Eurovision Members to Vote on Whether to Exclude Israel Following Pressure Over Gaza Genocide

Brussels (QNN)- The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has confirmed it will hold an online vote in November to decide whether Israel should participate in next year’s competition, amid growing pressure over the ongoing genocide in Gaza, where more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed and the population is facing starvation due to an Israeli-made famine.

On Thursday, the board of the EBU, which organizes the high-camp event, said in an email that it would host an extraordinary general meeting in early November at which member broadcasters will vote on Israeli participation.

In a letter to members, Delphine Ernotte Cunci, the union’s president, said the organization had “never faced a divisive situation like this before.”

Singers have demanded Israel’s exclusion, and demonstrators have staged protests.

Broadcasters from countries including Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands have said in recent weeks that they will withdraw if Israel takes part.

On September 11, RTÉ, Ireland’s national broadcaster, said in a statement that it would “not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if the participation of Israel goes ahead.”

“RTÉ feels that Ireland’s participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza,” the statement said, adding that the broadcaster was also “deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza, and the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages.”

Around the same time, the Dutch national broadcaster also said it would withdraw if Israel took part, as did RTVE in Spain.

José Pablo López, the president of RTVE, told the broadcaster in an interview, “We consider it essential to speak out against what is happening in Gaza and to take a visible, meaningful stand.”

Next year’s Eurovision, the 70th anniversary of the song contest, is due to be held in the Austrian capital, Vienna, in May.

The EBU excluded Russia from the competition shortly after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Recent editions of Eurovision have been overshadowed by opposition to Israel’s participation in the contest over its ongoing genocide in Gaza.

If the EBU fails to act, it risks a major split within Europe’s most-watched cultural event. For many broadcasters, the contest is no longer just about music, but about taking a stand on Gaza.