Many European countries have announced that they will not participate in the next Eurovision Song competition if it is allowed for Israel, which participated in the annual competition for half a century, continuing.
On Tuesday, Spain joined the Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia in condemnation Israel’s war on GazaWho killed nearly 65,000 people since October 2023, with thousands of other lost under the rubble and supposed death, and announced that they would not participate if Israel continues to do so.
What is Eurofigon?
Eurovision is an international song competition that is held every year, primarily in European countries, and is broadcast. It has been operated since 1956 and is one of the unhelpful and most monitored TV events in the world.
Each country makes an original song and the winner is determined by voting. The competition is organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), a group of public broadcasters in more than 35 countries.
Any country with a broadcaster operating inside Europe as part of EBU can participate in Eurovision. Australia joined in 2015, Armenia in 2006 and Azerbaijan in 2011.
The winner of each competition will host the following year competition.
The next competition will take place in May 2026 in Vienna.
Israel and Eurovision: A Brief History
Israel participated for the first time in Eurovision in 1973 because its national broadcaster is a member of EBU. At that time, the national broadcaster of Israel was the Israeli broadcasting authority; Now it is the Israeli Israeli Broadcasting Company, or if, and still is part of the EBU.
Arabic-speaking countries rarely participated only: Morocco participated only once in 1980-which was the only time that an Arabic song appeared in the competition. Tunisia and Lebanon withdrew in 1977 and 2005 after refusing to stabilize the Israeli content.
It has often fulfilled the participation of Israel in Eurovision protests, but the objections have intensified since its war on Gaza in October 2023, following the Hamas -led attack on southern Israel.
In the 2024 competition, which was held in Malmo, Sweden, EBU refused to enter Israel for being a very political. The entrance was a song called October Ryan, indicating the victims of the Hamas attack on October 7, during which 1139 people were killed.
While he hesitated at first, it was Change Israel entering To a romantic song. Israel ranked fifth in the competition.
Israel also participated in 2025 CompetitionAnd held in Basel, Switzerland, which is second.
What countries intersect Eurovision on Israel?
Until now, five European countries have said that it may not participate in Eurovision if Israel did.
Iceland
The broadcaster RUV in Iceland said that Iceland can withdraw from Eurovision if Israel participated in the competition, according to a news report published by RUV on September 9.
Ireland
On September 11, Irish national broadcaster RTE He issued a statement announcing that he will not participate in Eurovision in 2026 if Israel participates.
The statement said: “RTE feels that the participation of Ireland will be unreasonable, given the continuous and horrific loss of life in Gaza,” the statement said.
Holland
On September 12, Dutch broadcaster AvrotrosOne of the public broadcasters who finance and organizes Eurovision announced that he would not participate in the competition in Vienna if Israel participates.
The “continuous and severe human suffering in Gaza was martyred as a reason.
The statement added that “the broadcaster also expresses his deep concern about the serious erosion of the freedom of the press: the deliberate exclusion of independent international reports and many losses between journalists.”
Slovenia
Also on September 12, the Slovenian broadcaster RTV Slovenia announced that it will not also participate in Eurovision if Israel participates in the competition.
Spain
On Tuesday of this week, the Board of Directors of the Spanish state broadcaster RTVE voted to withdraw from Eurovision if Israel participates.
Spain is the first country between the “Big Five” in the Eurovision that issues such an advertisement. The five adults, which also include the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and France, are automatically qualified countries for the final round of Lorovgen, regardless of their performance in previous rounds.
This announcement came a day after the Spanish Minister of Culture Ernest Ortacon carried out the local TV program, La Hura de la 1, that the country will consider “measures” if he did not “expel” Israel. Ortason added that Spain had already requested that Israel be excluded from Eurovich.
How did Eurovich respond?
Eurofong usually emphasizes political neutrality.
Martin Green, the director of Eurovision, issued a statement saying that the organization “still indicates” with its partners on how to deal with “participation and geopolitical tensions about the European song competition”.
Green said: “We understand the deep concerns and opinions about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. It is up to every member of the report if they want to participate in the competition, and we will respect any announcers of a decision,” Green said.
Does this divide Eurovision?
Experts say that although it is difficult to determine whether the boycott will divide Eurovision, it can maintain awareness of the war in Gaza Strong where Eurovision is broadcast throughout Europe and abroad.
Christina Oberg, a professor at the Ministry of Marketing and Tourism Studies at Linius University in Sweden, told Al -Jazeera that the original aspiration of Eurovision is to enhance cooperation and peace in Europe after World War II.
In an article published in June 2025 on the politicization of Eurovision, Oberg said that Eurovision managed for decades to support its “comprehensive European vision” despite the ongoing regional tensions until the first “real transformation” was seen when EBU banned Russia after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
He said at the time, “The European song competition is a non -political cultural event. However, EBU is concerned about the events taking place in Ukraine and will continue to monitor the situation closely.”
“This means that ESC – or more EBU has made herself a political player,” said Uberg. “After that, based on the Gaza war, questions arise why IBU does not behave the same. I do not want to say what is right or wrong here, but there are issues of contradiction.”
She added that there is likely to be a parallel pressure on other countries to issue data similar to those issued by Spain and other European countries recently.
“I do not see this as a gap, and more as decisions in the country, rather than some countries be with or against.”
She added that although countries’ advertisements to withdraw from the competition are mostly symbolic, they attract attention to this issue.
“We should not underestimate the Yurovgen giving a large space in the media – so the boycott draws attention to questions to the wider audience.”
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