Related storyFrom Benidorm to Eurovision 2025: Melody will represent Spain with “Esa diva”<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The decision adds pressure ahead of the EBU\u2019s General Assembly on 4\u20135 December in Geneva, where Israel\u2019s eligibility is expected to be discussed. The EBU has extended the window for broadcasters to confirm or withdraw participation without penalty until mid-December.<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s government has publicly backed a hard line. Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun said in an interview on RNE on Monday:<\/p>\n \u2013 We have to ensure that Israel does not participate in the next edition of Eurovision.<\/p>\n Other broadcasters’ stance<\/p>\n Several public broadcasters have already set conditions for 2026:<\/p>\n Ireland (RT\u00c9) <\/a> formal statement: Ireland will not take part if Israel competes. Netherlands (AVROTROS) <\/a> official announcement: no participation as long as Israel is admitted by the EBU. Slovenia (RTVSLO) <\/a> participation under review and contingent on EBU decisions; broadcaster has linked its decision to EBU moves on Israel and voting transparency. Iceland (R\u00daV) <\/a> has reserved the right to withdraw; senior staff say it is unlikely Iceland will participate if Israel does. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, the EBU has denied reports that Israel had been asked to compete under a neutral flag or withdraw temporarily, saying no such decision has been made.<\/p>\n The EBU\u2019s General Assembly on 4\u20135 December 2025 will be crucial. Broadcasters then have until mid-December to finalize their stance for Vienna 2026 without financial penalty. Spain\u2019s decision means that, unless the EBU bars Israel, RTVE is prepared to sit out Eurovision 2026.<\/p>\n Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest <\/a><\/p>\n Spain has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 64 times since their debut in 1961<\/a>. They have won twice: in 1968<\/a> (La, La, La…<\/a>) and the following year, 1969<\/a> (Vivo Cantando<\/a>).<\/p>\n Spain 1969: Salom\u00e9 – “Vivo Cantando”<\/p>\n Spain is a member of the “Big-5,” which means they don’t have to go through the Semi-final round and are automatically qualified for the Grand Final. Spain is also a member of “club zero” because they have managed to get zero points 3 times. They have finished in last place 5 times in Eurovision history, the latest coming in 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n Spain 1969: Salom\u00e9 – “Vivo Cantando”<\/p>\n Spain’s best-known song is probably “Eres T\u00fa<\/a>” from Eurovision 1973<\/a> (2nd place, only four points away from victory<\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spain will not participate in Eurovision 2026 if Israel is allowed to compete. RTVE, Spain\u2019s national public broadcaster,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[21298,21296,93,21295,17948,61,60,3410,21297,2846,282,21299,21300],"class_list":{"0":"post-25020","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-benidorm-fest","9":"tag-ebu","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-esc","12":"tag-eurovision","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-israel","16":"tag-rtve","17":"tag-spain","18":"tag-tv","19":"tag-vienna-2026","20":"tag-withdrawal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Spain](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/spain-2025-melody-8_t.jpg\" "\\"Spain")
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