Four European Broadcasters Withdraw from 2026 Eurovision Over Israel’s Inclusion, Threatening Widespread Boycott

GENEVA, June 12 – The Eurovision Song Contest, an annual spectacle of pop music and cultural exchange, is facing an unprecedented crisis as four national broadcasters announced their withdrawal from the 2026 edition in protest of Israel’s permitted participation. The decisions by public networks in Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, and Slovenia threaten to plunge the 70th-anniversary event into political turmoil and could trigger a chain reaction of further boycotts.

The coordinated walkouts came immediately after a tense General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the consortium of 56 public broadcasters that organizes the contest. While the assembly addressed mounting concerns over Israel’s involvement—opposed by many due to its military campaign in Gaza—the EBU ultimately reaffirmed Israel’s place in the competition. The body did, however, vote to adopt stricter voting rules following allegations of irregular voting patterns benefiting Israeli contestants in recent years.

“This is a historic and perilous moment for the EBU,” said Dean Vuletic, a leading Eurovision historian and author of Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest. “We are witnessing the most serious political schism in the event’s history. Next year may see the largest boycott ever, transforming a celebration of music into a stark diplomatic battleground.”

Vuletic predicted “tense and divisive” months ahead as other nations, including Iceland, weigh joining the boycott. The Icelandic broadcaster RUV’s board has already recommended non-participation if Israel competes, with a final decision pending a meeting next week. This growing dissent threatens to overshadow the anniversary contest, scheduled for next May in Vienna.

A Contest Under Pressure

For the past two years, the war in Gaza has cast a long shadow over Eurovision, sparking large-scale protests outside venues and forcing organizers to ban political symbols. The conflict has now moved decisively from the streets into the governing halls of the contest itself.

The four withdrawing broadcasters issued sharply worded statements linking their exit directly to the situation in Gaza and the politicization of the event:

• AVROTROS (Netherlands): Stated that Israel’s participation “is no longer compatible with the responsibility we bear as a public broadcaster.”

• RTVE (Spain): Cited the “devastating situation in Gaza” and argued that “Israel’s use of the contest for political purposes makes it increasingly difficult to maintain Eurovision as a neutral cultural event.”

• RTÉ (Ireland): Declared Ireland’s continued involvement “unconscionable given the appalling loss of life and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”

• RTVSLO (Slovenia): Echoed these sentiments, with officials also pointing to the killings of journalists in Gaza and Israel’s restrictions on international media access as factors in their decision.

A Clash of Principles

The EBU, in a brief statement, acknowledged the public declarations of the four broadcasters but emphasized that a final list of participants for the 2026 contest will not be confirmed until Christmas. The organization is caught between upholding its proclaimed values of inclusivity and apolitical cultural exchange and managing intense internal discord.

Support for the EBU’s decision came from Israel and several other member nations. Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed pleasure at the decision, stating he hoped the contest would “remain one that champions culture, music, and friendship between nations.” Host nation Austria, along with Germany, Switzerland, and Luxembourg, are among those reported to have supported Israel’s inclusion.

Israeli broadcaster KAN pushed back against the boycott, with its CEO, Golan Yochpaz, questioning whether EBU members were “willing to be part of a step that harms freedom of creation and expression.” KAN officials have also denied any involvement in prohibited campaigning during the 2025 contest in Basel, where Israeli contestant Yuval Raphael finished in second place.

As the EBU works to finalize the participant list, the exodus of four major European broadcasters signals a profound reckoning for an institution designed to unite through music but now fractured by the world’s most intractable conflicts. The stage in Vienna may be set for a celebration overshadowed by empty chairs and amplified geopolitical strife.

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