BERLIN – The 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, scheduled for May, faces a potential meltdown as several countries announce boycotts following the European Broadcasting Union's (EBU) decision to allow Israel's participation despite the ongoing Gaza conflict.
The controversy centers on the EBU General Assembly, held on December 4th (local time) in Geneva, Switzerland. Following the meeting, the EBU confirmed, "All member organizations that wish to participate in Eurovision 2026 and agree to comply with the new rules are qualified to participate." Contrary to expectations, the issue of Israel's participation was not put to a vote, with the EBU stating that a majority of members agreed that no further vote was needed.
However, immediately after the assembly, major broadcasters from several nations declared their non-participation. Spain's public broadcaster RTVE, Ireland's RTE, the Netherlands’ AVROTROS, and Slovenia's RTV all announced they would withdraw from next year's competition. Ireland's RTE was particularly strong in its stance, stating that participation "would go against the conscience, considering the horrific loss of life and the humanitarian crisis threatening countless civilians in Gaza," and added that it would not even broadcast the event.
The Eurovision Song Contest is a highly popular competition where 56 EBU member broadcasters send their nation's singer to compete for the title. Following Austria's singer JJ (Johannes Piechl) winning this year's contest, the 2026 event is slated to be held in Geneva, Austria.
Israel's participation has been a continuous source of controversy since the start of the Gaza conflict in October 2023. In the previous year's competition, Israeli singer Eden Golan had to change her song's title and lyrics after being criticized for a tune that seemed to allude to the Hamas surprise attack on Israel, violating the political neutrality rule. This year, further accusations of manipulation arose when the Israeli representative, Yuval Raphael, received a landslide of votes from the viewing public, alongside criticism that the Israeli government was too aggressively promoting its representative.
The EBU, facing growing member dissatisfaction, had reportedly proposed that Israel’s public broadcaster, KAN, temporarily withdraw from the competition or compete with the broadcaster's flag instead of the national flag, but this was rejected by KAN.
In addition to the four countries that immediately announced boycotts, broadcasters from Iceland, Belgium, Finland, and Sweden had previously demanded Israel's exclusion. Conversely, Germany, a strong ally of Israel, has pushed back against the boycott movement, threatening to withdraw its own participation if Israel is excluded from the contest.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog welcomed the EBU's decision, saying he was "happy that Israel will once again participate in Eurovision," and stressed that "Israel deserves to be on every stage in the world." Despite this support, the backlash from European broadcasters signals that the 2026 contest will be fraught with political tension, threatening the unity and spirit of the pan-European event.
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