Israel will be allowed to compete in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest – with several broadcasters saying they will now boycott the event.
Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, Spain’s RTVE, Ireland’s RTE and Slovenia’s RTV immediately issued statements saying they will not participate in the 2026 contest following the European Broadcasting Union’s general assembly meeting on Thursday.
Members were asked to vote in a secret ballot on whether they were happy with new rules announced last month, without going ahead with a vote on participation next year.
In a statement, the EBU said members had shown “clear support for reforms to reinforce trust and protect neutrality”.
Ahead of the assembly, Israel’s public broadcaster KAN said its chief executive Golan Yochpaz and representative to the EBU, Ayala Mizrahi, would present KAN’s position “regarding attempts to disqualify Israel from the competition”.
Israel’s president Isaac Herzog posted on X, saying: “Israel deserves to be represented on every stage around the world, a cause to which I am fully and actively committed… I hope that the competition will remain one that champions culture, music, friendship between nations, and cross-border cultural understanding.”
In a statement, RTE, which had made its stance clear ahead of the meeting, said it will not participate nor will it broadcast the competition.
“RTE 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,” the broadcaster said.
AVROTROS, broadcaster for the Netherlands, said that “under the current circumstances, participation cannot be reconciled with the public values that are fundamental to our organisation”, while Spain’s RTVE highlighted how its board of directors had agreed in September that the country would withdraw “if Israel was part of it”.
This is a big deal for Eurovision, as Spain is one of the “Big Five” broadcasters – a group which also includes France, Germany, Italy and the UK. While the host broadcaster – as last year’s winners this is Austria this year – will often contribute most towards the cost of staging the contest, the Big Five will also make up a significant amount.
Slovenia’s broadcaster RTV said it would not take part “if Israel is included among the participating countries” and that the recent rule changes did not alter its view.
“As a public service broadcaster, RTV Slovenia is committed to upholding ethical principles and expects that equal rules and standards apply to all EBU members and all participating countries.”
The rule changes annnounced in November came after Israeli singer Yuval Raphael received the largest number of votes from the public at this year’s contest, held in Basel, Switzerland, in May – ultimately finishing as runner-up to Austria’s entry after the jury votes were counted.
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