Eurovision members to vote on Israel’s participation in November
Members of the European Broadcasting Union will take a vote in November to determine whether Israel will participate in the Eurovision Song competition next year.
“A vote will be held to participate in the European Song 2026 competition in an extraordinary meeting of the EBU General Assembly, which will be held online in early November,” EBU spokesman told Reuters On Friday, he made it clear that the vote is to determine whether the Israeli public broadcaster Kan will be allowed to participate.
Israel’s participation in Eurovision has become a question about the ongoing war in Gaza, where many broadcasters threaten to withdraw from the event if Israel competes. On September 16, the Spanish broadcaster RTVE voted to withdraw from the competition, which is scheduled to be held in Vienna next May, in the event of Israel’s participation. Ireland, the Netherlands, Iceland and Slovenia also made similar statements.
In a letter sent to EBU members on Thursday as I mentioned before GuardianPresident Dolphin Ernot Kony wrote that there is an “unprecedented diversity of opinions” on whether Israel should be allowed to participate, so the issue will require “a broader democratic basis.”
In a statement, he said he was hoping that “the European song competition will continue to support its cultural and non -political identity.”
The statement continued that the exclusion was “would be particularly disturbing before the seventieth release of the song competition, which was established as a symbol of unity, solidarity and fellowship. Any -such step can have widespread effects on the competition and the values on which EBU stands.”
Since the current conflict began in Gaza after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 on Israel, it has faced the country’s participation in Eurovision opposition. In 2024, thousands gathered in Malmo, Sweden in protest against Israel’s participation and Basel earlier this year, the demonstrators tried to rush on the stage to disrupt the performance of the Israeli singer Yuval Rafael.
As a result of the dispute over the participation of Israel, the deadline for the final assurance of the participation has already been transferred to December.