By Kaitlin Roberts and Edden El-Hashahar, University of Warwick
All opinions are those of their respective author, and are not indicative of the stance of EUPS.
On the 16th of September, Spain declared its refusal to compete in Eurovision 2026 if Israel is permitted to participate. This followed an absolute majority vote from the national public broadcaster, RTVE.
Spain is not alone. In doing so, it joined Slovenia, Ireland, the Netherlands and Iceland, who have all confirmed their participation in the competition is contingent on Israel not taking part. This stance is shared by over 70 previous contestants – including last year’s winner, JJ of Austria – who have signed an open letter demanding Israel’s exclusion.
Spain’s decision – announced the same day the UN found Israel to be committing genocide in Gaza – is especially significant. It becomes the first of the ‘big five’ to threaten its withdrawal. Eurovision’s big five (the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy) are joint organisers who provide extra funding, meaning this threat is both symbolic and financial.
The President of the RTVE has urged other members of the big five committee to join them in standing against Israel, citing their “shared responsibility” to oppose genocide.
Similar threats have since been made by Italy. Three out of seven members of Rai (the country’s public broadcaster) urged Italy to do the same as Spain and the other boycotting countries.
The slew of withdrawal threats comes alongside a wider cultural boycott towards Israel; in September, around 100,000 pro-Palestinian protestors objecting to the Israeli Premier Tech team caused the Vuelta a España to end prematurely. The same month, the #GameOverIsrael campaign has called for the boycott of the Israeli national team and Israeli players by European football federations.
These tensions build upon that of Israel’s Eurovision performance this year. Yuval Raphael’s performance titled ‘New Day Will Rise’ was met with boos and pro-Palestinian symbols from the audience.
Israel has nonetheless been participating in the contest since 1973. Despite not being in Europe, Israel – along with other non-European countries such as Australia – is permitted to take part due to falling within the EBU’s designated broadcasting area.
Israeli news outlet ‘ynet’ reported that a temporary withdrawal from the competition had been unofficially proposed to Israel, yet Eurovision organisers have denied making any such proposal.
However, they have responded to the compounding pressures with a vote planned for early November, in which all 68 members of the European Broadcasting Union will be eligible to vote. These members include countries which do not participate in Eurovision, including Lebanon, Algeria and Tunisia, which are among the most hostile states towards Israel.
Israel is not unitedly opposed in the matter, however: countries such as Switzerland, Austria, Greece and Germany are in support of Israel’s participation.
The German Culture Minister also slammed calls to bar Israel, emphasising the purpose of the song contest to bring nations together through music. However, the contest is clearly more than uniting in song, and often mirrors geopolitical intricacies.
In 2022, Russia was excluded from the contest over the invasion of Ukraine – following pressure from several member states – and has not participated since.
The same year, Ukraine received a ranking of first or second from all but three countries. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian public voted generously towards Lithuania and Poland, which have both opened their borders to Ukrainian refugees.
As Israel continues to ravage Gaza, the tide turns as more countries take steps to formally recognise Palestine; Israel’s chances look increasingly weak.
Exclusion from the contest would be a great blow to Israel’s international image, which often strategically emphasises progressive and Western values. However, Eurovision will also be struggling to manage its own reputation, and allowing Israel to compete after the UN’s findings would surely tarnish its glittering, camp image.
