Wait, didn’t Israel rig the vote last year?

There were raised eyebrows when Israel steamed into second place thanks to the televote – and actually looked like they might win the whole thing for a moment. Several nations, including Ireland, Spain and Belgium, then demanded that Eurovision organisers investigate the voting system.

It was subsequently established that the Israeli government had run advertising campaigns to encourage public votes, and that ads in 2025 received more than 68 million impressions. In response, the contest has introduced new rules: entrants and broadcasters are banned from taking part in third-party promotional campaigns (including those run by governments), and fans are now only able to cast 10 votes each instead of 20.

Martin Green, director of Eurovision, said: “One of the clearest messages we received was the need to strengthen trust in the fairness of the contest.” He added that “governments do not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, artists do.” To quote Ian Fletcher: “So that’s all good then.”

Ah, yes. Despite Green’s chipper hand-waving, it seems a few nations are still livid about Israel being in the contest at all – let alone their determined get-out-the-vote efforts. In September last year, Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Iceland and Slovenia threatened to boycott Eurovision unless Israel was excluded. In response, Austria and Germany said they would quit if Israel was chucked out, leaving organisers – who, lest we forget, wish us to be “united by music” – with a miserable dilemma.

They tackled that head on by announcing they would have an emergency vote on Israel’s participation in November… and then cancelling said vote following the ceasefire in Gaza. Alas, that did not appease the anti-Israel brigade, and those countries (Spain – which is normally one of the “Big Five” – Ireland, the Netherlands, Iceland and Slovenia) are now officially boycotting Eurovision. It’s the largest number of boycotting countries in the history of the contest.

What about the UK?

The UK is still taking part – despite some furious opposition. In April more than 12,000 people signed a Palestine Solidarity Campaign petition urging Sam Battle to boycott.

Meanwhile the campaign group No Music for Genocide has released an open letter urging public broadcasters, performers, fans and more to boycott. The letter asks why Russia remains banned from the contest – after organisers said its presence would “bring the competition into disrepute” – but “the same standard” has not been applied to Israel. It’s signed by the likes of Brian Eno, Kneecap, Paul Weller, Paloma Faith, Massive Attack, Sigur Rós, and Primal Scream.

Who else is protesting?

Nemo, who won the contest for Switzerland in 2024, has handed back their trophy in protest at Israel taking part. The non-binary singer released a statement on Instagram, writing: “This is not about individuals or artists. It’s about the fact that the contest was repeatedly used to soften ⁠the image of a state accused of severe wrongdoing, all while the EBU insists that this contest is non-political.”

Dana International, who won Eurovision for Israel in Birmingham in 1998, has, in turn, denounced the boycotting nations, calling it a “violent and insulting” decision that added “only hatred and harm”. Once again, a reminder: united by music!

Yes, Russia is still banned. At the time of writing, no one is protesting that decision.

Will there be extra security at Eurovision 2026?

Oh yes. Vienna police are coordinating with contest officials to ensure the safety of the area around the Wiener Stadthalle, and conducting weekly threat assessments. Around 250 staff members from Vienna police and the interior ministry are working on security planning, and specialised teams, including explosive detection dog units, will likely be deployed in the run-up to the contest. There will also be background checks run on suppliers and staff, checks done on spectators, and airport-style security measures at the fan zones across the city.

Awkward. Mills was due to commentate on the Eurovision semi-finals and on the final on Radio 2 (as he has done since 2011), but was sacked by the BBC last month due to allegations of “serious sexual offences” against a teenage boy between 1997 and 2000. So no, he definitely won’t be part of the Eurovision team. The Sun has reported that Mills will be succeeded in his Eurovision role by Sara Cox, joining fellow commentator Rylan Clark.