Updated on Sunday 17 May at 13h.
Spain’s boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest over Israel’s war in Gaza places the country ‘on the right side of history’, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Friday ahead of Saturday’s final in Vienna, Austria.
‘In the face of illegal war and also genocide, silence is not an option. And we cannot remain indifferent to what continues to happen in Gaza and in Lebanon,’ Sánchez said in a video message shared on X (see below).
‘This year, therefore, will indeed be different. We will not be in Vienna, but we will do so with the conviction that we are on the right side of history.’
Spain is normally among the leading financial contributors to Eurovision, the annual international music competition organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). ALSO READ: Spain’s national broadcaster defies Eurovision organisers, and airs support message for Palestine.
Because Israel’s public broadcaster, KAN, is a member of the EBU, Israeli performers are eligible to take part in the contest. ALSO READ: Spain, Ireland, Slovenia & the Netherlands withdraw from Eurovision, after Israel remains eligible.
Bulgaria finally won this year’s Eurovision in the early hours of Sunday morning – the 70th edition of the world’s biggest live televised music event – pushing into second place Israel, whose participation had triggered a major boycott, not just from Spain.
Alongside Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia, Spain boycotted this year’s event in protest at Israel’s actions during the war in Gaza, which began after the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel carried out by the militant group Hamas. ALSO READ: Spain joins Ireland and Slovenia in boycotting Eurovision TV broadcast over Israel’s participation.
The participating countries backing the boycott argued that Israel’s military response in Gaza has involved disproportionate force resulting in large numbers of civilian deaths. Sánchez himself has called it a ‘genocide’. ALSO READ: Spanish PM: Gaza truce must not mean impunity for ‘genocide’.
In 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to Israel’s offensive, including accusations of deliberately targeting civilians and using starvation as a weapon of war.
In his message, Sánchez also compared the situation to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
‘When Russia invaded Ukraine, it was excluded from the contest and Spain supported that decision,’ he said.
He added: ‘Those principles must also be applied when we talk about Israel. There cannot be double standards.’ ALSO READ: Spain to investigate possible war crimes in Gaza, supporting international criminal courts.
The Eurovision final traditionally attracts an audience of more than 150 million viewers worldwide.
On Saturday night, Bulgaria finished on 516 points, with 27-year-old pop singer Darina Yotova, known as Dara, winning the contest with ‘Bangaranga’. Israel came second on 343 points, Romania on 296, Australia on 287, Italy with 281 and Finland on 279. The UK received just one point. It was the second year in a row that Israel finished runners-up.
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Este año no estaremos en Eurovisión, pero lo haremos con la convicción de estar en el lado correcto de la historia.
Por coherencia, responsabilidad y humanidad. pic.twitter.com/cnTt7Kc5rk
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) May 15, 2026
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