Song Contest in crisis

Not only Israel: further exclusion demanded

Ukraine came ninth in this year's Song Contest with the band Ziferblat and the song "Bird of Pray".(Bild: AFP)

The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is increasingly becoming a political issue. Following a heated debate between the 68 members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in Vienna on Thursday, Israel will be allowed to take part in the ESC 2026 in Vienna. Some countries reacted with a huff and canceled their participation. Now Spain is even bringing the exclusion of another country into play ...

The fronts are currently quite hardened: Spain, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Ireland are vehemently demanding the exclusion of Israel and have announced their definite rejection. Iceland, Belgium and Finland, for example, are also considered to be shaky candidates. Resistance is also forming in Italy. The Swedish broadcaster SVT withdrew its reservations after Israel's participation was announced.

Germany threatens to cancel if Israel is excluded
Most of the (potential) boycott countries cite the high number of Palestinian victims in the Gaza war as the reason. At the same time, there are rumors that Germany is considering staying away if Israel is not allowed to participate. On the other hand, ORF Director General Roland Weißmann and local political leaders reacted positively to Israel's admission.

Spain apparently also rails against Ukraine
According to the Spanish newspaper "20 Minutos", a further demand by the Spanish delegation, which does not only concern Israel, is now providing additional fuel. "Spanish television suggested that countries in conflict, not just Israel, but also others such as Russia and even Ukraine, which won after the invasion due to a wave of solidarity and presumably not just because of their music, should not be allowed to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest - or should have to perform without a flag," writes "20 Minutos". An official appearance under a neutral flag has so far only been seen from Russian or Belarusian athletes at major events.

Spanish television suggested that countries in conflict should not be allowed to take part in the ESC.

Auszug aus der spanischen Zeitung „20 Minutos“

Spain one of the most important ESC donors
Ukraine is at war with Russia in 2014. Russia was famously banned from the competition in 2022. Spain's non-participation would be a huge loss for the ESC. Like Germany, France, Italy and the UK, Spain is one of the most important financial backers of the ESC, which will be hosted by ORF on 16 May 2026. According to the latest official figures, RTVE paid almost 335,000 euros for the broadcasting and participation rights in 2024. Spanish viewers have also been among the most passionate fans of the competition to date.

Ukraine came ninth in this year's Song Contest with the band Ziferblat and the song "Bird of Pray".(Bild: AFP)

Spanish broadcaster RTVE also reacted with harsh words to the decision to allow Israel to take part in the ESC. "This decision reinforces RTVE's mistrust of the organization of the festival and confirms the political pressure it is under", "20 Minutos" quotes the RTVE managers.

The management of the EBU and Eurovision are causing one of the greatest internal tensions in the history of the organization.

Alfonso Morales, Generalsekretär des spanischen Rundfunks RTVE

New package of measures secures countries' participation
However, the proponents of exclusion are currently in a bad position. At the meeting at the EBU headquarters in Geneva on Thursday, a package of rule changes that had already been communicated in advance was adopted to ensure the impartiality of the competition. This means that all EBU members who wish to participate may not be prevented from doing so. This practically clears the way for Israel and Ukraine.

The Israeli participant Yuval Raphael will represent her country at the ESC in Vienna.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/HARALD SCHNEIDER, AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

ORF reacts relatively calmly to the current dispute and is surprised by Spain's rigorous approach. "It was a very civilized discussion on Thursday, in which the exclusion of Ukraine was not an issue from the Spanish side either," the broadcaster told the "Krone".

The Song Contest

• The Eurovision Song Contest is considered the biggest music show in the world. 160 million people watched the final in 2025. It is the largest and most spectacular music competition, which has been held annually since 1956. The five major sponsor countries of the ESC ("Big Five") include Spain, Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy.
• After winning in 2025, Austria will be the host next year (May 16). The organizer is the ORF. The venue is Vienna.
• Both the ORF - and Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) - show little understanding for boycott announcements from several European countries because of Israel. Ludwig said he was generally "skeptical about boycotting artists - especially when it concerns their origin."
• In a statement, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) assumes that around 35 broadcasters will take part. The EBU intends to publish the final list of participants before Christmas.

New countries confirmed: ORF hopes for record number of participants
The four "rebels" who do not want to participate because of Israel will also be contacted by December 10. "But with Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria confirmed as well as the interest of Canada, the field of participants has been expanded," says ORF. In general, Weißmann is optimistic that a record number of participating countries will be able to take part despite the debate. This means that the previous record number of 43 countries will be surpassed.

Final list of participants before Christmas
The EBU intends to present the final list of all participating countries before Christmas. Only then will it really be clear who will actually be taking part in the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna. The two semi-finals will take place on May 12 and 14 and the grand final on May 16 in Vienna's Stadthalle. The ORF Director General had expressed confidence in advance that a record number of countries would be able to take part.