Eurovision faces crucial decision over Israel

The Eurovision Song Contest will face a battle for its future at a “decisive” meeting in Geneva on Thursday.

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

Countries including Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia have said they would boycott Eurovision if Israel took part. Germany has indicated it will withdraw if Israel is excluded.

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

At this year’s grand final in Basel, Switzerland, two people attempted to storm the stage and throw paint at Israeli competitor Yuval Raphael. They were stopped by crew members and then arrested.

Raphaël ultimately took second place in the competition, after a convincing victory in the public vote.

However, the result sparked a backlash from other countries, who said the Israeli government had artificially strengthened its position through a massive paid advertising campaign, urging citizens across Europe to vote for their song.

Israel has not responded to the accusations but frequently claims it has faced a global smear campaign.

Last month, Eurovision organizers announced they were tightening the contest’s voting rules to limit governments’ influence over the results.

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

He also announced that fans would only be able to vote 10 each, down from 20; and that steps would be taken to improve detection of “fraudulent or coordinated voting activities.”

“We sincerely hope that the package of measures will reassure our members that we have taken strong action to protect the neutrality and impartiality of the song competition,” the EBU said.

“Crisis point”

It is hoped that the new rules will be enough to allay participants’ concerns about Israel’s presence in the competition.

The case will be presented to EBU members, including BBC director general Tim Davie, at the organisation’s half-yearly general meeting on Thursday.

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

Natalija Gorščak, chairwoman of the board of directors of Slovenian broadcaster RTV, told BBC News that she expected such a vote to be favorable to Israel.

If this were to happen, Slovenia would refuse to participate or broadcast the competition.

“I know the Slovenian fans are disappointed,” Gorščak said. “I’m also a fan and it’s a shame because Vienna is so close to us and we won’t be able to go there.

“But we still have to follow our principles and I think that’s the right path. Sometimes we have to be on the right side of history and this is the time when 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’s no winner here. And it’s really unfortunate that something that was meant to be apolitical has actually become a bit of a political football.”

A vote on Israel’s participation was initially scheduled to take place in November, but it was canceled after a ceasefire was declared in the Gaza Strip on October 10.

Roland Weissman, general director of Austrian broadcaster ORF – which will host the contest next year in Vienna – then traveled to Israel to meet his 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 significantly to Eurovision funding and viewership, has pledged to withdraw if Israel participates, saying the country has used the competition for political purposes.

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

“As president of RTVE, I continue to believe that Eurovision is a competition, but human rights are not a competition,” he said.

Israel has always denied accusations of genocide in Gaza, where the death toll has exceeded 70,000, according to Hamas-led health authorities.

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

Sources within Israeli broadcaster KAN said they believed talk of Israel’s exclusion was unjustified, saying KAN fully respected EBU rules.

On Wednesday, ahead of the EBU General Assembly, the channel issued a press release confirming that it was continuing its preparations for the 2026 competition.