Eurovision faces crucial decision over Israel

The Eurovision Song Contest faces a battle for its future at a “watershed” meeting in Geneva on Thursday.

Organisers and participating countries will debate whether Israel should be allowed to continue in the competition, amid protests over the way its government conducted its war in Gaza, and accusations of unfair voting practices.

Countries including Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia have said they will boycott Eurovision if Israel participates. Germany has indicated it will pull out if Israel is excluded.

The meeting comes after anti-Israel protesters attempted to disrupt both the 2024 and 2025 contests, citing their opposition to the Palestinian death toll in Gaza.

During this year’s grand final in Basel, Switzerland, two people attempted to storm the stage and throw paint over Israel’s contestant, Yuval Raphael. They were stopped by crew members and later arrested.

Raphael eventually took second place in the contest, after a convincing victory in the public vote.

However, the result triggered a backlash from other countries, who said Israel’s government had artificially boosted their position through a broad, paid-for advertising campaign, urging people across Europe to vote for their song.

Israel has not responded to these accusations but frequently argues it has faced a global smear campaign.

Last month, Eurovision organisers announced they were tightening the competition’s voting rules to limit the influence of governments on the results.

Without naming Israel, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said it would “discourage disproportionate promotion campaigns”, particularly if they were “undertaken or supported by third parties, including governments or governmental agencies”.

It also announced that fans would only be able to cast 10 votes each, down from 20; and that steps would be taken to improve the detection of “fraudulent or co-ordinated voting activity”.

“We very much hope the package of measures will assure members that we have taken strong action to protect the neutrality and impartiality of the Song Contest,” the EBU said.

It is hoped that the new rules will be enough to assuage participants’ concerns over Israel’s presence at the contest.

The package will be put to EBU members – including BBC director general Tim Davie – at the organisation’s biannual general meeting on Thursday.

If they are not convinced the changes are adequate, there will be a vote on Israel’s future.

Natalija Gorščak, president of the management board at Slovenian broadcaster RTV, told BBC News she expected such a vote to go in Israel’s favour.

If that were to happen, Slovenia would refuse to participate in or broadcast the contest.

“I know that fans in Slovenia are disappointed,” Gorščak said. “I’m a fan as well and it’s so bad because Vienna is so close to us and we won’t be able to go.

“But still, we need to follow our principles and I think this is the correct way. Sometimes we need to be on the right side of history and this is the moment we are on the right side of history.”

Eurovision expert Paul Jordan called the situation “a real crisis point for Eurovision and the EBU“.

“There are no winners here. And it’s a great shame that something which is meant to be apolitical has actually become a bit of a political football.”

A vote on Israel’s participation was originally due to take place in November, but it was cancelled after the declaration of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on 10 October.

Roland Weissman, director general of Austrian broadcaster ORF – which will host next year’s contest in Vienna – subsequently travelled to Israel to meet with its Eurovision team and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

There, he told reporters that Israel is “an inseparable part of Eurovision”.

Others disagree.

Spain, one of the “Big Five” countries that contribute significant funding and audiences to Eurovision, has pledged to withdraw if Israel competes, saying the country had used the competition politically.

Speaking to a parliamentary commission, the president of Spanish broadcaster RTVE said he felt Israel’s participation was “untenable”, calling its actions in Gaza a genocide.

“As President of the (RTVE) corporation, I keep thinking that Eurovision is a contest, but human rights are not a contest,” he said.

Israel has consistently denied accusations of genocide in Gaza, where the death toll has surpassed 70,000, according to Hamas-run health authorities.

If a vote against Israel were successful, Germany would probably withdraw and not broadcast the contest, a broadcasting industry source told the Reuters news agency.

Sources within Israeli broadcaster KAN said it believed discussions about excluding Israel were unjustified, asserting that KAN was in full compliance with EBU rules.

On Wednesday, pre-empting the EBU’s general meeting, the broadcaster issued a press release confirming it was pressing ahead with its preparations for the 2026 contest.