This development comes after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) officially confirmed Israel's participation in the competition scheduled to be held next year in the Austrian capital, Vienna.
Spain announced that it will not participate in Eurovision 2026, nor will it broadcast its events, due to Israel's use of the competition "for political purposes".
In this regard, the Secretary General of the Spanish Radio and Television Corporation "RTVE", Alfonso Morales, said in a statement that "the current situation in the Gaza Strip, despite the ceasefire (referring to Tel Aviv's daily violations of the agreement in effect since October 10), and Israel's use of the competition for political purposes, makes it more difficult to maintain Eurovision as a neutral cultural event."
To date, Spain has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 63 times since 1961, and won first place twice in a row in 1968 and 1969.
Spain is one of the countries that has the right to qualify directly for the competition finals, along with France, Germany and Britain, and Madrid makes a significant contribution to the competition through its economic support for the European Broadcasting Union.
The Dutch public broadcaster AVROTROS also confirmed in a statement its withdrawal from the competition, noting that Israel’s participation, along with the humanitarian situation (resulting from the Israeli war of extermination) in Gaza and Tel Aviv’s restrictions on press freedom in the sector, contradicts the organization’s core values, according to the same statement.
In a similar move, the Irish broadcaster RTE announced that it would not participate in or broadcast the competition, stressing in a statement that the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israeli attacks targeting journalists were contrary to the organization's principles.
The statement added that "the Commission believes that Ireland's participation remains unacceptable in light of the heavy loss of life in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis that continues to endanger the lives of many civilians."
Among the angry reactions to Israel's participation in the competition, the Slovenian Broadcasting Corporation "RTV Slovenia" announced that it would not participate in the competition.
Speaking on behalf of its president, Natalia Gorsak, the organization said: "Our message is that we will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest if Israel participates, in commemoration of the 20,000 children who were victims in Gaza."
With American support, Israel launched a war of extermination in Gaza on October 7, 2023, leaving more than 70,000 martyrs and more than 171,000 wounded Palestinians, most of them children and women.
