Israel allowed to participate in Eurovision 2026 event
Singer Yuval Raphael representing Israel with the song "New Day Will Rise" at the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in Basel
By Charlotte Reck, CNN
(CNN) — Israel will be allowed to compete in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, the fun-filled pop music spectacle that draws millions of viewers globally, after organisers decided not to hold a vote on its participation, according to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
Organisers of the competition met on Thursday to discuss Israel’s participation, amid calls for the country to be excluded over the war in Gaza and threats from some members to boycott.
The meeting was held at the Geneva headquarters of the EBU, a group of public broadcasters from 56 countries who run the show, to consider new rules unveiled last month to limit governments and third parties from disproportionately influencing voting.
In the talks, EBU members “backed a set of targeted changes to the Eurovision Song Contest rules designed to reinforce trust, transparency and the neutrality of the event,” a statement from the union said.
“This vote means that all EBU Members who wish to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 and agree to comply with the new rules are eligible to take part,” it added.
Several nations have expressed concerns over Israel’s participation in the competition due to its war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’ deadly October 7, 2023 attacks in southern Israel. The conflict has killed more than 70,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN is reported to have continued with its preparations for the 2026 competition and was expected to present its position on possible disqualification at Thursday’s meeting, Reuters reported.
If members had not agreed on the new safeguarding changes, a vote on Israel’s participation could have been held, the EBU said. If a vote had been held, an absolute majority would have been required for an exclusion to pass.
“A large majority of Members agreed that there was no need for a further vote on participation and that the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 should proceed as planned, with the additional safeguards in place,” the EBU statement said.
Last month, competition director Martin Green said the “neutrality and integrity of the Eurovision Song Contest is of paramount importance to the EBU, its members, and all our audiences. It is essential that the fairness of the contest is always protected.”
He added that they were taking “clear and decisive steps to ensure the contest remains a celebration of music and unity.”
The Eurovision Song Contest, which started in 1956, is a famously eccentric festival that sees artists from dozens of countries battle it out for the annual musical crown. Last year’s contest was watched by 166 million people, 3 million more than the previous year, according to the EBU.
It has sought to put music ahead of politics but has seen pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the last two contests in Switzerland and Sweden.
This is not the first time world events have become a divisive issue for the competition, with the EBU banishing Russia from participating following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Spain, one of the so-called Big Five who make the largest financial contributions to the contest, has threatened to boycott the 2026 event in Austria if Israel is allowed to participate, as has Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands. Germany, another of the major contributors, has backed Israel.
“Israel belongs in the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC),” Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer previously told Reuters, “There must be no ESC without Israel.”
Arriving for talks Thursday, Portuguese broadcaster RTP president Nicolau Santos told Reuters, “Yes, we will have a very, I suppose, interesting discussion (on Israel’s participation). So, we have to wait for the end of the meeting.”
“Eurovision is becoming a bit of a fractured event,” Paul Jordan, a Eurovision expert who goes by the moniker Dr Eurovision told the Associated Press. “The slogan is ‘United by Music’ … unfortunately it’s disunited through politics.”
Last week, Austria’s Foreign Minister Beate Meini-Reisinger reiterated the contest’s longstanding claim to be a space of political neutrality. Addressing the planned boycott of the 70th edition of the event in 2026 by a handful of nations, she insisted the contest was “not an instrument for sanctions” in a post on X and made an appeal to European partners to find ways to “improve the situation in Israel and Gaza” together.
CNN’s Stephanie Halasz contributed to this reporting.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
