Following speculation that RTVSLO would withdraw entirely from Eurovision 2026, the President of the RTVSLO board, Natalija Gorščak has explained that it will compete should Israel be excluded.
Following the publication of the draft programming plan for RTVSLO in 2026, there was speculation that the broadcaster intended to withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest fully. The speculation was based on the programming plan excluding any mention of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.
President of the RTVSLO board, Natalija Gorščak, has now confirmed that should Israel be excluded from the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, they will compete in the contest in Vienna. She told RTVSLO that:
“However, if next week, on Thursday, when the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) General Assembly is scheduled to vote on whether Israel will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest or not, it turns out that Israel will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, then we will propose to the council a change to the program-production plan and we will of course participate in this festival,”
RTVSLO (Slovenia), RTÉ (Ireland), AVROTROS (Netherlands) and RTVE (Spain) have all stated that they would not compete if Israel takes part in the 70th Eurovision Song Contest.
Image source: Sarah Louise Bennett/ EBU | Source: RTVSLO
Slovenia was one of three countries to join the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993. The country qualified through a specially organised selection round called “Kvalifikacija za Millstreet” which was hosted in Slovenia, seven countries competed for three spots in Eurovision 1993. The country has participated in 22 editions of the Eurovision Song Contest. Their best result came in 1995 when Darja Švajger finished 7th scoring a total of 84 points. She is closely followed by Nuša Derenda who finished 7th in the 2001 contest with 70 points.
