Spain becomes the first country among the 'Big Five', the five largest contributors to Eurovision, to formalise its withdrawal from the contest if Israel does not withdraw.
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Spain will withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026 if Israel takes part in the event, Spanish state broadcaster RTVE decided today. This makes Spain the first country among the contest's so-called "Big Five", which are the five largest contributers to the competition - and therefore automatically qualify for the contest's final round - to officially declare its withdrawl should Israel be kept on the line-up.
Spain is the fifth country to announce its decision to boycott Israel's participation, following prior announcements made by the Netherlands, Slovenia, Iceland and Ireland.
The country's withdrawal, proposed by the President of the public broadcaster, José Pablo López, was approved by a majority of the RTVE board of directors, with 10 votes in favour, four against, and one abstention.
This follows comments made last week by Ernest Urtasun, the Spanish Minister for Culture, who has stated that Spain should withdraw from Eurovision 2026 if Israel is not excluded from the contest.
During an interview on La hora de La 1 on TVE, Urtasun said that Israel’s participation in the contest cannot be tolerated.
“Events like Eurovision or the Vuelta a España (the annual multi-stage road cycling race) bring a certain representation of a country,” he said, referring to protests against the cycling team Israel-Premier Tech during the current edition of the race.
He continued: “In Eurovision’s case, it is not an individual artist who participates but someone who participates on behalf of that country’s citizens.”
Urtasun specified that it is not antisemitic to denounce the “genocide” taking place in Gaza and described Israel as a “genocidal government.”
López also previously sent a letter last year to the organisers of the competition, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), regarding Israel's participation, calling for an internal discussion "regarding concerns raised by various civil society groups in Spain about the situation in Gaza and the participation of the Israeli public broadcaster 'KAN' in the contest."
Israel's participation in the competition has been repeatedly criticised because of the government's on-going offensive in Gaza. More than 70 former Eurovision contestants signed an open letter demanding Israel and its national broadcaster KAN to be banned from the contest.
The winner of last year's Eurovision, Austrian singer JJ, has said that he too wants Israel to be banned from Eurovision 2026.
The EBU previously emphasised it believes the competition should remain politically neutral and said it would not exclude Israel from the competition.
In 2022, Russia was banned from competing in Eurovision following its invasion of Ukraine. "The inclusion of a Russian entry in this year's Contest would bring the competition into disrepute," the EBU had written in a statement in Febuary 2022.
Speaking at a Madrid conference in May, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, a long-time critic of Israel's policies in the occupied Palestinian territory, said "we cannot allow double standards, not even in culture".
"If no one raised an eyebrow when Russia was required to leave international competitions and not participate in Eurovision after the invasion [of Ukraine], then neither should Israel," Sánchez added.
Last week, Eurovision director Martin Green said the contest would "respect" any boycott decisions over Israel.
"Broadcasters have until mid-December to confirm if they wish to take part in next year's event in Vienna. It is up to each member to decide if they want to take part in the contest and we would respect any decision broadcasters make," he said in a statement.
Now, it appears that Eurovision officials have come up with a proposal to Israel's national broadcaster, KAN.
As we reported, the EBU has “unofficially” given Israeli representatives two options. Either they temporarily withdraw from the competition, or perform under a neutral flag, similar to the approach taken by Russian athletes at recent Olympic Games.
Spain's statement comes on the same morning a United Nations commission of inquiry said Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
The 70th anniversary edition of Eurovision is due to take place in Vienna, Austria. The finale will take place on 16 May after the semi-finals on 12 and 14 May 2026.
