Eurovision 2026 has been thrown into chaos after multiple countries have boycotted the competition due to Israel’s participation. The annual singing competition, which Austria won this year, will take place in Vienna in May 2026. Spain, Slovenia, Ireland, and the Netherlands have announced their withdrawal after it was revealed Israel will participate in the Eurovision 2026 contest. The European Broadcasting Union’s general assembly met on Thursday, which organises Eurovision, and it was reported that members had shown “clear support for reforms to reinforce trust and protect neutrality”.
Notably, Spain is one of the Big Five countries that contribute the most financially to the contest. The others are France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy. Spanish national broadcaster RTVE has confirmed that it will withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. Furthermore, Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS has also followed Spain’s footsteps.
RTÉ has also confirmed yesterday that Ireland will not participate in Eurovision 2026. Slovenia’s national broadcaster, RTVSLO, has also confirmed it will withdraw from the competition.
RTÉ stated: “Following today’s EBU Winter General Assembly in Geneva at which Israel’s participation in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest was confirmed, RTÉ’s position remains unchanged. RTÉ will not participate in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, nor will RTÉ broadcast the competition.”
Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS stated that Israel’s participation “is no longer compatible with the responsibility we bear as a public broadcaster”.
RTVE’s Secretary General, Alfonso Morales, said during the EBU’s general assembly: “We would like to express our serious doubts about the participation of Israeli broadcaster KAN in Eurovision 2026.”
Earlier this year, it was reported that more than 70 former Eurovision contestants signed a letter calling on organisers to ban Israel from participating in the 2025 singing contest.
Meanwhile, the UK’s Eurovision performances over the last few years have been mixed. This year, the UK entry, Remember Monday’s performance in Basel, had a similar outcome. The band finished in 19th place with 88 points, but all of their points came from the jury vote.
The trio performed their country-pop track ‘What The Hell Just Happened?’ during the final in May this year, but their catchy soundtrack failed to secure any points from the public.