After announcements from Ireland, Slovenia, Netherlands and Iceland, Spain became the first country between “Big Fives” on Wednesday, among the five largest contributors in the Eurovizon song competition, to boycott the 2026 program to be held in Vienna from 12-16 May, if Israel proceeded.
The “Big Five” countries are Spain, Germany, UK, France and Italy.
The return of the country was approved by the majority of the Board of Directors of Spanish State Broadcaster RTVE, with a definition against 10 votes, against four and one definition.
The vote took place after the Spanish Culture Minister, Ernest Urtsun, last week that Spain should return from the incident if Israel remained in the list of parties participating.
Dutch public broadcaster Everotros So it has been said that it cannot justify Israel’s participation in the current situation, given “the ongoing and serious human suffering in Gaza.”
In the 2026 incident, a decision on Israel’s particular decision is expected in December.
Why is Israel in the Eurovision Song competition?
Israel made his debut in Eurovision in 1973, when it was still called “Grand Prix D’yavance de La Chanson”. This was when the country became a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which included 73 active members from 56 countries and 35 associate members from 21 countries of Europe, North Africa and 21 countries.
Israel is the only non-European participant in the competition. Armenia and Azerbaijan are – and since 2015, Australia has become the “most foreign” Eurovision contestant. The show has a major fan base, and Australia was accepted in EBU as an associate member.
The inclusion of broadcasters and countries beyond the boundaries of Europe is why the event is called “Eurovision Song Contest”, not “European song competition”.
In the first locations, Israel is one of the most successful participants of Eurovision.
But the Israeli-Pilistine conflict has affected the competition several times in the last five decades.
Security for Israeli Contestants
In 1973, Ilneet was the first artist to compete for Israel. Strict security measures were implemented, as a few months ago, Palestinian militants killed 11 Israeli athletes in the Olympic village in the German city of Munich.
Ilanit is believed to have been wearing a bulletproof vest, and the audience had to sit. The photographer had to take a picture pointing to the roof to prove that his cameras were not disguised to the firearms.
In 2024, Israeli contestant Eden Golan, so performed under special security.
Many participating countries called the EBU to exclude Israel from that year’s competition. EBU tolerates it, but was not due to Gaza.
EBU officials feared the original title of Israel’s entry, “October rain”, a reference to the incident that triggered the Gaza war: Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, with about 1,200 Israel killed and held hostage in 240 yields. Once the lyrics of the song were replaced, Golan’s participation was allowed to move forward.
Fines for anti -Palestinian protest
Protest symbols and slogans have been repeatedly used by the audience or artists. It became particularly clear during the 2019 Eurovision Song Competition, which was held in Tel Aviv, Israel.
On the evening of the final, the Icelandic band Hatari organized a scarf for the camera with the Palestinian flag, which led to the controversy. EBU fined the Icelandic broadcaster RUV € 5,000 ($ 5,900).
During the performance of Global Superstar Madonna the same evening, a male dancer and one female dancer – one carrying the flag of Israel and the other was carried in the Palestinian flag.
Madonna later said that it was “the message of peace and unity.” But EBU was less enthusiastic about it.
Although there was no fine in this case, competition organizers While issuing a statement, he said that the Act was not approved with him and Madonna knew about what was non-political.
2024 and Basel, Malmo in Switzerland, competitions in Sweden, in 2025, therefore witnessed witnesses of Israel’s important protests. In the hall, the audience members whistle and instigated Israeli artists.
This article was the original published in German.