After Slovenia’s national broadcaster announced that it would not compete in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is still part of the contest, it looks like more countries could follow suit.
Over the summer, discussions took place among Eurovision’s participating broadcasters about whether Israel should remain part of the contest despite the ongoing war in Gaza, with the situation to be re-evaluated in the coming months.
Since then, Slovenian broadcaster RTVSLO has said it will only return to Eurovision in 2026 if Israel is banned, similar to how Russia has not been invited to the contest in 2022 since its invasion of Ukraine.
Following this, the chairman of the Icelandic Broadcasting Corporation, Rúv, has said that it is still unclear whether Iceland will compete in 2026, saying that the board will make a decision once it is clear whether Israel will be invited back.
Meanwhile, Spanish Culture Minister Ernesto Urtasun has called for the country to withdraw from Eurovision if Israel remains part of the contest.
On Eurovoix, Urtasun told La Hora de la 1: “I don’t think we can normalize Israel’s participation in international events as if nothing is happening.
“Events like Eurovision [bring] a certain representation of a country. In the case of Eurovision, it’s not an individual artist who participates, but someone who participates on behalf of the citizens of that country.”
It is worth pointing out that Spain is one of the so-called “big five” countries in Eurovision, which contribute more financially than other competing countries, and is therefore guaranteed a place in the grand final and does not have to compete in the semi-final stage.
Last week, Eurovision director Martin Green issued a statement to HuffPost UK, which read: “We understand the concerns and deeply understand the views expressed about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. We continue to consult with all EBU members to gather views on how we manage participation and the geopolitical tensions surrounding the song contest.”
“Broadcasters have until mid-December to confirm whether they want to participate in next year’s event in Vienna. It is up to each member to decide whether they want to participate in the competition and we would respect any decision on the scores.”
Eurovision had no further comment when contacted for comment by Huffpost UK on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, it was previously reported that broadcasters for Germany and Italy – which, like Spain, also make up the “big five” as do Britain and France – had both threatened to pull out of Eurovision if Israel was not allowed to return to the event in 2026.
A spokesperson for Germany’s Südwestrundfunk (SWR) later told HuffPost UK : “The ESC is a music competition organised by the EBU broadcasters, not governments.
“Israeli broadcaster Kan complies with the applicable rules and has been an integral part of the music competition for over 60 years. We endorse their participation and the ESC’s core values.”
