Israel will take part in Eurovision 2026. Several countries are withdrawing from the competition
2025-12-06 19:54
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2025-12-06 19:54
Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia will not take part in the next Eurovision Song Contest following Thursday's decision by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to allow Israel to participate in the event, public television in these countries announced.
At Thursday's meeting, EBU members decided not to hold a vote on Israel's participation in Eurovision, thus allowing the country's representative to participate in the competition, which is to be held in Vienna in 2026.
Due to the war in the Gaza Strip, Israel's participation in Eurovision was opposed by some of the participating countries, including: Spain, whose government and society sharply criticize the actions of Israeli troops in the Palestinian semi-enclave.
“RTVE announced Spain's withdrawal from the Eurovision Song Contest after the vote that took place during the 95th general meeting of the EBU in Geneva,” wrote the Spanish public radio and television broadcaster on Thursday, which had previously warned against such a step.
As reported by Reuters, broadcasters from Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia also made a similar decision as Spain.
Earlier, Iceland also declared that it would consider boycotting next year's competition if Israel took part. Germany, in turn, warned that it would not participate in Eurovision if the Israeli representative was excluded.
Israeli public broadcaster KAN said it is preparing for next year's competition.
Israeli President Yitzhak Hercog reacted to the EBU's decision on Platform X.
“Israel deserves to be represented on every stage around the world. (…) I am glad that Israel will take part in the Eurovision Song Contest again and I hope that it will remain an event promoting culture,” Hercog wrote.
Israel came second in the last Eurovision Song Contest in May, with its representative Juwal Rafael receiving the highest total number of audience votes. After taking into account the jurors' votes, Austria was the winner. (PAP)
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