Spain could extend Eurovision boycott into 2027 over Israel’s participation

RTVE president José Pablo López (main image) said on Tuesday that he intends to ask the corporation’s board to maintain the suspension of Spain’s participation when Eurovision is staged in Bulgaria next May. ALSO READ: Bulgaria’s Burgas chosen to host Eurovision 2027 as new security rules come into force.

Spain withdrew from the 2026 contest in Vienna alongside Ireland, the Netherlands, Iceland and Slovenia in protest at Israel’s continued participation amid the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. ALSO READ: Spain joins Ireland and Slovenia in boycotting Eurovision TV broadcast over Israel’s participation.

The Spanish broadcaster’s board will have to approve any extension of that decision into 2027.

Speaking in the Senate before the joint parliamentary committee that oversees RTVE, López acknowledged that changes had been achieved within the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises Eurovision, following pressure from RTVE and other European public broadcasters.

However, he said those changes did not go far enough.

‘We have negotiated for governance rules to be tightened, for any attempt at political instrumentalisation to be genuinely penalised and for the strict neutrality of sponsorships and of the festival itself to be guaranteed,’ López said. ‘These are issues that have been achieved thanks to the negotiations by the RTVE group.’

López said RTVE had spent the past year working alongside other major European public broadcasters to push for what he described as an ethical overhaul within the EBU, including stronger governance rules and measures intended to prevent Eurovision being used for political purposes.

But he acknowledged that RTVE had not achieved all of its objectives and said it remained ‘deeply painful’ that Israel’s public broadcaster would continue to participate in the competition given the continuing situation in Gaza.

‘Unfinished business on the ethical front’

López said RTVE should not make a ‘complacent assessment’ of the changes introduced by Eurovision’s organisers.

While recognising that there had been ‘technical progress’, he said there was still ‘clearly unfinished business on the ethical front’.

‘For this reason, I announce that I will propose to the RTVE board that we maintain the suspension of our participation in Eurovision,’ he said.

RTVE’s withdrawal from Eurovision in 2026 was particularly significant because Spain is one of the competition’s so-called ‘Big Five’, alongside France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. ALSO READ: Spain, Ireland, Slovenia & the Netherlands withdraw from Eurovision, after Israel remains eligible.

The five broadcasters are among the biggest financial contributors to the EBU and their countries automatically qualify for the Eurovision final.

Spain had competed continuously in Eurovision since making its debut in 1961 before pulling out of the 2026 event. RTVE also decided not to broadcast that year’s semi-finals or final after the EBU confirmed that Israel would remain in the competition.

López said on Tuesday that RTVE’s stance over Gaza had remained consistent.

‘Nobody with the slightest human sensitivity can witness the suffering of the Palestinian people without a resounding and severe condemnation of what is an intolerable human tragedy,’ he said.

He insisted that RTVE had ‘always’ maintained a ‘firm’ and ‘quite clear’ position, adding: ‘We have not looked the other way, so to speak.’

Ireland and Netherlands already out of Eurovision 2027

If RTVE’s board backs López’s proposal, Spain will join Ireland and the Netherlands in staying away from the 2027 competition, which is due to be staged in Burgas, Bulgaria.

Both countries were also among the five broadcasters that withdrew from Eurovision 2026 because of Israel’s participation.

Irish public broadcaster RTÉ confirmed last week that Ireland would again stay out of the competition, saying its position had not changed.

‘RTÉ feels that Ireland’s participation cannot be justified given the appalling and ongoing loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk,’ it said.

Eurovision director Martin Green said he regretted RTÉ’s decision but fully respected it.

Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS has also confirmed that the Netherlands will not participate in 2027, saying taking part was no longer compatible with the principles of ‘trustworthiness, independence and humanity’.

The Eurovision dispute has continued despite changes introduced by the EBU following the controversy surrounding Israel’s participation. Organisers announced in August that countries involved in armed conflicts would not be permitted to host the competition, even if their entrant won.

The rule followed two consecutive contests in which Israel came close to winning, raising the possibility that the competition could have been due to take place there the following year.

Gaza remains at centre of dispute

The continuing humanitarian situation in Gaza remains central to the broadcasters’ objections. ALSO READ: Sánchez: Eurovision boycott over Israel’s participation puts Spain ‘on right side of history’.

The Gaza health ministry has reported more than 73,000 deaths since Israel began its military campaign following the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023. Its figures are regarded as generally reliable by the United Nations.

More than 1,300 people have also been reported killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza since the ceasefire agreed in October 2025.

The Israeli military campaign was launched after the Hamas-led attacks of October 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed in Israel and about 250 were taken hostage.

The Spanish government has been among the strongest European critics of Israel’s conduct in Gaza. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has repeatedly described Israel’s actions there as genocide, a characterisation rejected by the Israeli government. ALSO READ: Spanish PM: Gaza truce must not mean impunity for ‘genocide’.

RTVE’s position, however, is formally a decision for the public broadcaster rather than the Spanish government. ALSO READ: Spain’s national broadcaster defies Eurovision organisers, and airs support message for Palestine.

López’s proposal will now go before RTVE’s board, which is expected to decide whether Spain’s absence from Eurovision will continue for a second year. ALSO READ: Spain to investigate possible war crimes in Gaza, supporting international criminal courts.