Shopping cart
Your cart empty!
Multiple countries withdraw from Eurovision as Israel cleared to take part
Israel will be allowed to compete in next year's Eurovision Song Contest, organisers have said - with several broadcasters saying they will now boycott the event.
Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, Spain's RTVE, Ireland's RTE and Slovenia's RTV immediately issued statements saying they will not participate in the 2026 contest following the European Broadcasting Union's general assembly meeting on Thursday. Members from 37 countries were asked to vote in a secret ballot on whether they were happy with tougher new rules announced last month, without going ahead with a vote on participation next year.
It followed criticism from some broadcasters of Israel's role in Eurovision amid the war in Gaza, and allegations that voting at this year's contest had been manipulated in favour of their contestant. In a statement, the EBU, which organises Eurovision, said members had shown "clear support for reforms to reinforce trust and protect neutrality".
Sky News understands 11 countries voted against only accepting the rule changes. Golan Yochpaz, chief executive of Israel's public broadcaster KAN, said during the meeting that attempts to remove them from the contest could "only be understood as a cultural boycott.
Amir Nisi
Creative and experienced content writer with 6+ years of experience lazy to create unique content strategy for News5 to turn website visitors into customers.
Related to this topic:
AI and Marketing: Unlocking Customer Insights
Feb 22, 2024
