Ireland, Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands have announced that they will boycott Eurovision 2026 after Israel was given the green light to compete in the song contest despite calls by several broadcasters for its exclusion over the Gaza genocide.
At a meeting in Geneva, a vote was held on new safeguards and a “large majority” of members agreed there was no need for a further vote on Israel’s participation and that the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 could proceed as normal, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said.
In response, Spanish and Irish broadcasters, RTVE and RTÉ, which had led calls for a secret ballot on the issue, said the decision had increased its “distrust of the festival’s organisation” and that Israel’s “participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk.”
Spain is one of the Eurovision’s “Big Five” countries along with France, Germany, Italy and the UK, making their boycott decision especially damning.
However, Slovenia and the Netherlands have also declared they will withdraw in protest of the decision, with others signalling similar intentions to do so.
The other members of the Big Five, including the UK, are also under pressure from activists to pull out.
Slovenia’s public broadcaster RTV said Friday that its position on Eurovision 2026 “remains unchanged,” reaffirming that it will not take part in the competition if Israel is included among the participating countries.
“We believe that the EBU could have shown a principled and ethical stance here. For more than a year, we have been warning that we cannot stand on the same stage with a representative of a country that caused the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza,” TV Slovenia Director Ksenija Horvat told the broadcaster following the meeting.
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Horvat highlighted that Gaza remains inaccessible to foreign journalists and that civilians “are still dying in unbearable humanitarian and security conditions.”
Pleased with their continued involvement, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said his country “deserves to be represented on every stage around the world” in a statement released on social media.
“I am pleased that Israel will once again participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, and I hope that the competition will remain one that champions culture, music, friendship between nations, and cross-border cultural understanding.
“Thank you to all our friends who stood up for Israel’s right to continue to contribute and compete at Eurovision. This decision demonstrates solidarity, fellowship, and cooperation, and reinforces the spirit of affinity between nations through culture and music.”
The BBC backs Israel
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has backed the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) decision allowing Israel to participate in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, even as four European broadcasters announced they will boycott the event.
National broadcasters of Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia announced that they will not take part in the 2026 competition after the EBU cleared the way for Israeli broadcaster KAN to participate.
The BBC however said it backs the decision to allow Israel to take part in the contest.
“We support the collective decision made by members of the EBU. This is about enforcing the rules of the EBU and being inclusive,” said a BBC spokesperson.
The decision drew criticism from some British lawmakers. Independent lawmaker Adnan Hussain, quoted the BBC’s statement on Israel’s participation in the song contest and said: “Boycott Eurovision for platforming genocide.”
Although a ceasefire in Gaza went into effect on 11 October 2025, the death toll in the Strip has continued to rise, reaching a heartbreaking 70,125. The majority of whom were women and children.
Since the beginning of the Israeli aggression in October 2023, at least 171,015 others have also been injured.
This toll remains incomplete, as many victims remain trapped under rubble, inaccessible to ambulance and rescue crews.
Medical sources said that during the past 24 hours, eight bodies were brought to hospitals in Gaza after being recovered from under the rubble, along with 16 injured individuals .
Since the ceasefire went into effect in October, the number of those killed and injured has reached 366 and 938, respectively. At least 619 bodies have also been recovered.
