Ireland, Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands will boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) confirmed that Israel will be allowed to participate in 2026, despite calls from several broadcasters to exclude the country over the war in Gaza.
No vote on Israel’s involvement was held during Thursday’s EBU general assembly, the annual gathering of the organisation’s member broadcasters.
Instead, delegates were asked only to vote on new contest rules aimed at preventing governments and third parties from disproportionately promoting entries to sway public opinion.
“A large majority of members agreed that there was no need for a further vote on participation and that the Eurovision song contest 2026 should proceed as planned, with the additional safeguards in place,” the EBU said in a statement.
In response, Ireland’s national broadcaster RTÉ announced it would neither participate in nor air the 2026 contest.
“RTÉ feels that Ireland’s participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk,” it said.
Spain’s RTVE also confirmed it would not broadcast the contest or the semi-finals in Vienna, criticising the decision-making process as “insufficient” and creating “distrust”.
The BBC said it would continue to broadcast the event, adding: “We support the collective decision made by members of the EBU. This is about enforcing the rules of the EBU and being inclusive.” Germany’s SWR likewise confirmed its participation.
RTVE was among eight broadcasters that had formally requested a secret ballot on Israel’s participation at Thursday’s summit in Geneva. “The EBU presidency has denied RTVE’s request for a specific vote on Israel’s participation.
This decision increases RTVE’s distrust of the festival’s organisation and confirms the political pressure surrounding it,” the broadcaster said.
Spain’s culture minister, Ernest Urtasun, publicly backed RTVE’s stance. “You can’t whitewash Israel given the genocide in Gaza. Culture should be on the side of peace and justice. I’m proud of an RTVE that puts human rights before any economic interest,” he said.
Later on Thursday, Dutch broadcaster Avrotros said it would also withdraw from the contest. “After weighing all perspectives, Avrotros concludes that, under the current circumstances, participation cannot be reconciled with the public values that are fundamental to our organisation,” it said.
Slovenia’s RTVSLO, which first threatened a boycott earlier this year, reiterated that participation “would conflict with its values of peace, equality and respect”.
During the meeting, EBU members examined new rules intended to curb external influence on the public vote. Several countries raised concerns following Israel’s victory in the public vote this year, in which it placed second overall once jury scores were added.
The changes were initially seen as a concession to broadcasters critical of Israel’s inclusion, but they ultimately failed to satisfy many of the nations that had signalled a potential boycott.
Sixty-five per cent of delegates voted in favour of the amendments and against further debate on Israel’s participation, while 23% opposed the motion and 10% abstained.
Broadcasters from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland supported the rule changes and said they would continue to back the competition.
In a joint statement, they said they “supported” the EBU’s decision to “address critical shortcomings” but stressed the need to “maintain an ongoing dialogue about how we safeguard the credibility of the EBU and the Eurovision song contest moving forward”.
Iceland’s RÚV, which previously threatened a boycott, said it would review its position next week.
Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, welcomed the decision, saying the country “deserves to be represented on every stage around the world”.
Writing on X, he added: “I am pleased that Israel will once again participate in the Eurovision song contest, and I hope that the competition will remain one that champions culture, music, friendship between nations, and cross-border cultural understanding.”
The 2026 contest — the 70th edition of Eurovision — will be hosted in Vienna following Austrian singer JJ’s victory this year.
In Germany, some politicians had urged SWR to withdraw if Israel were excluded, while Austria’s host broadcaster ORF had insisted it wanted Israel to compete.
Ahead of the assembly, SWR stated that Israel was entitled to take part, arguing that Eurovision has long been “a competition organised by EBU broadcasters, not by governments” and that “the Israeli broadcaster Kan meets all the requirements associated with participation” in 2026.
Russia remains banned from Eurovision following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Israel, which has won the contest four times since its debut in 1973, has continued to compete despite ongoing disputes over its participation.
