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Four countries join boycott of Eurovision after Israel cleared to compete

Eurovision, once a feel-good festival of unity and diversity, is now facing one of the deepest political crises in its 70 year history. Its organisers – the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) – disgracefully confirmed that Israel would be allowed to compete in the next iteration of the competition. Four of the tournament’s biggest competitors – Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, and the Netherlands – promptly announced they’d be boycotting , Dec 4, ‘Israeli’ broadcaster KAN will be allowed to participate in the 2026 contest in Vienna. There was an immediate backlash.

Four main Eurovision backers already boycotting Eurovision 2025-more to follow

The decision to allow a country committing war crimes and crimes against humanity to compete raises serious questions – to say the least. By allowing Israel to compete the EBU have raised serious questions over their moral integrity, and their approach to human rights.

Now, four of Europe’s biggest public broadcasters have announced they will boycott next year’s event – with more boycotts inevitable.

Ireland national broadcaster, RTÉ, said it will neither participate in nor broadcast Eurovision 2026. It said:

participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there.

According to Spanish state broadcaster RTVE:

Israel’s presence is untenable…we are talking about a genocide in Gaza.

Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS announced that participation is no longer:

compatible with the responsibility we bear as a public broadcaster.

And, they also drew attention to concerns over press freedom, political interference, and the human rights abuses in Gaza.

A fourth broadcaster, from Slovenia, RTVSLO, has also confirmed withdrawal. Officials said their decision is a response to public demands:

The public has been demanding that we say no to the cooperation of any country that is attacking another country. We must follow European standards for peace and understanding.

Herzog: ‘Israel deserves to be represented on every stage around the world’

The Israeli occupation’s president, Isaac Herzog, personally lobbied international partners to oppose a vote on ‘Israel’s’ removal. After the EBU’s decision, he posted on X:

Many believe that by allowing Israel to take part, music is being:

used as a tool to whitewash crimes against humanity.

Their inclusion in Eurovision normalises Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians. For years, the presence of Israel as a apartheid, genocidal state in Eurovision has been met with widespread public anger across Europe. This anger reflects deep unease over ‘Israel’s’ unquestioned acceptance into such a high-profile cultural event.

In 2019 when Tel Aviv hosted the Eurovision Song Contest there were large, pro-Palestine protests outside the venue. Activists called for a boycott of the event to draw attention to ‘Israel’s’ human rights abuses in the occupied Palestinian territories. During that 2019 final, the Icelandic entrants Hatari publicly displayed scarves with Palestinian flag as their televote points were announced. The Icelandic broadcaster RÚV was fined by the EBU.

Malmö in 2024 saw one of the largest Eurovision-related protests ever recorded. Thousands of anti-Zionist protesters marched through the city demanding ‘Israel’ be excluded. Israeli entries were met with booing, and the contest’s organisers forced a change of lyrics for ‘Israel’s’ submitted song. This was because it was deemed inappropriate for breaching competition rules against political content.

Protests occurred again in Basel in 2025, where Israeli participation led to mass demonstrations and heavy police presence. Israel’s 2025 entry topped the public vote, finishing second overall, amid allegations that political campaigning had influenced televoting.

Vote on whether to allow ‘Israel’s’ participation scrapped, changes to rules instead

On December 4, the EBU scrapped a vote that had been planned around whether ‘Israel’ should be allowed to compete. Instead, it introduced changes to Eurovision rules, which are set to be applied in next year’s contest. This change, clearly aimed at Israel, is a ban on government agencies backing advertising campaigns. This occurred last year, in the case of Israel. The decision to allow the Zionist regime to participate has happened despite systematic violations of international law and a multitude of war crimes. This has drawn accusations of hypocrisy and double standards – expulsion for Europe’s enemies, and tolerance for its allies.

Russia was expelled immediately after invading Ukraine in 2022, and the EBU removed Belarus in 2021. This came after the union said it had been “monitoring the suppression of media freedom” in the country. Yet when faced with the Israeli regime the EBU has opted for inclusion. This is despite an illegal occupation, and the killing of more than 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza. 257 of these are journalists, as of December 2, 2025. These double standards are deeply unfair- a sign that the lives of Palestinians are less worthy of action than those of Ukrainians.

Pressure is also mounting on the BBC, with the Green Party demanding the corporation withdraw from Eurovision. It argues that it would be incompatible with the UK’s human-rights obligations and with public service ethics for the BBC to broadcast the event while Israel participates. The BBC’s refusal to take a stand cannot be justified, as it claims to reflect the UK’s “culture and values to the world”. Campaigners have now launched a petition calling for the corporation to boycott the contest.

Total isolation of ‘Israel’ necessary on world stage

But, according to the EBU, members:

will be asked to consider this package of measures and safeguards and decide if they are sufficient to meet their concerns around participation without having a vote on the topic.

The EBU has confirmed to Swedish broadcaster SVT:

Only if they believe that the measures are not sufficient will there be a vote on who is allowed to compete”

Spain’s RTVE has already publicly stated that it does not believe the rule changes for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 go far enough.

As the Israeli occupation continues its starvation campaign and genocide in Gaza, forcibly displaces whole communities in the West Bank, targets and kills journalists, the idea that Europe can sing its way through a genocide is impossible to justify.

With withdrawals mounting and public pressure intensifying, the 2026 contest in Vienna risks becoming overshadowed by rubble, displacement, and those demanding accountability. Eurovision once prided itself on unity through music. It must now confront the possibility that, by allowing Israel to participate amid the devastation of Gaza, it may instead become a platform that helps sanitise atrocities.

Featured image via the Canary

By Charlie Jaay

This post was originally published on Canary.