in the competition.
Despite calls for a vote on Israel’s participation, EBU members simply agreed to a new set of rules aimed at protecting the integrity of the competition.
The Spanish public broadcaster RTVE indicated that “last September, the RTVE Board of Directors agreed to Spain’s withdrawal from the Eurovision contest if Israel participated.”
“This withdrawal also means that RTVE will not broadcast the Eurovision 2026 final…or the preliminary semi-finals.”
RTVE led the calls for Israel’s disqualification and requested a secret vote on this country’s participation.
According to the network, the organizers “rejected RTVE’s request,” adding: “This decision increases RTVE’s lack of confidence in organizing the festival, and confirms the political pressures surrounding it.”
For its part, the Irish national broadcaster RTE announced that it considered “its participation still unacceptable in view of the heavy loss of life in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis that continues to put the lives of many civilians at risk.”
The Dutch broadcaster Afrotros said in a statement that “participation in the current circumstances contradicts the public values that are fundamental to us.”
Slovenian broadcaster RTV added that its position also “has not changed.”
“The recent changes in the rules do not change our opinion. As a public broadcaster, RTV Slovenia is committed to upholding ethical principles and expects that the same rules and standards will apply to all EBU members and all participating countries.”
Image source, Getty Images
“A valuable gesture of solidarity”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog praised the decision to allow his country to compete, describing it as “a valuable gesture of solidarity, brotherhood and cooperation, and symbolizing victory over those who seek to silence Israel and spread hatred.”
Herzog said that he was “happy that Israel is participating in Eurovision once again, and I hope that the competition will continue to be a place that sanctifies culture, poetry, friendship between peoples, and cultural understanding across borders.”
He added that Israel “deserves to be represented at every stage in the world, and I am fully and actively committed to that.”
Iceland was also expected to boycott the competition, but has not yet announced what it intends to do.
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