Eurovision winner wants Israel excluded from 2026 contest over its violence in Gaza
Singer JJ was the third Austrian winner of what has become the world's biggest music competition, watched by more than 160 million people.
Ireland’s state broadcaster has announced that the country will not be participating in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna unless Israel is barred from taking part. In a statement, Radio Television Ireland (RTÉ) — which is responsible for submitting the country’s entry to the contest — said it “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.”
Ireland joins Slovenia as the second country threatening to boycott Eurovision over Israel’s participation. The Spanish culture minister, Ernest Urtasun, has said his country shouldn’t participate either if Israel does, echoing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s position that Israel should be expelled for its war on Gaza like Russia was for its war on Ukraine. Both RTÉ and Slovenian RTVSLO said consultations in the European Broadcast Union (EBU) — which organises Eurovision — were ongoing. This year’s contest saw public backlash against the participation of Israeli contestant Yuval Raphael, who ended up winning second place despite being jeered at excessively during her performance in the semi-final. Austria’s JJ, who placed first, has also called for Israel’s exclusion.
Ireland is tied with Sweden for the most Eurovision wins in the contest’s 69-year history at seven titles. RTÉ first raised the matter of Israeli participation with the EBU in May, just days prior to the Eurovision finals in Basel, Switzerland. Earlier, Spain’s RTV called for a debate on the issue in a letter to the EBU in April. Organisers have pushed the deadline for broadcasters to finalise their participation decision — normally set for October — to December.
Martin Green, director of the Eurovision Song Contest, said the EBU understood “the concerns and deeply held views around the ongoing conflict in the Middle East,” and that it is “still consulting with all EBU members to gather views on how [to] manage participation and geopolitical tensions around the Eurovision Song Contest”.
Israel’s brutal war on Gaza has killed at least 64,368 people since October 2023. Hopes for a ceasefire have dimmed after an Israeli airstrike targeted senior Hamas leaders in Qatar on Monday. The United Nations’ agency for children reported on Thursday that 13.5 per cent of all children in Gaza were facing “acute malnutrition” due to Israel’s refusal to allow aid into the territory.