Ireland threatens to boycott Eurovision if Israel participates in the contest

Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ has stated that the country may withdraw from Eurovision 2026 if Israel participates. This decision was made due to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the deaths of civilians, writes BBC, as reported by UNN.

Details

In a statement published on Thursday, RTÉ said: "RTÉ's position is that Ireland will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 if Israel's participation occurs, and a final decision on Ireland's participation will be made after the EBU makes a decision."

It also added that "RTÉ is also deeply concerned about the targeted killings of journalists in Gaza, the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages."

Context

Before this year's Eurovision in May, RTÉ appealed to the EBU to discuss the exclusion of Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest.

At the time, its Director-General Kevin Bakhurst stated that he was "horrified by the events unfolding in the Middle East and by the terrible impact on civilians in Gaza, as well as the fate of Israeli hostages." He added that he was mindful of RTÉ's obligation to objectively cover the war in Gaza.

We are also very aware of the serious political pressure on the Israeli public broadcaster "Kan" from the Israeli government 

Earlier this year, more than 70 former Eurovision participants signed a letter calling on organizers to ban Israel from participating in the 2025 contest.

Addition

Slovenia's national broadcaster RTVSLO also stated that it would cancel its participation in the contest if an Israeli representative performed. Spain's Minister of Culture Ernest Urtasun said that his country might also not participate for the same reason.

Stefan Eiríksson from Iceland's national broadcaster RÚV stated that his country's participation in the 2026 contest "depends on the results of the ongoing consultation process within the EBU due to the participation of the Israeli state broadcaster KAN in the contest." Eiríksson added that RÚV "reserves the right to withdraw from it if the EBU does not provide a satisfactory answer."

Earlier, UNN wrote that Vienna was chosen as the host city for Eurovision 2026, which will take place at the "Wiener Stadthalle." This became possible thanks to the victory of Austria's representative Jay Jay in the 2025 contest.