[Archive 2025-12-10] Four countries back out of Eurovision 2026 amid ongoing boycott

Historical archive — originally published 2025-12-10. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

Last Thursday, the European Broadcasting Union confirmed Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. In response, four countries, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia withdrew from the 2026 contest, citing a "loss" of neutrality and the humanitarian impact due to the war in Gaza.

According to Politico, the four withdrawals generated major turmoil; CNN noted Spain is a part of the "Big Five," comprising the five biggest financial generators of the competition. Newsweek reported that the withdrawals were the largest "upheaval" in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Furthermore, the broadcaster for Radiotelevizija Slovenija reported that they requested a secret vote along with Spain, the Netherlands, Montenegro, Turkey, Algeria, and Iceland, but the vote was not held. Instead, officials in Geneva passed new rules limiting governments from influencing the results of the contest. The officials also implemented a limit of 10 public votes "per payment method", which RTVE called "insufficient".

CNN and Rappler reported that some countries, namely Austria, the host of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026, Germany, France, Britain, Portugal, and Sweden, supported the inclusion of Israel in the 2026 edition of the contest.

Golan Yochpaz, the chief executive of the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, called it a "cultural boycott." Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar articulated his shame for countries boycotting the contest.

Israel reached second place, securing the largest public vote in Eurovision 2025 when Yuval Raphael performed New Day Will Rise. Riot police were deployed in Basel due to large protests by Palestinian demonstrators against Israel's participation. Due to Israel's broadcaster being part of the European Broadcasting Union, the country is eligible to compete in the competition.

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