EBU to vote on Israeli participation in Eurovision, media reports say

By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA (Reuters) -Members of the European Broadcasting Union will vote in November on Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna next year, according to media reports. Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung and the Guardian reported on Thursday that EBU members were informed of the vote in a letter from the organisation's president. "A vote on participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will take place at an extraordinary meeting of the EBU's General Assembly to be held online in early November," the EBU told Reuters in a statement, without expressly naming Israel. The Kronen Zeitung included a screenshot of the letter which said that the EBU executive board recognised that it could not reach a consensual position on the participation of Israeli public broadcaster, KAN. Reuters could not immediately confirm the letter's authenticity. On September 16, Spanish state broadcaster RTVE's board voted to withdraw from the 2026 contest to be held in May in Vienna if Israel took part in the event. Spain is the fifth country to make such a pledge after the Netherlands, Slovenia, Iceland and Ireland, and the first of the so-called "Big Five" – a group that also includes Britain, Germany, Italy and France. These countries automatically qualify for the contest's final round. Eurovision, which stresses its political neutrality, has faced controversy this year linked to the war in Gaza. In September, a United Nations Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza – accusations that Israel described as scandalous. Several countries had urged the European Broadcasting Union, an alliance of public broadcasters that organises and co-produces the annual event, to exclude Israel from the 2025 edition. Austrian singer JJ, who won this year, has also called for Israel's exclusion in 2026. (Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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