Netherlands ready to join Eurovision boycott over Israel

On Friday, Irish musician and songwriter Phil Coulter called on the UK to withdraw from Eurovision 2026 if Israel participates.

The BBC – the UK’s Eurovision broadcaster – has so far declined to comment.

Mr Coulter said he was “100% behind RTÉ” in their decision to withdraw from the contest, and that people in the UK and Ireland are both “disgusted by what’s going on in Gaza”.

Coulter has written or co-written several songs for Eurovision, including the UK’s 1967 winning song, Puppet on a String, which singer Jade Thirlwall sampled last year.

RTÉ said it will make a final decision once the Eurovision organiser, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), has done so.

Earlier this year, more than 70 former Eurovision contestants signed a letter calling on the organisers to ban Israel from the 2025 competition.