Eurovision Under Threat
For the fans of the famous singing competition, Thursday 4th December was a turning point. The EBU (European Broadcast Union, company that organises the Eurovision Song Contest) members had a general assembly meeting in Geneva (Switzerland) to decide and approve certain rules to protect the integrity of the contest (to reinforce its apolitical aspect) but not an actual vote to exclude or not Israel). Due to the ongoing war in Gaza (Palestine), many people were asking for Israel to be excluded from the contest, in the same way as Russia got excluded after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Following the assembly, many countries decided to boycott the contest and will therefore not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. Amongst them, Spain (member of the big 5), Netherlands (who won in 2019 with Duncan Laurence and the song Arcade), Iceland and Slovenia. As of Friday 5th of December 2025, more countries could potentially withdraw their participation. Martin Green, the director of Eurovision said in an interview after the assembly, that he expects 35 countries to participate (the lowest number in years) in Vienna, in May 2026. In return, the Spanish ministry of Culture congratulated its country from boycotting next year's competition, in a statement: “You can’t whitewash Israel given the genocide in Gaza. Culture should be on the side of peace and justice. I’m proud of an RTVE that puts human rights before any economic interest.” As in fact, the RTVE (Spanish Broadcaster) originally asked to have a secret vote to decide on whether Israel should participate but the EBU refused this request: “The EBU presidency has denied RTVE’s request for a specific vote on Israel’s participation. This decision increases RTVE’s distrust of the festival’s organisation and confirms the political pressure surrounding it.”
Other countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom announced that they will be going to Vienna next May, with the BBC stating: “We support the collective decision made by members of the EBU. This is about enforcing the rules of the EBU and being inclusive.” As expected, Israel and Kant (Israeli's broadcaster) were delighted to continue their participation in the contest. Israel president, Isaac Herzog, stated on X: “I am pleased that Israel will once again participate in the Eurovision song contest, and I hope that the competition will remain one that champions culture, music, friendship between nations, and cross-border cultural understanding.”
This singing competition has always identifird itself as non - political, but in just one two countries made political comments - Spain and Israel. Arguably, Eurovision is as political as ever, despite their need to portray the contest as apolitical.
Spain is a member of the Big 5, which means that they are one of the 5 countries that helps the contest the most financially, alongside Italy, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. The national broadcasters (BBC, RTVE) are significant because they represent the anchor of the Eurovision Song Contest. Without them, the contest would probably not exist because they are the ones who showcase the competition in their respective countries and provide EBU with financial help.
At the moment, it's still to be determined how many countries will be competing next May in Vienna. What's obvious is that the lead up to the Eurovision's Grand Final will bring a lot of conflicting emotions to both its fans and its boycotters.