Ireland threatens to withdraw from Eurovision if Israel participates

The Irish state broadcaster RTé said that it will not participate in the European song competition for the year 2026 “if Israel continues.”

In a statement, RTé said that Ireland’s participation in this event “will be unreasonable given the continuous and horrific loss of life in Gaza.”

Ireland won the competition seven times in total, the last of which was in 1996.

RTé will make a final decision once Eurovision organizations, the European Broadcasting Union, will make its decision.

Next year’s competition will be held in May in Vienna.

RTVLO, the national broadcaster in Slovenia, said it would withdraw from the competition if Israel participates.

Spain’s Minister of Culture Ernest Ortacon said his country may not participate in the event of Israel’s participation.

In a statement on Thursday, RTé said: “RTé’s position will not participate in the European song competition for the year 2026, if Israel will continue, and the final decision on the participation of Ireland will be taken once the EBU decision will be taken.”

He added: “

Before Eurovision this year in May, RTé from EBU asked for a discussion about the inclusion of Israel in the European song competition.

At that time, its general manager, Kevin Bakhors, said that he was “horrific with the ongoing events in the Middle East, the horrific impact on civilians in Gaza, and the fate of the Israeli hostages.”

He added that he was aware of RTé’s obligations to maintain objectivity in covering the war in Gaza.

“We are also aware of the strong political pressure on the public service broadcaster in Israel, who was from the Israeli government,” he said.

Earlier this year, more than 70 former contestants in Eurovision signed a letter calling on the organizers to ban Israel from the 2025 competition.