EBU to vote on Israeli participation in 2026 Eurovision

Reuters

Members of the European Broadcasting Union will vote in November on Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna next year, the EBU said on Friday.

Eurovision, which stresses its political neutrality, has faced controversy this year linked to the war in Gaza.

"A vote on participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will take place at an extraordinary meeting of the EBU's General Assembly to be held online in early November," the EBU told Reuters in a statement, later clarifying that the vote is on the participation of Israeli public broadcaster, KAN.

Only public service broadcasters who are members of the EBU can take part in the widely watched contest, and KAN is the only EBU member in Israel, the organisation said.

KAN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung reported on Thursday that EBU members were informed of the vote in a letter from the organisation's president, Delphine Ernotte-Cunci.

The newspaper included a screenshot of the letter which said that the EBU executive board recognised that it could not reach a consensual position on KAN's involvement in the competition.

"Given that the Union has never faced a divisive situation like this before, the Board agreed that this question merited a broader democratic basis for a decision," Ernotte-Cunci said in the letter, which the EBU confirmed.

On September 16th, Spanish state broadcaster RTVE's board voted to withdraw from the 2026 contest to be held in May in Vienna if Israel took part.

Spain is the fifth country to make such a pledge after the Netherlands, Slovenia, Iceland, and Ireland, and the first of the so-called "Big Five" - a group that also includes the UK, Germany, Italy, and France. These countries automatically qualify for the contest's final round.

Several countries had urged the EBU, an alliance of public broadcasters that organises and co-produces the annual event, to exclude Israel from the 2025 edition.

Austrian singer JJ, who won this year, has also called for Israel's exclusion in 2026.

In September, a United Nations Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza - accusations that Israel vehemently rejected.

Earlier this month, RTÉ said that "it is RTÉ's position that Ireland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, if the participation of Israel goes ahead, and the final decision regarding Ireland's participation will be made once the European Broadcasting Union's (EBU) decision is made."

The broadcaster 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."