Israel’s future at Eurovision to be debated at two-day meeting starting today

Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest will be debated at a two-day meeting of member broadcasters in Geneva starting today, following calls to exclude the country over the Gaza war.

Countries including Iceland, Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands have threatened in recent months to pull out of the 2026 contest if Israel takes part.

Others, including Belgium, Finland and Sweden, have also indicated they were considering a boycott over the situation in Gaza.

Host Austria, meanwhile, has expressed strong support for Israel remaining in the contest, as has Germany, with a broadcasting industry source telling Reuters that Berlin could even withdraw if Israel is kicked out.

Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, said its representatives at the meeting will “present Kan’s position regarding attempts to disqualify Israel from the competition.”

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the competition, had planned to convene member broadcasters in November for a vote on the issue.

But a few days after the October 10 announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the EBU postponed a decision until its ordinary general assembly, taking place today and tomorrow.

Then, last month, in an apparent bid to avoid a contentious vote, the EBU announced that it had changed its voting rules to address members’ concerns and to strengthen “trust and transparency.”

During this week’s meeting, broadcasters will therefore be asked to consider whether the new measures are sufficient or whether they still wish to see a vote on Israel’s participation.

The EBU rule changes came after the past two contests saw the Israeli acts receive little backing from professional juries but a surge of support from the public vote.

That catapulted Eden Golan from the depths of the jury rankings to fifth place in Malmo, Sweden, in 2024, and Yuval Raphael to second place in Basel, Switzerland, this year.