Five other countries will boycotted Eurovision if there will be Israel

After Ireland, five other countries threaten to withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 if the participation of Israel.

Yesterday, as reported by Rockol, the Irish state broadcaster Rté announced with a press release that Dublin “will not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest of 2026 if the participation of Israel will be confirmed”, making it known that “the final decision on the participation of Ireland will be taken once the decision of the ABO has been made”. Ireland, which holds the record of victories of the event, 7 in all (on an equal footing with Sweden), reported that last July on the occasion of the General Assembly of the European Union of RadioDiffusion – EBU – “Different members of the ABO expressed concern about the participation of Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest”.

The position of Ireland was followed in these hours of five other countries: PBassi aesi, Spain, Slovenia and Iceland They announced, just like Dublin, that they will retire from the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 if the presence of Israel should be confirmed.

The exclusion of Israel from the competition had already been already in May Winner of the Eurovision 2025, JJ: “It is very disappointing to see Israel still participate in the competition. I would like the Eurovision to be held in Vienna next year, without Israel. But the ball is in the field of the Ebu. We artists can only express ourselves on the matter”.

The European Union of RadioDiffusion, which organizes the event, has declared to understand “the concerns and opinions deeply rooted on the conflict in progress in the Middle East”. A decision has not yet been made: “We are still consulting all the members of the ABO to collect opinions on how to manage the participation and geopolitical tensions around the Eurovision Song Contest,” said director Martin Green in a declaration sent by e-mail to the British Reuters news agency.

The Eurovision has always professed itself as “a non -political event” and as a simple singing race. But in fact the event relates not only to music, but also to geopolitics: l‘Eurovision also represents a unique opportunity to understand Europe, its roots and its tensions.

In 2022 the Russia It was excluded from the competition following the invasion of Ukraine. At the time, the Committee of the ABO, which organizes the event, while reiterating the “apolitical” nature of the event justified the decision explaining how this reflected “the concern that, in light of the unprecedented crisis in progress in Ukraine, the inclusion of a Russian participant can bring discredit to the event”. Russia has never returned to the race since then. The 2022 edition was won by the Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra.

The 2026 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Vienna, Austria, from 12 to 16 May.