Five Countries Boycott Eurovision 2026 Over Israel's Participation

The Eurovision Song Contest, an annual international music event organized by the European Broadcasting Union since 1956, is set to hold its 70th edition on May 16 in Vienna, Austria. This year's final will feature artists from 35 countries, including Israel, whose representative Noam Bettan will perform the pop song Michelle.

Five countries – Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and Iceland – announced in December 2025 that they would not participate if Israel took part. The broadcasters from these nations cited the situation in Gaza as the reason for their decision.

The Netherlands' broadcaster AVROTROS stated that participation could not be reconciled with its organization's public values, citing what it described as Israel's interference in the previous contest and violation of press freedom. Ireland's RTE pointed to the loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian situation there.

Slovenia's broadcaster said it was boycotting on behalf of the reported 20,000 children who have died in Gaza. Spain's RTVE noted that the situation in Gaza, even after a ceasefire and peace process approval, made it difficult to maintain Eurovision as a neutral cultural event, according to its secretary-general Alfonso Morales.

Iceland's RUV said public debate in the country showed there would be neither joy nor peace in its participation following the European Broadcasting Union's decision to include Israel.

Eurovision is open to countries with broadcast operations in Europe, though the contest has extended invitations to non-European participants such as Australia in 2015. Israel first competed in 1973 as the first non-European country and hosted the event in Tel Aviv in 2019 after winning the previous year.

Each country typically submits one original song of about three minutes, performed by up to six artists. Austria won the 2025 contest with the song Wasted Love performed by artist JJ in Basel, Switzerland, which qualified it to host this year's event.

The letter criticized the European Broadcasting Union for what it called hypocrisy, noting that Russia was banned from the contest due to its war in Ukraine while Israel was allowed to participate. She stated that Israel's participation provides a platform that could deflect attention from events in Gaza.

Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff, former European Union representative to the occupied West Bank and Gaza, told Al Jazeera that actions by both Russia and Israel have been found to violate international law. He said it would be consistent to suspend Israel's participation while it maintains its occupation of Palestinian land.

The letter from musicians, signed by individuals including Roger Waters, Paul Weller, Paloma Faith, Macklemore and former Eurovision winners Emmelie de Forest and Charlie McGettigan, referenced the European Broadcasting Union's 2022 statement that Russia's presence would bring the competition into disrepute.