Israel Remains in Eurovision as Four Countries Immediately Withdraw

Activists have attempted for months to pressure the EBU to punish Israel over the war launched by Hamas.

By United with Israel Staff

Israel secured its place in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest on Thursday after the European Broadcasting Union concluded that there was no basis to exclude the country from the competition.

The decision followed a secret ballot at the EBU General Assembly in Geneva, where representatives from fifty six member states reviewed updated rules for next year’s contest and ultimately rejected efforts by a small group of broadcasters to force a vote on Israel’s removal. The outcome reaffirmed a long standing principle that Eurovision is a contest between public broadcasters and not a political tribunal, and that Israel’s broadcaster Kan continues to meet every requirement for participation.

The meeting in Geneva focused primarily on a comprehensive rules package introduced for the 2026 contest. The reforms include new voting safeguards, a reduction in the number of audience votes per viewer, the return of national juries to the semifinals, an expanded seven member jury that now must include younger jurors, and upgraded security tools to strengthen confidence in the results.

Members were asked to vote in a secret ballot on whether these measures adequately addressed concerns about voting integrity, and a large majority concluded that they did. This meant that no additional vote on participation was necessary. As a result, calls to remove Israel never advanced to the floor, and the contest will proceed as planned in Vienna.

Immediately after the announcement, Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Slovenia declared that they would boycott next year’s event. Their statements came only once it became clear that Israel would remain in the competition, highlighting that their decisions were political gestures rather than responses to any procedural or technical issues within Eurovision itself.

While activists have attempted for months to pressure the EBU to punish Israel over the war launched by Hamas, the organization maintained throughout the year that Eurovision must not be turned into a political weapon. The EBU repeatedly underscored that Kan complies fully with all participation rules and reminded members that Eurovision has always included broadcasters from across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, ranging from Jordan and Tunisia to Morocco and Egypt.

The EBU’s decision represents a clear setback for efforts to isolate Israel on the cultural stage. Despite loud protests and coordinated campaigns, most broadcasters chose fairness over politics and rejected attempts to hijack the competition for ideological purposes. The organization also emphasized that unlike Russia or Belarus, which were removed for violating core EBU principles, Israel has consistently upheld all obligations expected of a member broadcaster.

With the matter settled, preparations for Eurovision 2026 will continue without interruption. Israel is expected to take part fully, and Kan is already preparing for the selection process. The result from Geneva sends a strong message that broadcasting institutions will not allow external pressure groups to dictate cultural participation. Instead, Eurovision will move forward with its commitment to openness and artistic celebration, and Israel will remain a central and welcome part of the competition.