Israel’s 2026 Entry Pushes Eurovision to the Edge: Four Countries Quit

The decision to keep Israel in Eurovision 2026, approved through a secret vote at the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), has unleashed a diplomatic and cultural earthquake that has placed the festival in its greatest crisis since its creation.

The boycott announced by Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands is not a mere symbolic protest. It represents a structural break that threatens the continuity of a contest that for nearly seven decades presented itself as a space of continental unity.

Although Spain has been the most forceful voice and the country with the greatest financial weight among those leaving, the fracture is profoundly European. The coordinated withdrawal reveals the pervasiveness of an anti-Israel climate in Europe, as well as mistrust toward an organisation that no longer manages to convince either of its neutrality or its transparency. The decision to vote secretly on retaining Israel in the contest reflects the level of public pressure on the EBU, whose members were clearly hesitant to take ownership of their decision amid rising anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiments. 

While Ireland walking out comes as no suprise, given the country’s abysmal record of anti-Israel posturing, the Netherlands boycotting is a sign of new times, given that Holland used to be one of Israel’s staunchest allies in Europe.

Tensions had been building since 2024, when the EBU demanded changes to Israel’s song due to references to the Hamas massacre of October 7. That intervention already exposed the difficulty of upholding the principle of an “apolitical festival” in a context of wars, polarisation and highly mobilised digital campaigns. From the Gaza offensive onward, and with the growing number of civilian victims, Israel’s presence began generating a climate of contestation. Eurovision, turned into a symbol of contemporary European identity, also became a space of moral confrontation.

The 2025 edition worsened the problem. Allegations of televote manipulation, which supposedly favoured the Israeli entry disproportionately, sparked internal debate in several countries, not only in Spain. The Spanish public broadcaster, Radio Televisión Española (RTVE), was the most forceful in requesting an audit, but other delegations shared doubts about the integrity of the process. The EBU did not provide satisfactory answers and, instead of easing tensions, proposed urgent changes to the voting system that many interpreted as an implicit admission that the current model had lost credibility.

It was not only continental broadcasters that indicated they might stay away if Israel is not excluded. The BBC has also signalled it cannot rule out the possibility of boycotting Eurovision 2026 if Israel takes part, while repeatedly stressing that the contest should remain above politics.

However, Eurovision 2026, scheduled to take place in Vienna, Austria, thus begins marked by a coordinated desertion without precedent. The synchronised exit of four countries not only affects the event’s image, but also raises questions about its economic and symbolic viability. 

The Eurovision controversy reflects wider hostility to Israel in international sports and culture. Recently, former UK Labour leaderJeremy Corbyn urged UEFA to cancel Aston Villa’s November match against Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv.While the boycott calls in football and pop music sound similar, they can also prefigure violence: last season, Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were attacked on the streets of Amsterdam.