Israel and Eurovision: Why do countries want to boycott a song contest?

The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the most-watched cultural events worldwide, attracting hundreds of millions of viewers each year.

However, in recent years, rising tensions in global politics have sparked controversy.

Now at least five nations are threatening to pull out if Israel is allowed to take part in next year’s event in Austria – an unprecedented move that could derail the contest.

Pressure is growing internationally for countries to take a firmer stance against Israel amid its ongoing war in Gaza, during which more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023. 

Israel is accused of committing genocide in Gaza by a United Nations commission of inquiry, as well as major human rights organisations. 

Meanwhile, Israeli leaders, including Benjamin Netanyahu, face an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.

Middle East Eye explains everything you need to know about Israeli participation in Eurovision - and what may happen next.

What is the Eurovision Song Contest?

Eurovision is a televised international song competition hosted annually since 1956, in which every participating country submits one original song. In 2025, 36 countries entered, watched by 166m viewers.

Professional juries and the public then vote for a winner, whose country hosts the contest the following year. The contest has launched the careers of Abba, Celine Dion and Julio Iglesias, among others.

Eurovision is organised by the European Broadcast Union (EBU), an alliance of broadcasters formed during the Cold War to unify Western public service media. To take part, countries must have a public broadcaster that is a member of the union. 

Originally restricted to European countries, the contest now includes participants from outside the continent, including Australia and Israel. 

It's a highly lucrative event that generates millions in advertising revenue for broadcasters every year. In 2004, it introduced midweek semi-finals to the grand final held on the Saturday, enhancing its commerciality.

Why does Israel compete in Eurovision?

Israel participates in several cultural and sporting European competitions despite its location in the Levant, a region normally considered part of the Middle East and wider Western Asia. 

Unlike its neighbours, Israel has competed regularly in the Eurovision Song Contest since 1973. 

None of the five territories which Israel borders – Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and occupied Palestine – participate in the European events in which Israel is a mainstay, including international football. 

Israel first entered the competition amid European support that followed the Palestinian attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics, when 11 Israeli athletes and one West German police officer were killed.

Despite not being part of Europe, Israel met the criteria for admission to Eurovision as the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) belonged to the EBU.

The IBA was dismantled in 2017 by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and replaced with a new broadcaster, Kan. The EBU has since expressed concern about Netanyahu’s efforts to either “exert greater direct control over Kan” or sell it to private buyers.

Israel last hosted the contest in 2019 in Tel Aviv, when Icelandic band Hatari held up a pro-Palestine banner, for which the country's broadcaster was fined €5,000 (£4,200) for breaking neutrality rules.

What did Arab countries say about Israel joining Eurovision?

The decision to admit Israel to Eurovision was immediately condemned by Arab states, with Israeli appearances in the contest censored across the region. 

Regional boycotts of the contest also followed: in 2005, Lebanon withdrew its first representative at the contest in line with Lebanese laws prohibiting the promotion of Israel. To date, Morocco’s sole entry in 1980 marks the competition’s only instance of Arab participation.

Turkey previously had a sizeable presence at the contest, not least as it looked to join the EU at the start of the century, and even won in 2003. But it stopped competing after 2012 amid a row about the voting system and later, the inclusion of bearded drag artist Conchita Wurst.

In contrast, Israel won the contest in 1978 (A-Ba-Ni-Bi by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta), 1979 (Hallelujah by Milk and Honey), 1998 (Diva by Dana International), and 2018 (Toy by Netta).

Israel last hosted the contest in 2019 in Tel Aviv, exactly one year after more than 60 Palestinians were killed on the boundary between Gaza and Israel.

The event featured a guest performance by Madonna and was greeted by protests. After the contest, Iceland's broadcaster was fined €5,000 (£4,200) for breaking neutrality rules as Icelandic band Hatari held up a pro-Palestine banner.

What happened at Eurovision in 2024?

In May 2024, seven months after Israel's war on Gaza began, Eurovision arrived in Malmo, Sweden. 

Eden Golan, the Israeli competitor, was scheduled to perform October Rain, but the song's lyrics had to be modified for referencing the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023, during which 1,200 people died, violating the competition’s rules of neutrality.

Over 1,000 artists from the host nation signed a letter in January that year, urging Israel’s exclusion from the contest. Contestants were also pressured to boycott the event, although none did.

However, Dutch contestant Joost Klein was disqualified from the competition following a backstage altercation with a production crew member. The case was investigated by Swedish police but was later closed without charge.

The incident came after an earlier press conference and tensions between Klein and Golan. Additionally, the Irish entry, Bambi Thug, was ordered to remove makeup that spelt “ceasefire".

Amid protests in Malmo, Golan was accompanied by a security detail from Israel’s Shin Bet security agency and told not to leave her hotel.

Ticketholders at the event were permitted to wave the flags of participating nations only – meaning those holding Palestinian flags faced ejection from the venue.

This did not however stop Golan from being booed on stage, while the Belgian broadcast was briefly interrupted by a protest message.

What happened at Eurovision in 2025?

After the Swiss entrant Nemo won in Malmo, Eurovision was held in Basel, Switzerland, in May 2025. Before the competition, more than 70 former contestants signed an open letter urging the EBU to ban Israel and its new national broadcaster, Kan.

“Kan is complicit in Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza and the decades-long regime of apartheid and military occupation against the entire Palestinian people,” the letter said.

“By continuing to platform the representation of the Israeli state, the EBU is normalising and whitewashing its crimes,” the letter continues. 

Israel was represented by Yuav Raphael, who survived the attack by Palestinian gunmen on the Nova festival on 7 October 2023, during which 378 people were killed.

Raphael came second, although afterwards there were accusations of vote manipulation during the public round, with Spain’s national broadcaster requesting an audit of the results. 

Meanwhile, the winner, Austria’s JJ (real name Johannes Pietsch), described Israeli participation at the event as “very disappointing”.

“I would like the next Eurovision to be held in Vienna and without Israel,” Pietsch said.

What has happened since then?

Broadcasters from five European countries – Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain – have said that they will boycott next year’s Eurovision if Israel is allowed to compete (it's worth noting that the governments of these countries were among the earliest in Europe to recognise the state of Palestine).

“We have to ensure that Israel does not take part in the next edition of Eurovision," Spanish Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun said on 15 September following the announcement. 

"Just as Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland and the Netherlands have already done, if we do not succeed in expelling Israel, Spain should not participate."

What has the EBU said?

The EBU has not announced what will happen to Israel next May in Austria.

On 14 September, Israeli website Ynet reported that the EBU had discussed proposals to force Israel to either voluntarily withdraw from the contest, or participate at the event under a neutral flag.

However, the EBU told Middle East Eye in a statement that the Ynet story was "false" and that the broadcaster had made no such suggestion, either officially or unofficially, to Kan (it has already confirmed that it wants to take part).

“The consultation with the wider EBU membership is ongoing and no decisions will be made until the process concludes."

Have other countries been banned from Eurovision?

The EBU has long maintained that Eurovision is an apolitical event. In 2022, it banned Russia after the country invaded Ukraine, stating that a Russian appearance “would bring the competition into disrepute”. 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gave this as an example after he joined calls for Israel’s exclusion in May 2025. 

"Nobody was up in arms when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began three years ago and [Russia] had to leave international competitions and could not take part, as we have just seen, in Eurovision,” Sanchez said.

"Therefore, Israel shouldn't either, because what we cannot allow is double standards in culture."

Other countries to run afoul of neutrality rules at Eurovision include Belarus (2021, for lyrics backing President Alexander Lukashenko), Armenia (2016, for waving the flag of the disputed region Nagorno-Karabakh), and Georgia (2009, for the anti-Russia song We Don’t Wanna Put In).

What happens next? 

This is potentially the biggest headache in Eurovision history.

Spain is one of the “Big Five” Eurovision contestants, which underwrite much of the event’s cost and are guaranteed a place in the finals (the others are the UK, France, Italy and Germany).

But others from the Big Five look unlikely to oppose Israeli participation. Following the Spanish announcement, French broadcaster France Televisions confirmed that it would participate.

“France Televisions is pleased to confirm its participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 on May 16 in Vienna, alongside fellow public service media members of the EBU. The group reaffirms its support for musical creation, to artists, and for this unique event.” That view has also been echoed by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Far from backing the boycott, Germany and Italy allegedly threatened to withdraw from the contest if Israel was excluded without clear legal grounds, according to Israel’s former Eurovision delegate Amir Alon.

“Eurovision was founded to bring nations together through music. Excluding Israel today goes against this fundamental idea and turns a celebration of understanding between peoples into a tribunal,” German Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer said in a statement on 20 September.

Tim Davie, director general of the BBC, which broadcasts the event in the UK, said: "Eurovision has never been about politics. It should be a celebration of music and culture that brings people together. We need to see what the broadcast union decides."

With deadlines to confirm attendance extended, other broadcasters have until December to apply to next year’s event.