Member broadcasters of the Eurovision Song Contest are holding a two-day meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to debate whether Israel should be allowed to take part in the event.
Several countries have threatened to withdraw from the 2026 contest, which will be held in Austria from May 12-16, if Israel participates, citing humanitarian suffering in Gaza during Israel’s conflict with Hamas in the enclave. Israel has also faced allegations of unfairly promoting its entry in the recent contest in Switzerland.
Voting may take place in the meeting regarding Israel’s participation.
Broadcasters will be asked to consider whether new measures introduced to discourage governments and third parties from disproportionately promoting songs to influence voters are sufficient.
The rules were introduced by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs Eurovision, following allegations that Israel artificially inflated the votes received by its competitor Yuval Rafael in the 2025 contest through an extensive advertising campaign.
The EBU said it would hold a vote on participation if members are not convinced that the new rules are sufficient to protect the fairness of competition.
A broadcasting industry source told Reuters news agency that Germany, for its part, could pull out of the contest and not broadcast it if Israel was not allowed to participate.
Critics of Israel’s involvement cite the death toll of Palestinians in Gaza, which has exceeded 70,000 according to Gaza health officials.
Israel has also faced accusations of using hunger and deprivation as weapons by largely blocking aid entry into the Palestinian territories during the conflict. International organizations like the United Nations have classified Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide.
Israel launched its offensive on October 7, 2023, in response to attacks on Israel led by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which left 1,200 dead and 251 taken hostage in Gaza.