Up next
Author
Share this @internewscast.com
FacebookXRedditPinterest
Key Points
  • The Irish broadcaster RTE has stated that Ireland will refrain from entering Eurovision 2026 if Israel is permitted to join.
  • Organisers of Eurovision are still assessing how to handle participation and geopolitical challenges.
  • Both the Eurovision 2025 victor JJ and the president of Spain have advocated for Israel’s exclusion from the contest.
Ireland will withdraw from the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is permitted to join, according to Irish broadcaster RTE, asserting that participation would be “unthinkable” due to the Gaza conflict.
The recent Eurovision contests have faced criticism over Israel’s involvement due to its ongoing military operations in Gaza, which local health officials report have resulted in over 64,000 deaths.
Hostilities in Gaza intensified following an October 2023 assault by Hamas in southern Israel, which led to 1,200 deaths and the capture of 251 hostages, according to Israeli statistics.
Israel has been a consistent participant in Eurovision as part of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which coordinates and helps produce the yearly competition.

RTE has noted that multiple EBU members expressed unease about Israel’s participation during a discussion in July.

“RTE believes Ireland’s involvement would be inconceivable given the severe and tragic loss of life in Gaza,” stated the broadcaster in an announcement.

Organisers ‘consulting’ on geopolitical tensions
The EBU said it understood the “concerns and deeply held views around the ongoing conflict in the Middle East”.
EBU director Martin Green said in an emailed statement: “We are still consulting with all EBU members to gather views on how we manage participation and geopolitical tensions around the Eurovision Song Contest.”

“Broadcasters have until mid-December to declare if they will partake in next year’s event in Vienna. Membership allows each broadcaster the choice to participate, and we respect any decision they reach.”

RTE said it 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”.
Israel has denied targeting journalists in the enclave.
A final decision about Ireland’s participation in the 2026 competition will be made once the EBU makes its own decision on Israel, RTE said.

Ireland has participated in the contest since 1965 and won seven times, with only Sweden matching its record number of victories.

Spain and Eurovision 2025 winner also call for Israel’s exclusion
RTE’s announcement comes after similar calls for Israel to be excluded from the next Eurovision.
A singer performing on stage. A person is waving a Palestinian flag in the audience.

Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest has overshadowed the event in recent years. Source: Getty / Harold Cunningham

Sánchez said “no-one was shocked” when Russia was asked to withdraw from such events after it invaded Ukraine.

“Therefore, Israel should not do so either,” he said.
“I would like the next Eurovision to be held in Vienna and without Israel,” the singer was quoted by Spanish newspaper El País as saying back in May.
Share this @internewscast.com
FacebookXRedditPinterest
You May Also Like

Heartbreaking Queensland House Fire Claims Four Lives: A Community in Mourning

The bodies of four people have been found in the charred remains…
Three men are fighting for their lives after they were hit by a car that crashed and mounted the curb outside an Indian restaurant in Sydney's west.

Tragic Sydney Incident: Three Men Critically Injured in Shocking Hit-and-Run Outside Popular Restaurant

Three men are in critical condition after being struck by a vehicle…

Typhoon Kalmaegi Hits Vietnam Following Devastating Impact in the Philippines with 114 Casualties

Typhoon Kalmaegi has slammed into Vietnam, forcing authorities to cancel hundreds of…
Margaret Bernie, 34, was last seen at her home in Mount Gambier in January 1988.

Authorities Conduct Extensive Search of South Australian Property for Clues in Decades-Old Disappearance Case

A cold case search for the remains of a South Australian woman…
Police on scene at a bridge collapse in Lithgow after it was struck by a truck.

Rail Worker Tragically Dies Following Bridge Collapse onto Truck in NSW

A tragic incident unfolded in New South Wales’ Central West, where a…
Toddlers Desmond and Maddison were staying with family friends at a duplex on Opal Street in Emerald when the blaze erupted at about 6.48am (7.48am AEDT) today.

Father Honors Young Children Lost in Tragic Queensland House Fire

Warning: This story contains an image of a deceased person, which may…
President Donald Trump listens as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during an event about drug prices.

Supreme Court Upholds Trump Policy on Passport Gender Markers for Trans and Nonbinary Individuals

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted the Trump administration permission to implement…

Sam Witnesses Climate Change’s Toll on Desert Lands, Takes Her Advocacy to the United Nations

Sam Murray remembers learning about the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef.…
Former Neighbours star learns his fate over Nazi gesture

Ex-Neighbours Actor Faces Consequences for Controversial Gesture

A former actor from the television soap opera Neighbours has been found…
Opposition leader Sussan Ley during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday 5 November 2025.

Senior Liberal Launches Scathing Critique on Ley: ‘Worst I’ve Ever Seen’ Comments Stir Political Controversy

Sussan Ley has claimed the Liberal Party is “absolutely united” despite being…
Firefighters extinguished a brakes fire in a Virgin Australia plane when it landed at Brisbane Airport on Thursday, November 6, 2025.

Emergency Unfolds as Virgin Australia Flight Lands with Fire Aboard

A Virgin Australia passenger plane experienced a dramatic landing at Brisbane Airport…

Queensland Tragedy: Man Arrested Following Fatal Crash Claiming Lives of 10-Year-Old Girl and Woman

In a tragic incident in a remote Aboriginal community in Queensland, authorities…