The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), whose members were due to meet in early November to vote on Israel’s participation in Eurovision, announced on Monday the postponement of this vote until December “in light of recent events in the Middle East.”
“The Council decided to include this issue on the agenda of its ordinary winter General Assembly, to be held in December, instead of organizing an extraordinary session,” announced in September following calls from several European countries for a boycott in the event of Israel’s participation in the 2026 edition, the EBU indicates in a statement sent to AFP.
This postponement was decided “in light of recent events in the Middle East” and will allow the EBU Executive Council to “organize an open and in-person debate among its members on participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026” to be held in Austria, the organization adds.
Calls for boycott
In recent months, before the announcement of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Israel’s involvement had divided European countries.
Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland and the Netherlands had announced that they would not send representatives to the Vienna competition next May if Israel were allowed to participate. Other countries such as Belgium, Sweden and Finland have indicated that they are also considering a boycott.
The Dutch public broadcasting association Avrotros justified its decision by the “serious violations of press freedom” committed by the Israelis in Gaza. He also accused Israel of having committed “a proven interference during the last edition, participating in political exploitation of the event.”
Israeli singer Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the October 7 attack, came second in the 2025 competition, driven by the public vote.
Austria regretted these calls for a boycott and German Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer opposed it, stating that “to exclude Israel today is to go against this fundamental idea and to transform a celebration of understanding between peoples into a tribunal.”
Eurovision is usually the scene of geopolitical opposition. Russia was excluded after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Belarus had been excluded a year earlier after the controversial re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko.
Source: BFM TV
