Ireland has stated that they will refuse to participate inEurovision 2026If Israel's involvement proceeds.
Irish broadcaster RTÉissued a statement indicating that during the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the Eurovision Song Contest, in July, "several EBU members expressed worries regarding Israel's involvement in the Eurovision Song Contest".
The statement said: “RTÉ's stance is that Ireland will not participate in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel takes part, and the final choice about Ireland's involvement will be determined after the EBU makes its decision.”
The media outlet stated: “RTÉ believes that Ireland's involvement would be unacceptable considering the continuous and tragic loss of lives in Gaza. RTÉ is also very worried about the deliberate killing of journalists in Gaza, the restriction of access for international journalists to the area, and the situation of the remaining captives.”
This comes after remarks by Spanish Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun about Spain's involvement in the Eurovision contest next year.
Earlier this week, Euronews Culture mentioned thatSpain also warned it would exit the competition if Israel remains in the lineup.“ I don't believe we can make Israel's involvement in global events seem ordinary as if nothing is occurring,” Urtasun mentioned during an interview on La hora de La 1 on TVE. “It isn't just an individual artist taking part, but someone representing the people of that country.”
Urtasun mentioned that if Israel takes part in 2026, "and we are unable to remove it, actions will need to be taken," according to a Spanish daily newspaper.La Vanguardia- and reminded audiences that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had previously urged the EBU to exclude Israel from the international event.
In May, Sánchez urged the EBU to ban Israel, stating that "no one was shaking their heads" when Russia was excluded from international competitions and Eurovision following its invasion of Ukraine. He advocated for the same restriction to be imposed on Israel concerning the conflict in Gaza.
Urtasun stated that criticizing the "genocide" occurring in Gaza does not constitute antisemitism and referred to Israel as a "genocidal government."
These remarks from Ireland and Spain, as well asgrowing public protests, show how much the Eurovision is experiencing a major crisis.
The competition has been entangled inpolitical conflicts regarding Israel's involvement for the past two years, and the head of Slovenia's national broadcaster, RTVSLO, has already stated that it may pull out of the competition next year if Israel takes part.
Certainly, Ksenija Horvat recently mentioned that RTVE has contacted the EBU multiple times expressing worries about Israel's involvement in the upcoming contest.
RTVSLO urged the removal of Israel from Eurovision 2025, aligning with over 70 former Eurovision participants.sending an open letter calling for Israel and its state-owned TV network KAN to be prohibited from the contest.
The victor of last year's Eurovision,Austrian singer JJ, has stated that he toowants Israel to be excluded from the Eurovision 2026 competition.
The European Broadcasting Union has pushed back its deadline for penalty-free withdrawals to December, when a conclusive determination regarding Israel's involvement is anticipated at the General Assembly.
Following Hamas' assault on Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023, several UN human rights expertshave asserted that Israel's military operations in Gaza constitute genocide, with the International Court of Justice determining the allegations of genocide as credible.
Last month, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classificationdeclared that individuals in the Gaza Strip are officially experiencing "a human-created" hunger crisiswithin the region – regardless of what the Israeli administration has stated.
The 70th anniversary version of Eurovision is set to be held in Vienna, Austria. The final event is scheduled for 16 May, following the semi-finals on 12 and 14 May 2026.