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<\/p>\nThe EBU said members backed new rules intended to discourage governments and third parties from disproportionately promoting songs to sway voters after allegations that Israel unfairly boosted its entrant this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis vote means that all EBU Members who wish to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 and agree to comply with the new rules are eligible to take part,\u201d the EBU said.<\/p>\n
The issue has sharply divided participants in the competition, which has a history of entanglement in national rivalries, international issues, and political voting.<\/p>\n
The Dutch broadcaster said it had concluded \u201cthat under the current circumstances participation cannot be reconciled with the public values that are fundamental to our organisation\u201d.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s President Isaac Herzog thanked his country\u2019s supporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am pleased that Israel will once again participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, and I hope that the competition will remain one that champions culture, music, friendship between nations, and cross-border cultural understanding,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Singer Yuval Raphael, from Israel, holds the national flag during a rehearsal for this year\u2019s contest.Credit: AP<\/p>\n
The war in Gaza has also exposed rifts in the European broadcasting world. Austria, which is set to host the competition after Viennese singer JJ won this year with Wasted Love, supports Israel\u2019s participation.<\/p>\n
Germany, a major Eurovision backer, had said it would not take part if Israel were barred.<\/p>\n
Before the decision, Israeli public broadcaster KAN said it was preparing for next year\u2019s contest.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s 2025 entrant, Yuval Raphael, was at the Nova music festival, one of the targets of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.<\/p>\n
About 1200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in the assault by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, according to Israeli tallies. More than 70,000 people have been killed in Gaza in the ensuing conflict, according to health authorities in the enclave.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s government has repeatedly defended its campaign as a response to the attack.<\/p>\n
Eurovision \u2013 the feel-good pop music gala that draws more than 100 million viewers every year \u2013 has been roiled by the war in Gaza for the past two years.<\/p>\n
The contest \u2013 the 70th edition of which is scheduled for Vienna in May \u2013 pits acts from dozens of nations against one another for the continent\u2019s musical crown.<\/p>\n
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It strives to put pop before politics, but has repeatedly been embroiled in world events. Russia was expelled in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
The war in Gaza has been its greatest challenge, with pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrating against Israel outside the last two Eurovision contests in Basel, Switzerland, in May and Malmo, Sweden, in 2024.<\/p>\n
Eurovision expert Dean Vuletic said that a boycott by any EU member country would be significant because they are \u201cnot dictatorships\u201d and are meant, like Israel, to share values of democracy, human rights and diversity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be the biggest boycott of Eurovision ever. There have been boycotts in the past, but they have been usually bilateral,\u201d said Vuletic, author of Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest.<\/p>\n
The fallout from a boycott could affect viewership and revenue at a time when many broadcasters are under financial pressure from government funding cuts and the advent of social media.<\/p>\n
The countries walking away include some big names in the Eurovision world.<\/p>\n
Spain is one of the \u201cBig Five\u201d large-market countries that contribute the most to the contest. Ireland has won seven times, a record it shares with Sweden.<\/p>\n
The controversy over Israel\u2019s 2026 participation threatens to overshadow the return next year of three countries \u2013 Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania \u2013 after periods of absence because of financial and artistic reasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no winners here. Regardless of what happens \u2013 whether Israel is in or out, whether countries stay or go \u2014 it\u2019s not what Eurovision should be. It\u2019s meant to be joyous and about bringing people together despite our politics,\u201d Jordan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, it\u2019s become, I think, a bit of a political football.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reuters, AP<\/p>\n