This year\u2019s event is set to take place next month Vienna, Austria, with continuing controversy<\/a> over the decision to allow Israel<\/a> to participate. The competition in May will mark the third consecutive year that Israel has taken part.<\/p>\n On Tuesday (21 April), a letter organised by No Music for Genocide and the BDS movement called on fans and performers to boycott Eurovision unless the European Broadcasting Union<\/a> (EBU) bans Israel\u2019s public broadcast KAN from the contest.<\/p>\n \u201cAs musicians and cultural workers, many living within the reaches of the [EBU], we reject Eurovision being used to whitewash and normalise Israel\u2019s genocide, siege and brutal military occupation against Palestinians,\u201d the letter states, in part. <\/p>\n \u201cWe stand in solidarity with Palestinian calls for public broadcasters, performers, screening party organisers, crew, and fans to boycott Eurovision until the EBU bans complicit Israeli broadcaster KAN.\u201d<\/p>\n Organisers applauded the five countries \u2013 Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Slovenia and the Netherlands \u2013 for withdrawing from this year\u2019s contest in protest over Israel\u2019s participation, as well as \u201cthe many national selection finalists committing to refuse to go to Eurovision\u201d.<\/p>\n They later added: \u201cAs artists, we recognise our collective agency \u2013 and the power of refusal. We refuse to be silent. We refuse to be complicit. We call on others in our industry to join us. And we stand in solidarity with all principled efforts to end complicity in every industry.\u201d<\/p>\n The letter has been signed by Brian Eno, a longtime supporter of the BDS movement, along with Bristol trip-hop group Massive Attack, pop singer Paloma Faith, rock musician Paul Weller, Peter Gabriel, Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap, electronic group Hot Chip, rock band IDLES, musician Nadine Shah, Roger Waters and rapper Macklemore, among others.<\/p>\n Israel has consistently denied that it is committing genocide in Gaza,<\/a> framing its attacks as self-defence against Hamas following the 7 October 2023 attacks. <\/p>\n In September 2025, a UN inquiry concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. In March, Israel\u2019s parliament passed a law approving the death penalty for Palestinians <\/a>convicted of murdering Israelis, a measure condemned by Israel and Palestinian rights groups <\/a>who branded it racist and draconian.<\/p>\n Dahlia Scheindlin, an Israeli analyst and visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, told The Guardian last year that a Eurovision boycott could have significant impact. <\/p>\n \u201cIt is a cultural phenomenon in Israel,\u201d she said. \u201cThey love it. It\u2019s seen as a total source of national pride that Israel participates and does a good job and has occasionally won. I don\u2019t have a precedent for how Israel would react if they were kicked out.\u201d <\/p>\n Eurovision is the world\u2019s biggest music event, attracting 166 million viewers last year \u2013 more than the Super Bowl halftime show and the Grammy Awards combined \u2013 when it was held in Basel, Switzerland. <\/p>\n Last year\u2019s Eurovision final was particularly tense; Austrian entry JJ won with his song \u201cWasted Love\u201d, narrowly beating Israel\u2019s singer Yuval Raphael.<\/p>\n The EBU has repeatedly defended its decision to allow Israel to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest<\/a>, despite allegations of hypocrisy after it banned Russia in 2022<\/a> in response to its invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n It did not hold a vote on Israel\u2019s participation for 2026, instead asking broadcasters to vote on whether to introduce new rules designed to prevent governments and third parties from disproportionately promoting songs to influence voters. <\/p>\n In a statement issued after its general assembly on 5 December 2025, it said a \u201clarge majority\u201d of members had agreed that there was no need for a further vote on participation, and that \u201cthe Eurovision Song Contest 2026 should proceed as planned, with the additional safeguards in place\u201d. <\/p>\n This includes a change to the public voting system after the Israel government was accused of breaking the spirit of the contest\u2019s rules by encouraging citizens abroad to use their 20 allotted votes for Raphael. <\/p>\n In future contests, including the 2026 event, no viewer will be permitted to cast more than 10 votes on the night. <\/p>\n![\"Eurovision](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2268781773.jpg\")
Eurovision is taking place in Vienna, Austria, this year (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Pro-Palestine](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2215029858.jpg\")
Pro-Palestine protestors in Basel, Switzerland, ahead of the 2025 Eurovision final (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Israel](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2215006124.jpg\")
Israel was represented last year by Yuval Raphael (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n