Who will boycott Eurovision if Israel competes? Full list of countries confirming withdrawal plans
One of the Big Five has joined the list of countries who will not take part in the contest if Israel participates.
Spain has become the latest country to announce it will boycott Eurovision 2026 if Israel is allowed to compete.
It is now the fifth country to confirm it is ready to pull out over Israel’s participation amid the ongoing war in Gaza, but the first of the competition’s “Big Five”, a group of countries who make the biggest financial contributions to the EBU, and which also includes Britain, Germany, Italy and France.
Russia was banned from the competition after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but Israel has continued to compete over the past two years despite growing concerns over its actions in Gaza.
Broadcasters have until mid-December to decide whether they want to participate.
Who will boycott Eurovision if Israel competes? Full list of countries confirming withdrawal plans
Slovenia
Slovenia's national broadcaster, RTVSLO, was the first to announce it would not take part in the competition if Israel competes.
RTVSLO said in a statement at the beginning of September: "At the EBU General Assembly, which was held in London at the beginning of July, RTV Slovenia presented its position that if Israel were to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest – due to the genocide in Gaza – it would not participate in the competition."
Ireland
The Irish broadcaster, RTÉ, was next to announce that it will withdraw from Eurovision 2026 “if the participation of Israel goes ahead”.
In a statement on 11th September, RTÉ added: "RTÉ feels that Ireland's participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza.
"RTÉ is also deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza, and the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages."
Netherlands
The Dutch public broadcaster, Avrotos, has also confirmed the Netherlands will pull out from next year’s competition if Israel is involved.
In a statement on 12th September, Avrotos said earlier this month that it was taking the stance "given the ongoing and severe human suffering in Gaza" and the "serious erosion of press freedom".
It continued: "Human suffering, the suppression of press freedom and political interference are at odds with the values of public broadcasting."
Iceland
Stefán Eiríksson from Iceland's national broadcaster RÚV has said its participation in the 2026 competition is "subject to the outcome of the ongoing consultation process within the EBU, due to the participation of the Israeli state broadcaster KAN in the competition".
Eiríksson added that RÚV "reserve the right to withdraw from participation in it if the EBU does not respond satisfactorily".
Spain
RTVE, the Spanish state broadcaster, is the latest to threaten a boycott of next year's Eurovision should Israel compete.
In a statement on Tuesday (16th September), RTVE said: “The RTVE Board of Directors agreed during its meeting on this Tuesday, 16th September, that Spain will withdraw from the Eurovision Festival if Israel is part of the event.
"The measure was taken at the proposal of the RTVE president, José Pablo López, with an absolute majority of the corporation's governing body.”
Will the UK boycott Eurovision if Israel competes?
At the time of writing, the UK has not announced any boycott of Eurovision should Israel compete.
Responding to calls for the UK not to take part in the contest, the BBC’s director-general Tim Davie has said he was “very aware of the concerns” around Israel’s participation.
Speaking on Monday to the Commons public accounts committee, he said: “Eurovision never has been about politics and should be a celebration of music and culture that brings people together. That is really important, that we try and preserve throughout, but at this stage, I’m supporting the European Broadcasting Union’s work, and they need to get on with it."
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the event, will make a final decision about Israel’s participation in Eurovision before the end of the year.
Davie continued: “This is a contest which is about the broadcasters from that nation submitting a song, ensuring that process works properly and is truly apolitical. There’s quite a lot of detail to get through for the European Broadcasting Union.
“Then, as an independent BBC, we will look at that, and then we can go from there.”
Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.W
Authors
Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.
