Slovenia’s Eurovision future hinges on Israel vote

Slovenia does not plan to take part in next year's Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, nor broadcast it, according to the draft 2025 programming plan of public broadcaster RTV Slovenija.

This could change if Israel was barred from the competition, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

Natalija Gorščak, chair of the RTV Slovenija board, said the decision not to take part could still change, depending on a vote next Thursday at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) General Assembly on whether Israel will be allowed to participate.

"If the decision next Thursday is that Israel will not compete, we will propose changes to our programming and production plan and of course take part in the festival," she told TV Slovenija after a meeting at which the broadcaster's governing council discussed the draft programming plan.

The final confirmation of the broadcaster's programming plan is scheduled for December.

RTV Slovenija has previously expressed concern about Israel's participation in EBU events, joining Spain, Netherlands and Ireland in putting pressure on the EBU to exclude it due to its conduct in Gaza and concern about potential voting fraud during this year's competition.

In a letter to the members of the EBU executive board in May, it said that unless the EBU takes clear steps and provides "a serious and concrete response to restore confidence in the transparency, accountability and values to which the EBU is committed", it will consider withdrawing from future Eurovision events.

Photo: Wikipedia