{"id":300184,"date":"2025-12-05T09:22:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T09:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/300184\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T09:22:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T09:22:09","slug":"bbc-eurovision-2026-uk-broadcaster-backs-decision-to-let-israel-join-contest-as-four-countries-pledge-to-boycott-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/300184\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC-Eurovision 2026: UK broadcaster backs decision to let Israel join contest as four countries pledge to boycott event"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The BBC is backing a decision to let Israel take part in next year\u2019s Eurovision<\/a> song contest after a string of countries and their broadcasters pledged to boycott the event.<\/p>\n

Ireland<\/a>, Spain,<\/a> the Netherlands<\/a> and Slovenia<\/a> say they will not take part in the 2026 competition because the European Broadcasting Union<\/a> (EBU) cleared the way for the country to compete. <\/p>\n

A row had blown up over whether Israel should be allowed to join the contest amid its conduct in the war in Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The EBU backed away from calling a vote on Israeli participation, and instead passed rules aimed at discouraging governments from influencing the contest.<\/p>\n

A BBC spokesperson said: \u201cWe support the collective decision made by members of the EBU. This is about enforcing the rules of the EBU and being inclusive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Conservatives said it was \u201cabsolutely right\u201d for Israel to be part of Eurovision.<\/p>\n

Shadow culture secretary Nigel Huddleston said: \u201cIt is deeply concerning to see so many countries choosing to boycott the event because of Israel\u2019s inclusion. Music should be a uniting force, not a tool to be weaponised for political ends.<\/p>\n

\"Austrian<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Austrian singer Johannes Pietsch, known as JJ, after winning the 2025 grand final (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe trust the government will clearly rule out joining or legitimising this boycott in any capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Government minister Alison McGovern said it will be \u201creally sad\u201d if Eurovision is not a \u201cjoyful occasion\u201d. <\/p>\n

She told Times Radio: \u201cEurovision is run by an independent organisation, the European Broadcasting Union, so this is really one for them, sure. It is not an issue that the government would normally interfere in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m personally not a massive Eurovision fan, but when Eurovision came to Liverpool, it was wonderful for everybody.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think it\u2019s really sad if we\u2019re in this position where Eurovision can\u2019t just be this joyful occasion, but it\u2019s for the European Broadcasting Union to take decisions over in the first instance.\u201d<\/p>\n

By contrast, Irish national broadcaster RTE says it will not broadcast the song contest, describing Israel\u2019s participation as \u201cunconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n

The RTE statement said: \u201cFollowing today\u2019s EBU winter general assembly in Geneva at which Israel\u2019s participation in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest was confirmed, RTE\u2019s position remains unchanged.<\/p>\n

\u201cRTE will not participate in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, nor will RTE broadcast the competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cRTE feels that Ireland\u2019s participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk.<\/p>\n

\"Several<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Several countries have said they will not perform at next year\u2019s Eurovision (AP)<\/p>\n

\u201cRTE remains deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza during the conflict and the continued denial of access to international journalists to the territory.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2026 contest will be held in Vienna after a narrow victory by Austria\u2019s act, JJ, with \u201cWasted Love\u201d, beat Israeli singer Yuval Raphael, who was runner-up after receiving the largest number of votes from the public combined with the jury votes.<\/p>\n

After the decision to allow Israel to compete, the country\u2019s president, Isaac Herzog, wrote on social media: \u201cIsrael deserves to be represented on every stage around the world, a cause to which I am fully and actively committed.\u201d <\/p>\n

In September, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia all threatened to withdraw unless Israel was excluded.<\/p>\n

Russia was banned from Eurovision after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but Israel has continued to compete for the past two years despite disputes.<\/p>\n

Dutch broadcaster Avrotros also announced that it would not broadcast the competition, saying it would be \u201cincompatible with the public values that are essential to us\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Spain,<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Spain, represented by Melody this year, is one of the four nations set to boycott next year\u2019s contest (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

Taco Zimmerman, chief executive, said: \u201cThis was not an easy decision, and we didn\u2019t make it lightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Eurovision Song Contest is incredibly valuable to us. Culture unites, but not at all costs. What happened last year touches our boundaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cUniversal values like humanity and a free press have been seriously violated and are non-negotiable for us. Furthermore, last year\u2019s political interference demonstrated that the independence and unifying nature of the Eurovision Song Contest can no longer be taken for granted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe choose the core values of Avrotros and, as a public broadcaster, have the responsibility to remain true to these values, even when that is complicated or vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dutch public broadcasting organisation NPO will continue to ensure that next year\u2019s Eurovision Song Contest will remain available for Dutch viewers and fans.<\/p>\n

Slovenian broadcaster RTV said it was pulling out of the competition \u201con behalf of the 20,000 children who died in Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n

In her address to members before the decision, Natalija Gorsack, RTV Slovenia board chair, said: \u201cFor the third year in a row, the public has demanded that we say no to the participation of any country that attacks another country. We must follow European standards for peace and understanding.<\/p>\n

\u201cEurovision has been a place for joy and happiness from the very beginning, performers and audiences have been united by music, and it should remain that way.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur journalists were not and still are not allowed to enter Gaza, where more than 200 journalists were killed. Last year we saw that the Israeli performance was political. Don\u2019t forget that we banned a similar performance by a Russian singer in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur message is: we will not participate in the European Song Contest if Israel is there. On behalf of the 20,000 children who died in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated against Israel\u2019s inclusion near a free concert in the centre of Basel when the 2025 competition took place.<\/p>\n

Germany, a major Eurovision backer, had said it would not take part if Israel were barred. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300185,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[96,391,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-300184","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-tv","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}