Eurovision 2026 faces boycotts as Israel allowed to compete

Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands will boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest after Israel was allowed to participate.

They were among a number of countries that had called for Israel to be excluded due to the humanitarian losses caused by the war in Gaza and accusations of unfair voting practices, CE Report quotes ATA.

Despite calls for a vote on Israel’s participation, members instead approved a set of new rules aimed at protecting the integrity of the competition.

In a statement, the Dutch broadcaster Avrotros said that “participation under the current circumstances is incompatible with the public values that are essential to us.”

The Spanish broadcaster RTVE added that “the RTVE board of directors agreed last September that Spain would withdraw from Eurovision if Israel were part of it.”

“This withdrawal also means that RTVE will not broadcast the Eurovision 2026 final… nor the preliminary semi-finals,” it added.

RTVE had led the calls for Israel’s expulsion and requested a secret vote on its participation.

According to the broadcaster, the organizers “denied RTVE’s request,” adding that “this decision increases RTVE’s distrust toward the organization of the contest and confirms the political pressure surrounding it.”

Other broadcasters, including Slovenia and Iceland, are also expected to withdraw from the competition.