Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and Netherlands boycott Eurovision over Israeli participation • FRANCE 24

New day will rise. These Israeli Eurovision fans could not contain their joy at learning that their country would be allowed to compete in next year’s competition. Obviously, the more countries, the marrier for any competition like Eurovvision, but obviously it’s sad to know that, you know, different countries decided not to participate based on the vote because they wanted Israel to be excluded. On Thursday, the organizer of Euro Vision, the European Broadcasting Union, left Israel’s participation in the 2026 contest unchanged. That prompted public broadcasters in Spain, Slovenia, the Netherlands, and Ireland to announce they were pulling out, having already demanded that Israel be banned from the competition because of the war in Gaza. Spain is one of the five largest financial contributors to Eurovision. And fans in Madrid say they stood by their country’s decision to boycott the contest. I think it’s great since Eurovision doesn’t take steps to remove a genocidal violent country that causes wars from its festival. It’s good Spain’s pulled out in protest and hopefully more countries will join. Honestly, I think it’s quite right because if other countries like Russia can’t participate in Eurovvision because of past wars, then for this genocide against Palestine, it seems quite right to withdraw if Israel stays in the contest. This year, Israel’s second place win by Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the October 7th attacks, came after a surge of public votes despite little backing from professional juries and has since prompted the organizer to reduce by half the number of votes each member of the public can cast. Over the years, Eurovvision has tried to remain apolitical, but Russia has been excluded from the contest since its full invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Bellarus since 2021. Eurovvision 2026 is set to take place in Vienna next May.

Public broadcasters in Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia have pulled out of next year’s Eurovision Song Contest after organisers decided to allow Israel to compete, putting political discord on center stage over a usually joyful celebration of music.

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27 comments

  10. Wait…
    The same people that swear up and down that they aren’t European colonists, want to be in Eurovision, and other Middle Eastern countries aren’t allowed in?
    Okay guys… 😏😒

  15. as ITALIAN AN UNSPEAKABLE SHAME: 𝐈𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟕𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟐-𝟏𝟔, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔, 𝐢𝐧 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐚. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐑𝐀𝐈, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡, 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧, "𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐢 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧" In recent hours, Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Slovenia had announced their boycott in protest.

    "As a member of the Big Five," explains the statement released by RAI, "Italy has always been among the countries that have believed in and invested in the Eurovision Song Contest, contributing significantly, including financially, to its development and international success. In recent years, our commitment has grown steadily, demonstrating the value we place on an event that represents the longest-running international music festival, capable of uniting diverse cultures in a shared celebration. RAI's commitment to the competition confirms its desire to strengthen Italy's role in promoting music, culture, and entertainment internationally."

  27. In 2023, Spain exported US$4.46 million worth of arms, ammunition, parts, and accessories to Turkey, including bombs, grenades, and munitions valued at $3.74 million. This included parts for military weapons ($640K), revolvers/pistols ($71K), and other arms ($5K). In 2024, exports of military weapons (excluding revolvers and pistols) reached US$2.19 million.​

    Spain became Turkey's largest arms supplier in 2020-2024, accounting for 34% of Turkey's arms imports. Trade data from the UN COMTRADE database confirms ongoing exports, with updates through mid-2025. Historical cooperation includes ammunition, air defense systems, and armored vehicles. TURKEY = HAMAS, ISIS & MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD. SPAIN = CRIMINAL!!!

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