Broadcasters Withdraw From 2026 Eurovision Over Israel's Participation

Five broadcasters have withdrawn from the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, the largest number to boycott the event in its 70-year history. Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Iceland and Slovenia will not participate this week, citing opposition to Israel's inclusion following the start of its military offensive in Gaza in 2023.

The withdrawals come after last year's contest, hosted in Basel, Switzerland, where Austria won and Israel finished in a high position driven largely by the public vote.

Israeli singer Yuval Raphael received middling points from judges but outperformed all other participants in the public vote. Some broadcasters questioned the result, noting that official Israeli government social media accounts, including one linked to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had encouraged voting for the entry the maximum of 20 times permitted.

The European Broadcasting Union stated that the vote was independently checked and verified.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has reported more than 72,000 people killed in the subsequent conflict. Some broadcasters have accused Israel's government of genocide, which Israel strongly denies.

The broadcasters say they reached their decisions independently. Most come from countries whose governments have criticised Israel. Last month politicians from Spain, Slovenia and Ireland attempted without success to suspend the European Union's preferential trade relations with Israel.

Previous calls for boycotts had been raised by some broadcasters since the offensive began, but none withdrew from the 2024 or 2025 contests. Israel first entered in 1973 and has won the contest four times.

The event's slogan is "united by music," and it has long included participants beyond Europe. Politics has appeared in the contest before. Greece boycotted in 1975 over Turkey's invasion of Cyprus, and Turkey did not participate the following year.

Armenia declined to take part in Azerbaijan in 2012 over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Lebanon withdrew in 2005 because its laws prevented it from broadcasting Israel's performance. The current dispute centers on whether a country engaged in war should be permitted to compete.

Some voices have suggested that consistency would require excluding Ukraine as well. The European Broadcasting Union has not announced changes to its participation rules. The organisation describes its values as universality, inclusivity and celebrating diversity.