The Head of the Spanish broadcaster has stated he wishes to see the European Broadcasting Union change the rules of the Eurovision Song Contest to stop countries in conflict from being able to participate.
Speaking yesterday to the Spanish Parliament, the President of RTVE, José Pablo López, is calling for discussions within the EBU to change the rules of the Eurovision Song Contest. He told the Joint Committee that:
“We should open a serious debate once and for all, which I hope we can do in the coming weeks, on reforming the EBU’s statutes so that countries in conflict cannot participate in the next Eurovision Song Contest.”
The Spanish broadcaster is asking for a conversation regarding changes the rules of participation to outline clear criteria for countries participating in the contest when they are involved in an international conflict. Exactly how they expect the rule changes proposed to work has not been explained by José Pablo López.
Currently two countries are competing in the Eurovision Song Contest who are involved in an international conflict. Ukraine is represented by their broadcaster Suspilne, while Israel is represented by KAN. It is not clear whether the rule change being proposed by RTVE would impact both countries.
The Spanish broadcaster RTVE withdrew from competing in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, in opposition at Israel’s continued participation in the competition. It is one of five broadcasters that have pulled out of competing in the 2026 contest.
Source: verTele!
Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest+
Spain debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961 and competed annually until 2026. Spain has won the contest on two occasions. The first time was in 1968, when Massiel sang “La la la”. and the second time was in 1969, when Salomé sang “Vivo cantando”. 1969 is the only year where more than one song has won the contest. The 1969 contest saw a four-way tie between Spain, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.