🇪🇸 Spain: RTVE Considers Rule Changes Insufficient & Maintains Position on Israel’s Eurovision Participation

The president of RTVE, José Pablo López appeared in front of the Joint Parliamentary Control Committee of the Corporation, outlining RTVE’s stance regarding Eurovision 2026.

RTVE has reaffirmed that it will withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 should Israel compete in the Eurovision Song Contest. He reconfirmed that:

“RTVE’s position remains unchanged: We have maintained the same position for months, which is that Israel’s presence is untenable…we are talking about a genocide in Gaza, and that Eurovision is a competition, but human rights are not a competition.”

José Pablo López highlighted in his comments to the committee that:

“Israel has broken the rules and has not been sanctioned for at least the last two years. Any other country that had engaged in this practice would have been sanctioned.”

With regards to the changes to the rules which were announced by the European Broadcasting Union, Mr López was clear:

“The measures are not enough and do not guarantee that a government like Israel’s or any other government cannot occur.”

He added that:

“Martin Green, the Eurovision Director, recently wrote a letter stating that television networks and artists do not represent governments and that this is a cultural competition.

I wonder, is Mr. Green considering the return of Russian and Belarusian broadcasters to the festival? I hope not, because we all know that if those networks return, they would use it in a similar way to Israel, because for them, the contest is much more than just a competition and has a very significant political dimension. 

The EBU knows that these measures are a step forward, but they are not enough, and above all, as I have said, they leave Israel’s actions during this period unsanctioned. More measures are necessary, and that will be the proposal we will take to the next General Assembly, which will be held on the 4th and 5th.

What we were asking for 4 or 5 months ago is the same thing we are asking for again today.”

RTVE is the first broadcaster to publicly state that it does not believe that the rule changes being introduced for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 are enough. The Governing Body of RTVE previously voted in September that should Israel be allowed to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, they would withdraw.

The European Broadcasting Union explained last week that the changes to the rules have been approved by the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group and will be monitored and reviewed following the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. EBU members “will be asked to consider this package of measures and safeguards and decide if they are sufficient to meet their concerns around participation without having a vote on the topic.”

In a statement to SVT, Dave Goodman, a spokesperson for the EBU, confirmed that:

“We hope that the package of measures assures members that we have taken strong measures to protect the neutrality and impartiality of the competition going forward. Only if they believe that the measures are not sufficient will there be a vote on who is allowed to compete.”

Melody represented Spain at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Basel with her song “Esa Diva”. She finished in 24th place in the Grand Final with 37 points.

Image Source: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU | Source: Eurovision Spain / RTVE

Spain debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961 and has competed annually since, making them the longest participating country that has never withdrawn. Spain has won the contest on two occasions. The first time was in 1968, when Massiel sang “La la la”. and the second time was in 1969, when Salomé sang “Vivo cantando”. 1969 is the only year where more than one song has won the contest. The 1969 contest saw a four-way tie between Spain, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

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