Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Ireland confirmed on Thursday that they will not participate in Eurovision 2026. The 95th General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)—organizer of the Eurovision Song Contest—being held this Thursday and Friday in Geneva, Switzerland, decided to support Israel's participation in the 2026 edition, approving the new measures proposed last week. Their withdrawal from the contest also means that RTVE will not broadcast the final, as announced by the Spanish public broadcaster in a statement, although it will participate on Saturday, December 13, in Junior Eurovision, the children's version of the competition, as confirmed by the broadcaster to this newspaper.
The aim of Thursday's meeting was to discuss and vote on the new package of measures announced on November 21 to address concerns about the voting system expressed by several member countries of the EBU, an organization comprising 113 radio and television broadcasters from 56 countries. A simple majority was required for approval. The new rules passed with 738 votes in favor, 264 against, and 120 abstentions.
During the meeting, RTVE and broadcasters from seven other countries formally requested a secret ballot at the Assembly. The EBU presidency denied the Spanish public broadcaster's request for a specific vote on Israel's participation, RTVE explained."This decision increases RTVE's distrust of the festival's organization and confirms the political pressure surrounding it," the broadcaster stated in its subsequent press release.
The RTVE Board of Directors had agreed in September that Spain would withdraw from Eurovision if Israel continued to participate, as a sanction for the massacre perpetrated by that country in Gaza and its “systematic non-compliance” with the contest rules. A week ago, the corporation's president, José Pablo López, explained in the Senate that the measures announced by the EBU to reconcile all positions are insufficient. In Thursday's statement, the secretary general of the broadcaster, Alfonso Morales, defended the decision: “The situation in Gaza, despite the ceasefire and the approval of the peace process, and Israel's use of the contest for political purposes, make it increasingly difficult to maintain Eurovision as a neutral cultural event.”
Among the measures approved is a ban on broadcasters and competing artists actively participating in, facilitating, or contributing to third-party promotional campaigns that could influence the outcome of the public vote. The maximum number of votes per payment method (online, SMS, or telephone) is reduced from 20 to 10, making it more difficult for organized campaigns to influence the televote. Furthermore, the professional jury vote is reinstated in the semifinals; since the 2022 edition, they had only participated in the final, leaving the final qualifications entirely in the hands of the public.
The divided opinions among the various participants in the organization reveal a complete fracture within Eurovision. Faced with this complex situation, the EBU has set an exceptionally late deadline for members to announce their decision to participate in next year's contest. They must inform the EBU before December 15th, while the official list of participants will be announced before Christmas, according to the festival organizer.
Another group of countries, including Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, had stated the exact opposite of Spain's position ahead of Thursday's meeting: they would withdraw if Israel were expelled. In this case, the situation for Eurovision would have been even more serious. Not only because Germany is a member of the Big Five, along with Spain, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom—the five countries that contribute the most money to the EBU budget and, therefore, to the festival's organization—but also because Austria is the host of the 2026 edition of the contest. The country's Chancellor, Christian Stocker, had been arguing for months that Vienna should not host the event if Israel were expelled.
While participants like France, Denmark, and Serbia had already secured their place at Eurovision 2026 regardless of Israel's participation, others remain undecided and will announce their decision in the coming days. Iceland and Norway are among this group of undecided countries. Portugal confirmed its participation at the end of the meeting.
Compensate for absences
The lineup of participants is completely different. Given the likely withdrawal of several members for 2026, the EBU has been sounding out other countries in recent months about joining the competition, which will take place in May. Bulgaria, Moldova, and Romania, which have participated in Eurovision in the past, have expressed their willingness to return.
The organization has even considered new additions, such as Kazakhstan, which has already participated in Junior Eurovision. The arrival of Canada seems much more far-fetched. The option of inviting the North American country to participate has been considered and is not entirely impossible, given that Australia has been competing for years, although without the option of hosting.
The consequences of several countries withdrawing from the Eurovision Song Contest due to the controversy surrounding Israel's continued participation are both economic and media-related. Each country contributes a fee to participate in Eurovision and for the broadcasting rights. In the case of the Big Five countries, the figure is around €350,000 each. The remaining participants pay a lower fee, but the departure of several of them would also mean the loss of millions of euros allocated to organizing the contest.
On the other hand, the high viewership figures achieved by the Eurovision Song Contest final are another factor that greatly attracts sponsors, the main one being the Israeli cosmetics company Moroccanoil. In 2025, the final held in Basel, Switzerland, reached 166 million viewers in 37 different countries, also boosting its reach on social media, according to data from the EBU itself. Public broadcasters in countries that withdraw will not air the 2026 edition, which could mean a decrease in the broad reach that the organization boasts.
Since RTVE has already announced it will not broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest final, the EBU can sell the broadcasting rights to another Spanish broadcaster, such as FORTA (the regional broadcasters' association) or private channels like Antena 3 or Telecinco. While all this chaos has unfolded within Eurovision in recent months, KAN, the Israeli public broadcaster, has continued its selection process for its 2026 representative as normal.
