Five Countries Say They Will Boycott Eurovision 2026 — Which Countries Are Boycotting Eurovision
Iceland, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia said they will not take part in Eurovision 2026 if Israel remains in the contest, answering the question of which countries are boycotting eurovision with a clear joint threat. The move follows the 2025 voting controversy, where Israel’s Yuval Raphael finished second in the fan vote, 14th with official juries, and later drew new scrutiny over the result split.
Yuval Raphael and the 2025 result
In May 2025, Austrian singer JJ won Eurovision while Yuval Raphael represented Israel. Raphael’s result became the center of the dispute: the public vote put Raphael second, while the official juries ranked Raphael 14th. Several members of the European Broadcasting Union then called for an audit and transparency with the data after the discrepancy, turning a contest result into an institutional dispute over how the vote was handled.
The song contest director said that “an independent compliance monitor reviews both jury and public vote data to ensure we have a valid result.” That statement went to the as criticism mounted around the 2025 outcome and the wider debate over Israel’s place in the contest. Members of the EBU later voted in a secret ballot to enact rule changes, and those changes allowed Israel to continue competing.
EBU rule change and Israel
Israel has competed in Eurovision since 1973, and the contest has already absorbed similar political pressure before. Israel also hosted Eurovision in 2019 after winning in 2018, while Iceland was fined that same year after members of its competing act held up scarves featuring the Palestinian flag on air. The 2026 boycott threats now pull several broadcasters into a direct confrontation with the competition’s rules rather than its staging alone.
The backdrop is larger than one scoreboard. The verified facts link the boycott threats to the 2025 voting controversy and the war in Gaza, and they also show that Israel’s participation has remained contentious because of past protests and disputes tied to pro-Palestinian sentiment. Doron Medalie said, “Everybody is jealous and triggered because Israel is achieving great results,” reflecting how the row has moved beyond one year’s tally.
Spain, the EBU and the next move
Spain’s decision stands out because Spain is one of Eurovision’s big five financial supporters. That makes the threat harder for the contest to dismiss as a symbolic protest from the margins. also reported that senior Israeli diplomats contacted officials and members of the EBU directly, while records from the Israeli Government Advertising Agency showed Israel spent at least $800,000 on ads to promote its Eurovision contestant in 2024.
The next practical step sits with the European Broadcasting Union and the broadcasters that have now said they will stay out if Israel remains. If the same lineup holds, Eurovision 2026 would enter the contest cycle with five countries already drawing a line around participation, and any future decision on Israel’s eligibility will determine whether that threat becomes a boycott or a live field of competitors.
