Eurovision boycott widens as Spain, Ireland and Slovenia decline to show 70th anniversary event over voting integrity and Gaza war
Fans attend the opening ceremony of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 at the City Hall Square in Vienna May 10, 2026. — AFP pic
Tuesday, 12 May 2026 3:58 PM MYT
VIENNA, May 12 — The public broadcasters for Spain, Ireland and Slovenia said yesterday they will not show the 70th anniversary Eurovision Song Contest this week, as they boycott the TV extravaganza over Israel’s participation.
The three countries, along with the Netherlands and Iceland, pulled out of this year’s event in Vienna, which kicks off today and culminates in Saturday’s grand final.
Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip prompted the five countries to withdraw from the world’s biggest live televised music event — with Eurovision director Martin Green vowing to do “anything in our power to find a pathway back” for them.
Suspicions were also raised that the public televoting system was being manipulated to boost Israel at Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. Furthermore, some broadcasters voiced concerns about media freedom, with Israel preventing their journalists from accessing Gaza.
“Instead of the Eurovision circus, the national television programme will be coloured by the thematic programme series ‘Voices of Palestine’,” Slovenian broadcaster RTV said.
Ireland are joint-record seven-time Eurovision winners, but on Saturday, RTE will be showing a Eurovision-themed episode of the popular 1990s Irish-based sitcom “Father Ted” instead.
Spain’s RTVE will run its own musical special, “The House of Music”.
Public service broadcasters in the Netherlands and Iceland will screen the competition, despite neither taking part.
‘We hope they come back’
Only 35 countries will take part in Eurovision this year — the fewest since entry was expanded in 2004 — following the five withdrawals.
As to whether those countries could return, Eurovision chief Green said: “We’ve got five members of our family missing this year. We miss them and we love them and we hope they come back.
“We’ll remain in conversations. We’re very clear we’ll do anything in our power to find a pathway back. Ultimately, it’s up to them and I totally respect that,” he told a press conference at the Wiener Stadthalle venue.
He also fielded questions about the voting system’s vulnerability to manipulation.
On Saturday, Green said Israel’s participating broadcaster KAN was warned to stop putting out videos urging viewers “to vote 10 times for Israel”, saying such actions were not in line with the rules and spirit of the competition.
Noting that this year, professional juries were returning to the semi-finals as a counterbalance to the public vote, “we have one of the most safest, secure and fair voting systems,” he said Monday.
Amnesty decries ‘cowardice’
First held in 1956, Eurovision is run by the European Broadcasting Union, the world’s biggest alliance of public-service media.
Amnesty International said the EBU’s failure to suspend Israel from Eurovision was “an act of cowardice”.
Israel’s participation “offers the country a platform to try to deflect attention from and normalise its ongoing genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip”, Amnesty’s secretary general Agnes Callamard said in a statement.
“Songs and sequins must not be allowed to drown out or distract from Israel’s atrocities or Palestinian suffering.”
A UN-backed probe in September determined that “genocide is occurring in Gaza” — a charge that Israel vehemently denies.
Amichai Chikli, Israel’s diaspora affairs minister, said a “sharp and coordinated surge in antisemitic and anti-Israel discourse surrounding Eurovision 2026” had been detected.
“This online incitement attempts, among other things, to brand the Eurovision as ‘Genovision’ — an event allegedly concealing a fabricated Israeli ‘genocide’,” he said in a statement.
“This situation is a direct continuation and result of the conduct of European governments and public bodies, which choose, in a hypocritical and weak manner, to boycott the competition.” — AFP
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Shailoks cheat every which way
Bollocks. Already Making Excuses.
ReplyDeleteThere are 50X more Ishmaels and their sapoters than Isaacs. How to Manipulate.
Anyway Isaac has qualified for the Grand Final, having progressed from Semi-Final 1.
https://eurovisionworld.com/esc/eurovision-2026-draws-for-the-running-order-in-the-grand-final
in a western capitalistic system, numeric quantity is only worthing when monetary rewards r tied.
DeleteOoop…, u buat tak tau!
In 2025 the "cheating" was by the National Juries which did not want Israel to win. According to the public voting however (where we know pro-Ishmaels always outnumber pro-Isaacs 50 to 1), Isaac was the Clear Winner.
ReplyDeleteIsrael did not win Eurovision 2025 primarily because, despite receiving significant public support (297 points), the song was ranked low by national juries, landing in 14th place after the initial vote, reports The Irish Times.
The participation was marked by massive controversy over the war in Gaza, leading to boycotts and intense political debate.
Key Reasons for Not Winning:
Low Jury Support: Professional juries did not favor the entry, leaving the country low on the leaderboard before public voting was finalized.
Controversy and Protests: Israel's participation faced intense pressure and calls for a ban, with protests from several countries' broadcasters and the public.
Geopolitical Voting: The ongoing conflict created a polarized atmosphere, causing the voting to be heavily influenced by politics, say BNN News.
Voting Irregularities: Questions were raised about voting processes, including technical mishaps and promotion of voting, leading to a warning from the EBU. While the public vote secured a high combined score, it was not enough to overcome the initial low ranking from the jury and the overall contentious atmosphere of the 2025 contest.
wakakaka… Geopolitical Voting?
DeleteThen, get those Europe rejected zionists back to those countries that had 'expatriated' them.
💥Urgent Update:
ReplyDeleteXi Jinping’s team and President Trump’s advance team have reached an agreement to allow Jimmy Lai to leave prison on medical parole. The condition is that Xi Jinping demands the return of Eilleen Wang to China.
Eilleen Wang has already resigned from her positions as Mayor and City Council member of Arcadia, California, and has agreed to plead guilty in federal court to the felony charge of acting as an “illegal agent of the Chinese Communist Party.”
The above information was disclosed by Canadian writer and my trusted friend Sheng Xue
@ShengXue_ca
.
....more
https://x.com/jenniferzeng97/status/2054315028346814968?s=20
wakakakaka… desperado lie of fart
Delete