Will a boycott over Israel divide the Eurovision Song Contest?

Several European countries person announced that they volition not enactment successful the adjacent Eurovision Song Contest if Israel, which has taken portion successful the yearly contention for fractional a century, is allowed to continue.

On Tuesday, Spain joined the Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia successful denouncing Israel’s warfare connected Gaza, which has killed astir 65,000 radical since October 2023, with galore thousands much mislaid nether the rubble and presumed dead, and announced that they volition not instrumentality portion if Israel continues to bash so.

What is Eurovision?

Eurovision is an planetary opus contention which takes spot each year, chiefly successful European countries, and is televised. It has been moving since 1956 and is 1 of the world’s longest-running and most-watched non-sporting TV events.

Each state performs an archetypal opus and the victor is determined by voting. The contention is organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), a corporate of nationalist broadcasters successful much than 35 countries.

Any state which has a broadcaster operating wrong Europe arsenic portion of the EBU tin enactment successful Eurovision. Australia joined successful 2015, Armenia successful 2006 and Azerbaijan successful 2011.

The victor of each contention hosts the pursuing twelvemonth competition.

The adjacent contention volition instrumentality spot successful May 2026 successful Vienna.

Israel and Eurovision: a little history

Israel archetypal took portion successful Eurovision successful 1973 due to the fact that its nationalist broadcaster is simply a subordinate of the EBU. Back then, Israel’s nationalist broadcaster was the Israel Broadcasting Authority; present it is the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, oregon Kan, and is inactive portion of the EBU.

Arabic-speaking countries person lone taken portion precise rarely: Morocco participated lone erstwhile successful 1980 – which was the lone clip an Arabic opus featured successful the contest. Tunisia and Lebanon withdrew successful 1977 and 2005 aft refusing to aerial Israeli content.

Israel’s information successful Eurovision has often met protests, but objections person intensified since the commencement of its warfare connected Gaza successful October 2023, pursuing the Hamas-led onslaught connected confederate Israel.

For the 2024 competition, which was held successful Malmo, Sweden, the EBU rejected Israel’s introduction for being excessively political. The introduction was a opus called October Rain, referencing the victims of the October 7 Hamas attack, during which 1,139 radical were killed.

While initially reluctant, Kan changed Israel’s entry to a romanticist ballad. Israel was ranked 5th successful the competition.

Israel besides participated successful the 2025 competition, which was held successful Basel, Switzerland, finishing successful 2nd place.

Which countries are boycotting Eurovision implicit Israel?

So far, 5 European countries person said they whitethorn not enactment successful Eurovision if Israel does.

Iceland

Iceland’s broadcaster RUV said that it is imaginable that Iceland would retreat from Eurovision if Israel participates successful the competition, according to a quality study published by the RUV website connected September 9.

Ireland

On September 11, Irish nationalist broadcaster RTE issued a connection announcing it would not enactment successful Eurovision successful 2026 if Israel participates.

“RTE feels that Ireland’s information would beryllium unconscionable fixed the ongoing and appalling nonaccomplishment of lives successful Gaza,” the connection said.

Netherlands

On September 12, Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, 1 of the nationalist broadcasters that funds and organises Eurovision, announced that it volition not enactment successful the contention successful Vienna if Israel takes part.

It cited the “ongoing and terrible quality suffering successful Gaza” arsenic the reason.

The connection added, “The broadcaster besides expresses heavy interest astir the superior erosion of property freedom: the deliberate exclusion of autarkic planetary reporting and the galore casualties among journalists.”

Slovenia

Also connected September 12, Slovenian broadcaster RTV Slovenia announced that it volition besides not enactment successful Eurovision if Israel takes portion successful the competition.

Spain

On Tuesday this week, Spanish authorities broadcaster RTVE’s committee voted to retreat from Eurovision if Israel participates.

Spain is the archetypal state among Eurovision’s “big five” to marque specified an announcement. The large five, which besides includes the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and France, are countries that automatically suffice for Eurovision’s last circular careless of however they execute successful erstwhile rounds.

This announcement came a time aft Spain’s Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun told the section tv programme, La Hora de La 1, that the state would see “measures” if Israel was “not expelled”. Urtasun added that Spain had already formally requested Israel’s exclusion from Eurovision.

How has Eurovision responded?

Eurovision typically stresses governmental neutrality.

Martin Green, manager of Eurovision, released a connection saying the organisation is “still consulting” with its partners connected however to woody with “participation and geopolitical tensions astir the Eurovision Song Contest”.

Green said, “We recognize the concerns and profoundly held views astir the ongoing struggle successful the Middle East. It is up to each subordinate to determine if they privation to instrumentality portion successful the contest, and we would respect immoderate determination broadcasters make.”

Will this disagreement Eurovision?

Experts accidental that portion it is hard to find whether the boycott volition disagreement Eurovision, it could support consciousness astir the warfare successful Gaza beardown arsenic Eurovision is televised passim Europe and beyond.

Christina Oberg, a prof astatine the Department of Marketing and Tourism Studies astatine the Linnaeus University successful Sweden, told Al Jazeera that the archetypal ambition of Eurovision was to foster collaboration and bid successful Europe aft World War II.

In an nonfiction she published successful June 2025 astir the politicisation of Eurovision, Oberg said that Eurovision had managed for decades to uphold its “inclusive European vision” contempt ongoing determination tensions until the archetypal “real shift” was seen erstwhile the EBU banned Russia pursuing Russia’s penetration of Ukraine successful 2022.

It stated astatine the time, “The Eurovision Song Contest is simply a non-political taste event. The EBU is nevertheless acrophobic astir existent events successful Ukraine and volition proceed to intimately show the situation.”

“This means that ESC – oregon much rightfully EBU made itself a governmental player,” Oberg said. “Then, based connected the Gaza war, questions originate wherefore IBU does not enactment the same. I don’t privation to accidental what is close oregon incorrect here, but determination are issues successful the inconsistency.”

She added that determination volition astir apt volition beryllium adjacent unit connected different countries to contented statements akin to those issued by Spain and different European countries recently.

“I don’t spot this arsenic a divide, much arsenic country-level decisions, alternatively than arsenic immoderate countries being for oregon against.”

She added that portion the countries’ announcements to retreat from the contention are mostly symbolic, they bash bring attraction to the issue.

“We should not downplay however [Eurovision] is fixed a batch of abstraction successful media – hence the boycotting brings attraction to questions to the broader public.”