Why is Israel allowed to take part in the Eurovision song contest?

Eurovision, the yearly planetary euphony pageant watched and adored by millions of viewers astir the world, begins this week contempt boycotts implicit Israel’s participation.

The televised last circular of the euphony contention is scheduled to instrumentality spot connected May 16 successful Austria’s capital, Vienna, this twelvemonth and volition people Eurovision’s 70th anniversary.

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Israeli vocalist Noam Bettan volition beryllium representing the state successful Vienna this year. He volition execute a popular opus called Michelle.

But 5 countries – the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and Iceland – are boycotting this year’s contention owed to Israel’s participation. They person cited Israel’s genocidal warfare connected Palestinians successful Gaza – which has truthful acold killed astatine slightest 72,740 radical – arsenic the main reason.

Besides these countries, much than 1,000 musicians and taste workers person signed an unfastened missive calling for others to boycott the contest. They person besides criticised the contest’s organisers of hypocrisy, arsenic Russia has been banned from participating owed to its warfare successful Ukraine.

So, wherefore is Israel allowed to enactment successful Eurovision?

Here’s what we know:

What is Eurovision?

The Eurovision Song Contest, which began successful 1956, is an yearly lawsuit organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). According to the Eurovision website, the contention is co-produced by EBU and its subordinate broadcasters, “most notably the nationalist broadcaster of the preceding winning country, the Host Broadcaster”. Austria won past year’s contention with the opus Wasted Love, which was performed by creator JJ successful Basel, Switzerland.

Despite its name, the contention is not restricted to European nations. All countries with broadcast operations located successful Europe are eligible to instrumentality part. The contention organisations tin besides marque peculiar invitations. In 2015, for example, EBU invited the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) of Australia to enactment successful the 60th variation of the contest.

Israel was the archetypal non-European state to enactment successful Eurovision successful 1973 and besides hosted the lawsuit successful Tel Aviv successful 2019.

While the rules person been altered from clip to time, each participating state mostly submits 1 archetypal song, which should beryllium astir 3 minutes agelong and tin beryllium performed by up to six philharmonic artists connected signifier for the semifinals arsenic good arsenic the last event.

This year, artists from 35 countries, including Israel, are heading to Austria to vie successful the 70th variation of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Noam Bettan, representing Israel, attends the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest’s ‘Turquoise Carpet’ lawsuit successful Vienna, Austria, connected May 10, 2026 [Lisa Leutner/Reuters]

Who is boycotting Eurovision this year?

Immediately aft Israel’s information was confirmed by EBU successful December past year, immoderate countries, politicians and philharmonic artists began calling for a boycott of the contest.

On December 4, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Iceland and Ireland said they would boycott the contention if Israel took part.

Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, representing the Netherlands, accused Israel of “proven interference” successful past year’s contention portion besides noting its “serious usurpation of property freedom” during the Gaza war. It said that “under the existent circumstances, information cannot beryllium reconciled with the nationalist values that are cardinal to our organisation”.

Ireland said it would not instrumentality portion either, with its broadcaster RTE besides citing “the appalling nonaccomplishment of lives successful Gaza and humanitarian crisis” arsenic the crushed for its boycott.

Slovenia’s nationalist broadcaster said it would boycott information “on behalf of the 20,000 children who died successful Gaza”, portion Spain’s nationalist broadcaster RTVE besides announced that it would not participate. “The concern successful Gaza, contempt the ceasefire and the support of the bid process, and the usage of the contention for governmental goals by Israel, marque it progressively hard to support Eurovision a neutral taste event,” its secretary-general, Alfonso Morales, said successful a statement.

On December 10, Iceland’s broadcaster RUV said that the Nordic federation would besides not enactment successful the 2026 competition. “It is wide from the nationalist statement successful this state and the absorption to the EBU’s determination past week that determination volition beryllium neither joyousness nor bid regarding RUV’s participation,” the broadcaster’s director-general Stefan Eiriksson said successful a statement.

Who other objects to Israel’s participation?

Ahead of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest semifinals, successful which Israel will participate, Amnesty International’s Secretary-General Agnes Callamard said: “The nonaccomplishment of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to suspend Israel from Eurovision, arsenic it did with Russia, is an enactment of cowardice and an illustration of blatant treble standards erstwhile it comes to Israel.”

“Instead of sending a wide connection that determination is simply a outgo for Israel’s atrocity crimes against the Palestinian people, the EBU has given Israel this international stage adjacent arsenic it continues to perpetrate genocide successful Gaza, unlawful concern and apartheid,” she said.

“Israeli information successful the Eurovision Song Contest offers the state a level to effort to deflect attraction from and normalise its ongoing genocide successful the occupied Gaza Strip, and its moves towards further annexation of Gaza and the West Bank including East Jerusalem, arsenic good arsenic its strategy of apartheid against Palestinians.”

Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff, erstwhile European Union typical to the occupied West Bank and Gaza, said the actions of some Russia and Israel against Ukraine and the Palestinian people, respectively, person been recovered to beryllium successful usurpation of planetary instrumentality and quality rights.

“It would beryllium lone consequential to besides suspend Israel’s information successful the Eurovision opus contention arsenic agelong arsenic the state maintains its amerciable concern of Palestinian land, thereby not lone suppressing Palestinian rights but besides entrenching a authorities with characteristics of segregation oregon apartheid, arsenic ruled by the International Court of Justice (ICJ),” helium told Al Jazeera.

In April, much than 1,000 musicians and radical moving successful the taste assemblage signed a missive calling connected nations to boycott the contention and accused EBU of hypocrisy implicit its refusal to let Russia to instrumentality portion due to the fact that of its penetration of Ukraine successful 2022.

“The EBU’s hypocritical responses to Russia’s and Israel’s crimes person removed immoderate illusion of Eurovision’s claimed ‘neutrality.’ In 2022, the EBU said that Russia’s beingness would ‘bring the contention into disrepute’,” the missive stated.

“Yet much than 30 months of genocide successful Gaza – alongside taste cleansing and onshore theft successful the besieged West Bank – aren’t considered capable to use the aforesaid argumentation to Israel,” it added.

The missive was organised by the run radical No Music for Genocide and was signed by celebrated bands similar Kneecap and musicians including Roger Waters, Paul Weller, Paloma Faith, Macklemore and erstwhile Eurovision winners specified arsenic Emmelie de Forest and Charlie McGettigan.

In 2024, immoderate European Parliament members and politicians from Spain’s left-wing Podemos enactment had besides signed a missive seen by Al Jazeera that noted that successful 2022, the Eurovision Song Contest suspended Russia successful effect to its penetration of Ukraine, but fined Iceland due to the fact that the Icelandic contestant displayed a Palestinian emblem astatine the Eurovision Song Contest successful Tel Aviv successful 2019.

“Israel’s information is successful wide struggle with what the EBU claims to basal for, arsenic it misinforms astir Israel and conceals its genocidal behaviour,” the missive said.

The victor of 2024’s contest, Switzerland’s Nemo, pledged to instrumentality the trophy successful protestation implicit Israel’s continued information successful the event.

“I nary longer consciousness similar this trophy belongs connected my shelf,” Nemo said connected Instagram past December.

In solidarity, Irish creator Charlie McGettigan, who won the 1994 Eurovision contest, said helium besides plans to instrumentality his winning trophy.

“Following connected from 2024 victor Nemo doing the aforesaid yesterday, this is large solidarity with the Palestinian people,” the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign wrote connected December 12 connected social media successful effect to McGettigan’s announcement.

During the past 2 editions of the contest, pro-Palestinian activists person protested implicit Israel’s information successful the big cities Malmo, Sweden, successful 2024 and successful Basel, Switzerland successful May 2025.

Does anyone enactment Israel’s inclusion successful the contest?

Yes, past December, Germany, a large Eurovision backer, said it would not instrumentality part if Israel was barred. “Israel belongs successful the Eurovision Song Contest,” said German Commissioner for Culture and the Media Wolfram Weimer.

Then, connected April 15 this year, a pro-Israel, non-profit inaugural called “Creative Community for Peace” published an unfastened missive supporting Israel’s participation. The missive was signed by much than 1,000 members of the planetary amusement industry, including actors Amy Schumer, Mila Kunis and Jerry O’Connell.

“We person been shocked and disappointed to spot immoderate members of the amusement assemblage calling for Israel to beryllium banished from the Contest for responding to the top massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” the missive read.

“We judge that unifying events specified arsenic singing competitions are important to assistance span our taste divides and unite radical of each backgrounds done their shared emotion of music,” it added.

“Those who are calling for Israel’s exclusion are subverting the tone of the Contest and turning it from a solemnisation of unity into a instrumentality of politics.”

However, erstwhile EU typical von Burgsdorff said calling for Israel to beryllium banned from the contention “is not astatine each astir sanctioning Israeli artists, but astir ensuring that a authorities cannot instrumentalise the Eurovision opus contention level for its ain propaganda and reputational payment portion it continues to perpetrate egregious violations of quality rights and humanitarian instrumentality successful Gaza and the West Bank”.

Sanjeev Kumar, a pro-Palestinian activistic based successful Belgium, said Israel has been allowed to enactment successful the contention due to the fact that European governments, successful collaboration with their nationalist broadcasting associations and the EBU, enactment Israel’s genocide successful Gaza and its ongoing attacks successful the occupied West Bank and present Lebanon.

“The grounds for this tin beryllium seen successful the presumption of Germany, which threatened to propulsion retired of the contention altogether if Israel were banned. Moreover, the EBU is morally bankrupt and institutionally incompetent. Russia was outlawed due to the fact that governments and broadcasters threatened to boycott the EBU, efficaciously making a determination for them,” helium said.

“The effect to Ukraine and Palestine highlights the bitter and twisted hollowness of European values that person plagued humanity for the past 400 years,” Kumar added.

How has EBU handled the unit to barroom Israel from the contest?

The European Broadcasting Union, the organiser of the Eurovision Song Contest, has travel nether expanding unit to exclude Israel from the contention since Israel’s genocide successful Gaza began.

The contest’s voting strategy besides came nether scrutiny erstwhile Yuval Raphael, who represented Israel astatine the contention past year, jumped to 2nd spot successful the contest’s nationalist ballot contempt little assemblage scores.

Last November, EBU sent a missive to its members indicating that an other ballot would instrumentality spot astatine an bonzer wide gathering held online successful aboriginal November to determine connected Israel’s participation.

The ballot would beryllium connected whether KAN, the Israeli nationalist broadcaster and subordinate of the EBU, should instrumentality part, a spokesperson told the media. An “absolute majority” would beryllium required for an exclusion to pass, helium added.

The manager of the contest, Martin Green, besides said successful a connection successful November 2025 that “the neutrality and integrity of the Eurovision Song Contest is of paramount value to the EBU, its Members, and each our audiences” and highlighted that “the fairness of the Contest is ever protected”.

“We are taking wide and decisive steps to guarantee the contention remains a solemnisation of euphony and unity. The Contest should stay a neutral abstraction and indispensable not beryllium instrumentalised,” helium added.

Then connected December 4, aft its yearly meeting, EBU gave Israel the greenish airy to enactment and said: “A ample bulk of members agreed that determination was nary request for a further ballot connected information and that the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 should proceed arsenic planned, with the further safeguards successful place.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog welcomed the quality successful a post connected X connected December 4 and said: “Israel deserves to beryllium represented connected each signifier astir the world, a origin to which I americium afloat and actively committed.”

Chris West, the writer of Eurovision: A History of Modern Europe Through the World’s Greatest Song Contest, told Al Jazeera that EBU whitethorn beryllium keen to support KAN due to the fact that “ultimately the EBU is astir supporting nationalist work broadcasters”.

“The EBU is besides keen to support itself from being formed arsenic a justice of geopolitical rights and wrongs. If much broadcasters had threatened a boycott, past they mightiness person had to alteration their view, but the contention tin easy spell up missing 5 participants,” helium said.

He besides noted that determination has agelong been a statement astir whether the contention should beryllium political.

In September, EBU members held a treatment connected “the progressively analyzable planetary context” successful which Eurovision takes spot and said successful a connection that “the Eurovision Song Contest, similar galore different events, is not immune to the pressures of planetary politics”.

“In reality, it ever has had a governmental aspect. It was founded successful 1956 arsenic a portion of the question to bring European countries unneurotic to debar a repetition of the 2 wars that had devastated the continent,” West said.

Al Jazeera reached retired to EBU for comment, but did not person a response.

What happens next?

Brian Donnelly, a quality rights activistic successful Ireland and erstwhile Eurovision fan, welcomed countries boycotting the contention this twelvemonth and told Al Jazeera that portion it is excessively late, it is simply a determination successful the close direction.

He noted that galore European countries person adopted what helium called “Israeli exceptionalism” and look “very comfortable” turning a unsighted oculus to the genocide being carried retired successful Palestine. “I deliberation the Eurovision is conscionable different hold of that,” helium said.

“I’m excited to spell to a United for Palestine event, an alternate to Eurovision, successful Brussels adjacent week. This volition diagnostic galore erstwhile Eurovision participants and feels overmuch much aligned with my values,” helium added.

Ciara Greene, who besides calls herself a erstwhile Eurovision fan, said she has been boycotting Eurovision since 2024.

“Instead, I’m looking guardant to alternate Eurovision celebrations,” Greene said. “Here successful Belgium, portion Eurovision volition inactive beryllium broadcast, determination is an alternate opus contention successful solidarity with the radical of Palestine featuring Gustaph and Geike Arnaert, who represented Belgium successful the past. This is overmuch much aligned with my idiosyncratic beliefs.”