Israel sticks to Eurovision plans despite boycott calls

Despite boycott threats from several countries, Israel still intends to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.

"There is no reason why Israel should not continue to be a significant part of this cultural event, which cannot become political," said Golan Jochpaz, the chief executive of the Israeli broadcaster Kan participating in the Eurovision, several Israeli media outlets reported on Monday.

This is the first reaction to announcements from several countries that they will not participate in Eurovision this year if Israel is involved.

Broadcasters from Ireland and the Netherlands recently threatened a boycott if this is the case. They also indicated that they would participate if Israel stayed away from the competition. Slovenia also hinted that the country would not participate if Israel were involved.

Belgium to make decision in December

Other Eurovision participant countries also view Israel's participation critically, including Spain and Belgium.

In Belgium, there are two public broadcasters that air the Eurovision. The French-language RTBF is responsible for sending the candidate and informed dpa that preparations are continuing. A final decision will be made in December after the general assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which is the organizer of Eurovision and thus responsible for the admission of countries.

Belgium's Dutch-language broadcaster VRT said, "VRT shares and supports the position of the countries withdrawing from the Eurovision Song Contest." It expects a clear signal from the organizer and otherwise reserves the right not to broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest in the future, VRT said.

Austria supports Israel's participation

The Austrian broadcaster ORF, as the host of Eurovision 2026, has already clearly expressed support for Israel's participation.

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023, the Middle East conflict has overshadowed Eurovision, which is designed to be explicitly apolitical.

Both at the competition in the Swedish city of Malmö in 2024 and in the Swiss city of Basel in 2025, there were demonstrations critical of Israel on the streets and occasionally boos and jeers in the hall when the Israeli act was on stage.

The Gaza war was triggered by the massacre carried out by the Palestinian militant Hamas and other Islamist organizations in Israel on October 7, 2023.

Eurovision is due to take place next year from May 12 to 16 in the Austrian capital Vienna as Austria provided the winning act earlier this year. The Israeli singer Yuval Raphael took second place in the same contest due to the audience vote.