Eurovision members to decide who takes part in 2026 contest as calls mount for Israel to be excluded

The board of the European Broadcasting Union has sent a letter to members indicating that the vote will take place online in early November. (AFP)

• The board of the European Broadcasting Union has sent a letter to members indicating that the vote will take place online in early November
• Countries including Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain have threatened not to participate in the contest unless Israel is excluded

GENEVA: Eurovision Song Contest organizers say member countries will vote in November about which countries can participate in the musical extravaganza next year, as calls have mounted for Israel to be excluded over the war in Gaza.
Spokesman Dave Goodman said in an email Friday that the board of the European Broadcasting Union, which brings together public broadcasters, has sent a letter to members indicating that the vote will take place at an extraordinary general meeting held online in early November.
Countries including Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain have threatened not to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest unless Israel is excluded from the competition over the war in Gaza.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will take place in May in Vienna: The honor of hosting is granted to the winner of the previous year. The winner this year in Basel, Switzerland, was Austria’s JJ for the song “Wasted Love”.
Eurovision is a competition in which performers from countries across Europe, and a few beyond it, compete under their national flags with the aim of being crowned continental champion — a sort of Olympics of pop music.
It’s also a place where politics and regional rivalries play out. Russia was banned from Eurovision after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.