Four European nations withdraw from Eurovision over Israel controversy

Public broadcasters in Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, and Slovenia have withdrawn from next year’s Eurovision Song Contest following the organizers’ decision to allow Israel to participate in the competition.

Prior to the meeting of the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)—which comprises public broadcasters from 56 countries and organizes the annual event—some nations had voiced opposition to Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

During the meeting, EBU members voted to adopt stricter voting rules in response to allegations that Israel manipulated votes in favor of its own contestants, but they did not take measures to exclude any broadcaster from the competition.

The music event, which attracts more than 100 million viewers annually, has taken place under the shadow of the war in Gaza for the past two years. While protests occur outside the venues, organizers have been compelled to ban the waving of “political flags.”

“This is a historic moment for the European Broadcasting Union,” said Eurovision expert Dean Vuletic. “This is certainly one of the most serious crises the organization has ever faced. Next year, we will see Eurovision’s biggest political boycott ever.”

Vuletic, author of the book Post-War Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest, predicts that the coming weeks and months will be “tense” as other countries consider joining the boycott and protests threaten to overshadow the contest’s 70th anniversary in Vienna next May.

According to a report on the website of the Icelandic broadcaster RUV, company executives will meet next Wednesday to discuss whether Iceland will participate in the contest.

Last week, the company’s board proposed that Israel be banned from participating in the competition, which is set to be held in the Austrian capital.

The Broadcasting Union reported that four broadcasters—Spain’s RTVE, the Netherlands’ AVROTROS, Ireland’s RTÉ, and Slovenia’s RTVSLO—have explicitly announced that they will not participate.

The EBU stated that the final list of participating countries will be announced by Christmas.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog stated on X that he was “pleased” with Israel’s continued participation and expressed hope that “the contest would remain a competition supporting culture, music, international friendship, and cross-border cultural understanding.”

“We thank all our friends who defended Israel’s right to contribute to Eurovision and continue to compete,” Herzog added.

Austria, which will host the event after Viennese singer JJ won this year’s contest with the song Wasted Love, supported Israel’s participation.

Vuletic noted that Germany, along with countries such as Switzerland and Luxembourg, also supported Israel.

The Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS stated that Israel’s participation is “no longer compatible with the responsibility we undertake as a public broadcaster.”

Spain’s RTVE channel stated that, despite the ceasefire, the situation in Gaza meant that “Israel’s use of the contest for political purposes makes it increasingly difficult to maintain Eurovision as a neutral cultural event.”

RTÉ stated that Ireland’s participation remains “unacceptable” given the “terrible loss of life in Gaza” and the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Some broadcasters, which air their nations’ news programs and oppose Israel’s participation, cited the killing of journalists in the Gaza conflict and Israel’s policy of blocking international journalists from accessing the region as justification.

Golan Yochpaz, the general director of the Israeli broadcaster KAN, questioned whether EBU members were “willing to be part of a step damaging freedom of creativity and freedom of expression.”

KAN officials stated that the Israeli broadcaster was not involved in any prohibited campaign to influence the results of the last song contest held in Basel, Switzerland, last May. In that competition, Yuval Raphael from Israel finished in second place.