Public broadcasters in Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia announced on Thursday that they will withdraw from next year’s Eurovision Song Contest after organisers confirmed Israel would remain eligible to participate — thrusting geopolitical tensions into an event usually known for its celebratory, upbeat spirit.
Their decisions followed a meeting of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the alliance of 56 national broadcasters that stages the contest. Delegates convened to discuss objections to Israel’s involvement, raised by members who argue its conduct in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza should bar it from competing.
Although the EBU voted to tighten voting regulations amid accusations that Israel interfered in past contests to sway results in its favour, the meeting produced no move to exclude any broadcaster.
The long-running music extravaganza, seen by more than 100 million people annually, has faced turbulence for two years due to the conflict in Gaza, prompting demonstrations outside venues and stricter enforcement against political symbols. ALSO READ: Spain’s national broadcaster defies Eurovision organisers, and airs support message for Palestine.
Icelandic broadcaster RUV reported that its executives will meet next Wednesday to decide on the country’s involvement. Last week, its board urged that Israel be excluded from the event in Austria.
The EBU confirmed it is aware of four broadcasters — Spain’s RTVE, the Netherlands’ AVROTROS, Ireland’s RTÉ and Slovenia’s RTVSLO — that have publicly stated they will not participate.
The organisation expects to release the final list of competing nations by Christmas.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrote on X that he was ‘pleased’ Israel will take part again, expressing 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,’ he added.
Austria — hosting in 2026 after Viennese performer JJ won with ‘Wasted Love’ — backed Israel’s inclusion.
According to reports, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg also supported Israel’s participation.
AVROTROS argued that allowing Israel to remain in the contest ‘is no longer compatible with the responsibility we bear as a public broadcaster’.
Spain’s RTVE said conditions in Gaza — despite a recent ceasefire — and ‘Israel’s use of the contest for political purposes, make it increasingly difficult to maintain Eurovision as a neutral cultural event’.
RTÉ stated that Ireland’s involvement ‘remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza’ and the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Some broadcasters, whose newsrooms have reported extensively on the deaths of journalists in Gaza and Israel’s ongoing restrictions on international media entering the territory, also wanted Israel barred.
Golan Yochpaz, chief executive of Israel’s KAN, questioned whether EBU members are ‘willing to be part of a step that harms freedom of creation and freedom of expression’.
KAN officials also insisted the broadcaster did not engage in any prohibited efforts to influence results at the most recent contest in Basel, Switzerland, where Israel’s Yuval Raphael finished second.
Eurovision pits performers from dozens of countries against one another for the title of Europe’s top pop act, aiming to foreground music while discouraging political messaging. Yet it has often been swept up in world events. Russia was removed in 2022 following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. ALSO READ: Spain’s sports minister: Israeli teams should face same bans as imposed on Russia.
The Gaza war has become its most disruptive challenge, drawing pro-Palestinian demonstrations outside the 2023 contest in Basel and the 2024 edition in Malmo, Sweden.
Critics of Israel’s participation point to the conflict’s death toll — more than 70,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose records are regarded by international bodies as broadly reliable.
Israel maintains its military campaign responds to the Hamas-led assault of 7 October 2023, when militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251.
A number of experts, including those reporting to a UN body, have alleged that Israel’s offensive amounts to genocide — a characterisation Israel, home to many Holocaust survivors and their families, emphatically rejects. ALSO READ: Spanish PM: Gaza truce must not mean impunity for ‘genocide’.
Broadcaster withdrawals could affect both audience numbers and revenue at a time when many public media outlets are already under strain due to funding cuts and competition from digital platforms.
Notably, the boycotting group includes influential Eurovision players. Spain is part of the ‘Big Five’ major contributors to the contest’s financing, while Ireland shares the record for most wins — seven — with Sweden.
The dispute surrounding Israel’s 2026 entry also risks overshadowing the return of Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania, all of which had stepped away for financial or creative reasons.
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🔴RTVE se retira del Festival de Eurovisiónhttps://t.co/YG2YEjG94v pic.twitter.com/qF5wQpaqyi
— RTVE Noticias (@rtvenoticias) December 4, 2025
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